[1][ISMAP] [2] [LINK] [LINK] [1.][January..] ___Audio ___Video __ [3][ISMAP]-[4][USEMAP] [5][ISMAP]-[6][USEMAP] July 29, 1997 Internet Technology Invades Dept. Of Defense (07/228/97; 4:00 p.m. EDT) By Saroja Girishankar, [7]CommunicationsWeek When it comes to embracing Web technologies, no organization in the world has mobilized its forces as extensively as the U.S. Department of Defense. In what could become a textbook example for other nations and major businesses, the DOD's deployment of Web servers and browsers is expected to encompass 2 million users across an assortment of military and civilian agencies, making it the world's largest single community of Web users. To date, 1.5 million Web browsers have been installed across DOD's classified and nonclassified intranets. Already, Web servers at 16 major server sites, applications across 530 military command sites and an additional 37 component command sites provide a secure environment for tens of thousands of high-level Army, Navy and Air Force personnel, plus the joint chiefs of staff. They will use it to plan military exercises, perform logistics for troop movement, ready medical services and other operations related to combat. The ultimate goal is to provide all military personnel in need with a single, multimedia view of military command, control, communications and intelligence information, regardless of where they are located, according to Frank Perry, technical director for the engineering and interoperability directorate and the joint interoperability and engineering organization. Perry said Web technologies, from basic E-mail, newsgroups and Internet chat rooms to more advanced Java programs, are making that possible. Extending DOD's Reach "The Web browser and applications have made a profound difference in getting more and more things to more and more people in the DOD, and basically have given us a broader, faster and simpler reach for various applications in a truly network-centric way," Perry said. One area where this plays out is managing the movement and deployment of U.S. troops in Bosnia. According to Lt. General Albert Edmonds, who last month retired after a three-year stint as director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), and who oversaw the Web implementations, critical information related to the deployments were downloaded and easily replicated across secure Web servers that could be accessed by all parties involved. Regardless of the different desktops and laptops, personnel could download and access information, and the distributed format reduced bandwidth congestion as well. Before the Web rollout, most databases were on mainframes and could be accessed only by a small group of people. The DOD, along with other government agencies, has for some time relied on commercial products and technologies for faster development and lower costs. DISA, which is responsible for operating four networks -- the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN), Global Command and Control System (GCCS), Global Combat Support System (GCCS) and the Defense Messaging System (DMS) -- under the umbrella organization called the Defense Information Infrastructure -- has been moving its antiquated mainframe-based networks to distributed [8]TCP/IP[LINK] networks and other emerging technologies. According to Perry, all GCCS users are being moved to Windows NT desktops outfitted with browsers from both Netscape Communications and Microsoft. This enables them to exchange E-mail and participate in newsgroups and Internet relay chat for planning military exercises. For GCCS and GCSS users who have real-time needs of even more reliable and secure access, existing Unix clients will be retained. Users who have traditionally been using Unix-client software are being gradually moved to thin clients that use browsers with Java applets. Over time, all GCSS users will also be given similar software. Lastly, both GCCS and GCSS are moving to Java-based applications with authentication and cryptographical capabilities required for high security. Perry said Microsoft's [9]ActiveX[LINK] has not been an option because it allows executable content to move around distributed environments in a mobile mode and raises security questions. Java Virtual Machine and its sandbox construction offer better assurance, he said. Perry said GCCS and GCSS operate over a high-security TCP/IP router network called the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network that has 500 core routers as well as hundreds of routers at regional and local networks linked to a WAN using a [10]T3[LINK] line. A nonclassified network, called the Nonclassified Internet Protocol Router Network, which is made up of [11]ATM[LINK] switches and TCP/IP routers, provides the basic infrastructure for all of DOD. Although only data traffic now goes over ATM, plans are for future transmission of all voice, data and video over that cell network. DMS Affected By Web Technologies The adoption of Web technologies is affecting plans for the DMS. Perry and Tom Clark, the DMS program manager, said they will adopt the emerging Internet Message Access Protocol 4 -- the Internet E-mail standard that promises to let disparate E-mail clients and servers talk to each other. DMS, which is expected to have 250,000 users by year's end and 2 million during the next few years, is an X.400 electronic messaging backbone under construction at DOD. DISA said the GCCS, which replaced the older mainframe-based Worldwide Military Command and Control System, was completed in 21 months instead of the typical five years previously required. In addition, the agency said it expects savings of $260 million in the systems and operational costs of its networks during the next five years. "Using and adapting the commercial Web technologies permits [the DOD] not to spend 20 years building military-unique systems from scratch and it requires less training of our users," said Emmett Paige Jr., president and COO at OAO, a Greenbelt, Md., systems integrator. Paige was the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence) until he retired last month. He headed the DOD's adoption of a common operating environment and the move to TCP/IP and Web technologies. end Related articles from: [12]Techsearch Search TechWire & CMP Archives [All CMP Publications] ____________________ ______ [13]Get TechWeb Delivered -- Subscribe now for FREE! Sponsored By: [14]In the time it takes to read this, SnapShot (TM) can duplicate your enterprise data. (IBM) [15]TechWire + [16]Headlines + [17]Top Stories + [18]Industry + [19]Financial + [20]Internet Daily + [21]Software + [22]Networking + [23]Components + [24]Hardware + [25]International [26]Techsearch Search the archives: _______________ ___ TechWire ___ All CMP Pubs ______ [27][LINK] = Link to our [28]tech encyclopedia for more info. 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