State of NetAffair
The Conference
September 2011: After failing on the evaluation front for the EU's Seventh Framework Programme (FP7), and lacking sufficient financial support, we have to announce that “NetAffair – the Conference” will not take place in the near future. Many thanks to those of you who believed in NetAffair and have supported us right through. Unfortunately, despite all efforts, we couldn't overcome the necessary figure. If you would like to foster the project, take a look at our conference sponsoring options.
However, we haven't entirely given up hope. We disagree with the notion that it will take yet another generation to understand what networking is all about. Instead, we hold to the fact that there are people around, who can bring far more inside as a just digital grown up. The reason for this assumption is simple: There are characters out there who once laid the foundation for internetworking and who can bring to the table over 40 years of experience in internetworking and digital lifestyle. Their stories need to be heard; Europe needs to listen to them as in order to make a difference it is of extreme value to know how many proposed “new” ideas actually can be traced back in time, and what visions have been given up in the past and for what reason.
Europe has to offer a rich tapestry of knowledge already, which can help to identify the beef of networking. Though history never repeats, underlying patterns do exist and can be identified, and lessons can be learned. We argue it's wrong just to talk about “apps” and “the cloud” while ignoring the underlying infrastructures and physical properties, which determine the behaviour of users as well as of networks, and therefore shape the process. After more than 40 years of packet switching and computer communication, the time should be ripe to identify the big picture.
As we were told by team members of Project Cost 11, who have been in charge of setting up the first pan-European experimental science network, one important lesson to learn is the following: If Europe is ever to be a major player then it must act as EUROPE. With the right structure in place the European Digital Agenda might provide a chance, yet it also could merely lead to repeated mistakes, or be (mis)used for re-implementing (dare I say it) “command and control” structures. So, we can either wait and find out through hindsight, or we can sit up and try to decipher the signals we have, identify the underlying pattern.
We also want to stress that networking history should now be seen as part of European cultural heritage. Knowledge of its emergence and process is an important part or our culture that should be preserved. It has shaped many life stories at a personal level. Furthermore, many people are searching for role models, who represent today the idea of Europe. We argue: You don't have to drill deep to find them in the domain of computer networking.
NetAffair in Bozen: what's behind networking
23rd-24th of March 2011: Dieter Telfser holds an expert workshop at the Gutenberg College of further Education for Trade and Graphic in Bolzano. Aaron Marcus (Am+A) agreed to join the discussion on the second day. Students attended to learn about the emergence of different ideas in data networking, and to discover their own visual language in order to display the process. They were surprised to hear that even Europe has a story to tell in this truly global affair.
20 years TCP/IP in Austria, 20 Years of NREN ACOnet infrastructure
9th-10th of June 2010: NetAffair supports the two days anniversary celebration, hosted by the University of Vienna in June 2010. Back on stage are early Austrian Internet players and adaptors. The second day of this special gathering examined the current state of networking affairs while encouraging visions and ideas for the future of National Research and Education Networks (NRENs) in Europe; outline provided by Christian Panigl (ACOnet, ZID), conducted by Mariann Unterluggauer (NetAffair).
