Herb Budd of IBM Europe welcomed the participants to the second EARN meeting in the IBM France Scientific Centre.
He pointed that the EARN project is now roughly 18 months old. The main purpose of the meeting, after having reviewed the present status of the network, will be to establish a governing body for the user's association.
It is important that the elected governing body meet with CEPT (Committee of European Post and Telecommunication) to obtain their support for the network.
Alain Auroux presented the proposed agenda for the meeting. He mentioned that all countries, except Israel and Denmark, are represented at the meeting. Mr. Mate, being unable to attend, asked Mr. Becerill to represent Spain. Then he gave briefly the status of the EARN international backbone. Two new countries are joining the EARN members, Belgium and Denmark.
The link to BITNET is working but the installation of other international lines is delayed by PTTs, waiting for the CEPT recommendation.
When installed, hopefully in June 1984, this will mean 9 countries linked to EARN:
France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, U.K.
The two new countries (Belgium, Denmark) will join the network within the July-September time frame.
As to the CEPT-EARN relationship, the participants to the CEPT meeting early April gave to Mr. Toutan (chairman of the "Telecommunications" Commission) the mandate to discuss EARN in order to have a common, international position.
On May 4, a meeting was held in Paris between Messrs. T Hubner (CSTD permanent nucleus co-ordinator located in Copenhagen), B Rouxeville (CEPT Secretary), M Toutan (Chairman of the Commission), H Zimmermann (French expert on network - OSI), A Auroux, H Budd, M Humbert of IBM Europe.
The CEPT insisted on having the meeting with IBM before the May 14th users meeting (this meeting) in order to allow IBM to present CEPT position during that meeting.
The CEPT presented the following points:
(1) Protocols.
CEPT would like all new data networks, including EARN, to use OSI protocols as much as possible (including the already defined applications such as message handling).
(2) Use of public data network.
CEPT wants the EARN users to be connected through public switched data networks (X25), particularly for the international links.
(3) Tariffs.
CEPT would like to apply a kind of volume dependent charging.
IBM gave the reasons of the todays technical choices (leased lines, non OSI protocols) and pointed out that the further contacts will take place directly between users and CEPT.
The CEPT representatives pointed out that CEPT cannot make decisions but recommendations to the national PTTs.
The May 4 discussion resulted in a letter in French sent by CEPT summarizing the meeting and requesting on the 3 points that:
Mr. Hubner is the CEPT contact.
Herb Budd requested that the CEPT send a representative to the May 14 EARN users meeting, in order to present the CEPT view to the EARN users directly. No CEPT representative attended the meeting.
The agenda of the CEPT different meetings is the following:
May 23/24 25th CEPT anniversary
June 21/22 CSTD group on tariffs (B Rouxeville responsibility)
June 20/27 Commission T (Mr. Toutan. Chairman - Mr. Rouxeville and Mr. Hubner will report).
It is important that official contacts between EARN users and CEPT would take place as soon as possible and in any case before the June meetings.
After all countries have expressed their views, the following consensus has been expressed:
In order for European universities to be "competitive" with US ones, they must have reasonable tariffs.
At the opening of the afternoon's session, it is suggested to come immediately to the election of the chairman of the board and the name of Dennis Jennings is proposed.
The nomination by Hagen Hultsch (Germany) of Dennis Jennings as chairman of the BOD is unanimously accepted.
The discussion again turned to the negotiations with CEPT. Dennis Jennings thinks that a special meeting between CEPT and several user representatives has to take place.
Hagen Hultsch could assist him in that meeting and possibly Stefano Trumpy if he is available. All those willing to participate must make themselves known to Dennis Jennings.
IBM will not participate in this first meeting.
The conclusion of the discussion on the position to take with respect to CEPT is the following.
"to agree to move towards X25 and OSI but ask for a volume independent charges".
In order to negotiate on the charges we need to give figures that we obviously do not have today. IBM will make attempt to provide information.
Finally the participants agree to the position:
Ira Fuchs then made a brief presentation on the status of BITNET.
BITNET now includes 175 nodes in 59 institutions. The Canadian universities will be connected. An X25 gateway is under study.
The Network Information Center is progressing with the help of IBM. David Lord raised the question of the reactions of BITNET members towards EARN.
Ira Fuchs points that BITNET is seen by its members as a communications network as open as possible.
Dennis Jennings presented two different drafts of the EARN charter (numbered EARN 001 and EARN 002).
The discussion centered on the definition of membership and the "two class" approach.
Several questions were raised:
Reference is made to BITNET and Ira Fuchs specifies that, for BITNET, class A covers Universities, Junior Colleges and Universities managed Laboratories. Class B covers any other type.
There is the need of a sponsor for class B membership and the connections are reviewed every year.
As an example Ira Fuchs provides the text defining the membership in the BITNET charter.
David Lord proposed a definition concerning class A and class B:
Dennis Jennings asks that all comments and suggestions on the two drafts and all other questions related with EARN charter be sent to him before the 4th of June.
As an example Ira Fuchs states that BITNET has five committees.
The latter committee comprises the members having more than 4 connections. At the present time 8 nodes satisfy this criteria.
On the question of EARN membership Dennis Jennings proposes that it is left, for the present time, to every national group. Until the charter is adopted the membership applications must be accepted if they reasonably satisfy to conditions settled in the drafts.
It is also suggested to have an Information center.
Finally it is decided to have the following organization:
CEPT Liaison Committee Chairman: H Hultsch Applications Committee Chairman: H F Budd Standards Committee Chairman: D Lord Technical Coordination Committee Chairman: P E Bryant Promotion, Information Center Committee Chairman: J C Ippolito/J L Delhaye
The next BOD meeting will take place on Tuesday 4 September, unless crisis, in Roma.
The IBM National Delegates and IBM Europe will be invited.
