Connectivity Providers Database

From: Andrey Ivanov <ivanov@ok.minsk.by> To: o.crepin-leblond@ic.ac.uk Date: Thu, 17 Mar 94 19:41:55 +0200 UNIVERSITY COMPUTER NETWORK OF REPUBLIC BELARUS UNIBEL Project Summary The main goal of presented project is a creation of the Byelorussian University Computer Network (UNIBEL). The UNIBEL is intended to unite universities, educational and research institutions of Belarus and give their students, professorate and researchers a possibility of free information exchange with countries of the former USSR as well as world community. In addition, privilege connection will be provided for libraries, academy institutes, cultural centres etc. The UNIBEL is a result of mutual efforts of organizations dealing with science and education. At present there is considerable educational and scientific potential in Belarus. However, use and development of intellectual resources are hampered owing to the following circumstances: - strict centralization and state control in education and science; - dissociation of universities, institutes and laboratories as well as private students, researchers and professorate; - difficulties in publication and spreading of scientific results and ideas in the sphere of education and culture; - unreliability of the traditional means of communications (post, telephone) in the former USSR countries; - inaccessibility and high cost of the up-to-date means of communication (fax-service, computer networks); - practically absolute lack of relations with foreign research centres and scholars. To date several public and commercial computer networks are working in the territory of the former USSR. However, most of them either demand payment for their services in hard currency or are limited in their potentialities. Most international computer networks do not have representations in Belarus, and this impedes their activity. At present Ministry of Communication and Informatics of Belarus is developing national data network based on the PIEnet technology - BelPAK. This network, however, presupposes hard centralization and governmental control. Besides, services of this network will be quite expensive but will not be aimed at the requirements of science, culture and education. So the creation of the University Computer Network of Republic Belarus is a vital task. The UNIBEL will help to overcome the difficulties mentioned above, further developing the intellectual potential of Belarus, provide sufficient independence of science, culture and education. The main feature of this Network will be wide accessibility of its services for students, researchers and professorate. The main goal of the present project is to give students, researchers and professorate informational independence, meet their requirements in free effective information exchange, provide the entrance into world information space. Additional goals are training of university and institute staff, dissemination and popularization of computer communications. The configuration of the UNIBEL will be based on regional principle. At first stage of developing the central support node has been already established in Minsk. This node supports operating of several university and institute nodes installed at Byelorussian State University, University of Informatics and Radioelectronics, Novopolotsk Politechnical Institute, Grodno State University and some educational and research institutions. In the nearest future the nodes will be established in all regional centres (Brest, Gomel, Grodno, Mogiliov and Vitebsk). The network nodes is planed to be installed in the most advanced institutions and universities so that the end-users could connect to them. The main task of the central node in Minsk is a technical support of the regional network nodes and providing an international access through dedicated lines to Warsaw, Moscow and Lviv (Ukraine). Besides the central node will be responsible for training domestic staff. At present the UNIBEL network is based on UUCP protocol, but TCP/IP protocols will be used as soon as the IP-connection will be obtained. At first stage the UNIBEL-users will be provided with the following basic services: - electronic mail; - file tranfer protocol; - TELNET functions and others TCP/IP services. In the future more wide services are intended to be provided: - X.400 and X.500 services; - connection to the national data network BelPAK; - entrance into the EARN, BitNET etc. The UNIBEL is currently implemented with the leading participation of the Open Contact Ltd. This company develops the network in cooperation with the institutions mentioned above and keeps tight contacts with Ministry of Education of Republic Belarus and other organizations interested in the creation of the UNIBEL. To date Ministry of Education partialy supports present project and empowers the Open Contact Ltd. as an organization that would be responsible for developing and operating the UNIBEL. The Polish Academic and Research Network NASK renders the UNIBEL greate technical and consultation assistance. The NASK agrees to establish 64 Kb dedicated line to Minsk (UNIBEL) and cover all costs for it during three months. This line is considered to be the only actual international link for science and education of Belarus for a quite long period. Currently the dedicated 9.6 Kb line is planed to be establised to the FREENet (Russian Academic and Research Network). The line will be used according mutual agreement. To date the UNIBEL is registered in the RIPE (Reseaux IP Europeens) and IP-numbers were assigned in December 1993. The UNIBEL is National Member of the EARN (European Academic and Research Network), the CEENet (Central and Eastern European Networking Association) and is invited to become Full National Member of RARE (Reseaux Associes pour la Recherche Europeenne). In spite of considerable progress the situation is quite critical. The developing of the UNIBEL is permanently facing financial and organizing problems. To provide further developing more complicated and up-to-date equipment is required for central node of the UNIBEL in Minsk. Such equipment is necessary to provide efficient use of the 64 Kb line to Warsaw. The central node in Minsk must be enough powerfull to support an international connection for whole Republic Belarus in sphere of science and education. Unfortunately Ministry of Education can not currently afford the expense of equiping the central node. According preliminary estimate $150,000 is extremely required. The Polish NASK will pay for the 64 Kb line only first three months. After that the UNIBEL will have to cover it's part (up to the Polish border) of expenditures. The cost of this part of line for Belarus is about $21,000 per month (this information was given by Byelorussian PTT). The UNIBEL needs an assistance in leasing such line unless it can be paied by it's own fund. The next stage of developing the UNIBEL is a creating network nodes in the most advanced institutions in Minsk as well as periphery. At least 5 well equiped nodes is needed to establish back-bone structure of the UNIBEL. Currently Byelorussian universities and research institutes have enough potentialities to start their work in the UNIBEL network. But equipment installed at these institutions is rather outdated. Approximately $20,000 per network node is required to overcome their difficulties. To provide further developing of networking for science and education in Belarus at least modest assistance is required for other institutions which currently have no any computer hook-ups yet. Such assistance is estimated approximately of $10,000 per institution. At least 15 central and peripherial institutions need such help to be connected to the UNIBEL. So the whole project can be divided into 4 independent parts: - equipment for the central node (the most important one!); - leasing the dedicated 64 Kb line for one year; - equipment for 5 basic nodes; - equipment for other nodes. Andrey IVANOV, General Director, Open Contact Ltd., Minsk, Republic Belarus e-mail: ivanov%ok.minsk.by@relay.ussr.eu.net fax: +7 (0172) 206134 Dr. Sergei KRITSKY, Project Coordinator, Open Contact Ltd., Minsk, Republic Belarus e-mail: kritsky%ok.minsk.by@relay.ussr.eu.net fax: +7 (0172) 206134