Connectivity Providers Database

From: "S. Ramani" <ramani@saathi.ncst.ernet.in> To: sghuter@psg.com (Steven Huter) Date: Tue, 07 Mar 1995 22:13:15 +0530 > Hello Mr. Ramani, > I am working with Randy Bush on a National Science Foundation project (in > USA) to update our database on networking developments in Asia. Could you > please verify the following contact information for India: > > INDIA > > Organization: National Centre for Software Technology > Address: Gulmohar Cross Road #9 > Juhu, Bombay 400 049 > Contact: Srinivasan Ramani > Voice Phone: +91 22 620 0590 > Fax: +91 22 621 0139 > E-mail: ramani@SAATHI.NCST.ERNET.IN > > Could you also please provide an update description of this link, its > technical setup, future networking plans, etc.? It would be greatly > > appreciated. > Thank you in advance, > Steven Huter My apologies for the delay in reply. I confirm that the above info is correct. I also add a note on our network and future plans. Note follows my signature. S. Ramani National Centre for Software Technology, Gulmohar Cross Road No 9, Juhu, Bombay 400 049, India Ph: 620 0590, or 620 1606 (Country code 91, City code 22) Fax: 621 0139 Telex: +81 11 78260 NCST IN A Brief Note on the Project ERNET and NCST's activities The Education and Research Network (ERNET) is a project of the Department of Electronics, Government of India, assisted by the United Nations Development Programme. Basic information on this project is given below. The National Centre for Software Technology (NCST) is an R & D lab funded by the Dept of Electronics, Govt of India. It plays an active role in Project ERNET. Nodal Centres: All the five Indian Institutes of Technology in India, (Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Madras) the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, the National Centre for Software Technology (NCST), Bombay and the ERNET Group at the Dept of Electronics, Govt of India, in New Delhi International Gateway: NCST, Bombay operates the international gateway out of its downtown office in the Air India Building, Nariman Point. Scope: Support of R & D and Education in Computer Communication, and support for creating the Indian academic network. Activities: A number of R & D activities have been carried out and many are in progress. The areas covered include LANs, OSI networking X.25 and X.400 technology Library and Office Information System Applications Packet Broadcasting Networks Academic Network: The main achievement of the project has been the creation of the Indian Academic network. Over three hundred Indian academic institutions are on the ERNET Email network. They are all reachable by Email from users of all the major academic networks in the world. Technology used: A TCP/IP link from Bombay to uunet in Falls Church, VA, USA over a 64 KBPS leased line. There are leased lines from Bangalore, Delhi, Madras and Pune to Bombay. There is one from Kanpur to Delhi, and one from Kanpur to Kharagpur. The Bangalore-Bombay link is a 64 KBPS link, while the others are 9600 BPS links. Most of these links support multiple protocols including TCP/IP. uucp over dial-up links is used by Email nodes not having leased lines. Plans for expansion of ERNET, in 1995, include the creation of a satellite communication network to enable the academic network to reach locations which do not have good data communication links otherwise. Twenty VSATs offering high-speed communication links have been acquired for this purpose. The Significance of Academic Networking in India Over thirty thousand scientists and technologists are being given network facilities by ERNET now, though most of them get only Email facilities. This has vastly improved academic communication within India and with academic communities all over the world. It also enables important scientific applications, such as library networking to flourish. For instance, the Bombay Library Network (Bonet), hosted by NCST, got a quick start thanks to the facilities offered to it by ERNET. Bonet users are able to access a few hundred library catalogues located in various countries of the world. They also use computer mediated communication among themselves for requesting inter-library services. By offering access information on R & D work all over the world, and by enabling access to remote databases, ERNET also supports the growth of India's high technology software industry. A variety of public domain software and the Usenet bulletin board services are now available to users of ERNET. International Cooperation NCST is enthusiastic about about international cooperation and cooperates with three agencies in the field: International Council for Computer Communication, the United Nations Development Programme (unit for Sustainable Development Networks), and the Commonwealth Secretariat, London. NCST has hosted a number of international training programmes and plans to continue this effort. NCST is an active contributor in the creation of the Commonwealth Network of Information Technology for Development, COMNET-IT. ---XXX---