Intel, HP To Commercialize Next-Gen Net

Hewlett-Packard has signed on to Intel's Planet-Lab.Org infrastructure and plans to create market offerings based on a new layer of infrastructure services to the IP network.

In a keynote at the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel CTO Pat Gelsinger said HP has become the first, new corporate member to agree to develop its services for commercial products. Planet-Lab was launched in 2002 as an initiative by Intel, several universities and research laboratories to build a network services "overlay" to the existing Internet.

During his speech, Gelsinger demonstrated some functions of Planet-Lab, which has grown into a dynamic network of 440 sites (or nodes) in 195 locations in more than 20 countries. These networks have developed a layer of security, grid computing, bandwidth allocation and accessibility provisions, among other services. The services were designed to improve the performance and availability of current Internet computing and communication.

"The results of today's Planet-Lab, the loose coalition of researchers, has put in place a network that's very able to develop powerful results," Gelsinger told reporters following his keynote. "We think that justifies putting in place early commercialization."

Intel and HP will work together to develop beta versions of various services and products that leverage the next-generation Internet platform, Gelsinger said.In addition to HP, Gelsinger also said the Public Broadcast Service (PBS) has said it would work with Intel and HP to develop future HDTV services for its viewers based on the new protocols.

During his keynote, Gelsinger introduced Internet co-developer Vint Cerf to discuss the historic construction of today's World Wide Web. Cerf, then at Stanford, helped develop the first TCP/IP protocols that allowed government and U.S. military computers to communicate with each other. He is widely considered the "father" of the modern Internet.

Cerf said although the Internet recently celebrated its 30th anniversary, "I think we're still in the Stone Age.

"We have to explore alterations and variations on the existing architecture, and we need a way to do it," Cerf said.

Gelsinger suggested that the model of Planet-Lab's "layered" approach was based on Cerf's original development of TCP/IP-based systems: layers of protocols built on top of existing computers that offer new communication and data services.Even though the Planet-Lab prototype currently augments the existing Internet, Gelsinger said commercialization could play a role in boosting its technology, architecture and real-world deployment even further.

"I would expect someone could start offering media distribution services to users and take advantage of Planet-Lab," Gelsinger told reporters.

"The Internet has shown we need that commercial complement," Gelsinger said.