Imagine the Internet of the future, almost 100 times as fast as most high-speed home connections today. Files fly across the Web as if you picked them up off a table. Video between grandparents and grandchildren is beamed in real-time.
The Internet has come so far, so fast, that little thought has been given to how it's doing. Some researchers, however, have been thinking about the bigger issues and believe the best approach is to turn the system inside out, taking a “clean slate” approach to Internet research.
Three years ago, Dr. Hui Zhang, a Carnegie Mellon computer science professor, was one of the early pioneers to suggest the idea of a "clean slate." At first he was "an outcast in computing communities." Today, the 100 x 100 Clean Slate Project he founded is one of a dozen similar programs funded in the U.S. And it's gaining momentum.
“This is a major initiative,” beams Zhang. “This is what forward looking research should be. The atmosphere and the whole direction has changed in the last 3 years. We are very proud that we were the first to really stake out the ground.”
The 100 x 100 Project is a collaboration of researchers from CMU, the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center and Rice University, to name a few of the many involved across the country. A $7.5 million five-year grant from the National Science Foundation’s Information Technology Research Program supports the initiative.
When the industry was developing, new phenomenon wasn’t anticipated, Zhang explains. Security, commercial viability, hackers, and spamming weren't considered. “One of our key challenges is what needs to be fixed? How do we think out of the box. If we think through a different mindset, we can come up with a better solution on a more simplified level.”
The future is beyond speed. Stay tuned for more when Pop City takes an in-depth look at the 100x100 Project.
Writer: Debra Diamond Smit
Source: Dr. Hui Zhang
Image courtesy of Hui Zhang/CMU