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July 29, 1997
Internet Technology Invades Dept. Of Defense
(07/228/97; 4:00 p.m. EDT)
By Saroja Girishankar, [7]CommunicationsWeek
When it comes to embracing Web technologies, no organization in the
world has mobilized its forces as extensively as the U.S. Department
of Defense.
In what could become a textbook example for other nations and major
businesses, the DOD's deployment of Web servers and browsers is
expected to encompass 2 million users across an assortment of military
and civilian agencies, making it the world's largest single community
of Web users. To date, 1.5 million Web browsers have been installed
across DOD's classified and nonclassified intranets.
Already, Web servers at 16 major server sites, applications across 530
military command sites and an additional 37 component command sites
provide a secure environment for tens of thousands of high-level Army,
Navy and Air Force personnel, plus the joint chiefs of staff. They
will use it to plan military exercises, perform logistics for troop
movement, ready medical services and other operations related to
combat.
The ultimate goal is to provide all military personnel in need with a
single, multimedia view of military command, control, communications
and intelligence information, regardless of where they are located,
according to Frank Perry, technical director for the engineering and
interoperability directorate and the joint interoperability and
engineering organization.
Perry said Web technologies, from basic E-mail, newsgroups and
Internet chat rooms to more advanced Java programs, are making that
possible.
Extending DOD's Reach
"The Web browser and applications have made a profound difference in
getting more and more things to more and more people in the DOD, and
basically have given us a broader, faster and simpler reach for
various applications in a truly network-centric way," Perry said.
One area where this plays out is managing the movement and deployment
of U.S. troops in Bosnia.
According to Lt. General Albert Edmonds, who last month retired after
a three-year stint as director of the Defense Information Systems
Agency (DISA), and who oversaw the Web implementations, critical
information related to the deployments were downloaded and easily
replicated across secure Web servers that could be accessed by all
parties involved.
Regardless of the different desktops and laptops, personnel could
download and access information, and the distributed format reduced
bandwidth congestion as well. Before the Web rollout, most databases
were on mainframes and could be accessed only by a small group of
people.
The DOD, along with other government agencies, has for some time
relied on commercial products and technologies for faster development
and lower costs. DISA, which is responsible for operating four
networks -- the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN), Global
Command and Control System (GCCS), Global Combat Support System (GCCS)
and the Defense Messaging System (DMS) -- under the umbrella
organization called the Defense Information Infrastructure -- has been
moving its antiquated mainframe-based networks to distributed
[8]TCP/IP[LINK] networks and other emerging technologies.
According to Perry, all GCCS users are being moved to Windows NT
desktops outfitted with browsers from both Netscape Communications and
Microsoft. This enables them to exchange E-mail and participate in
newsgroups and Internet relay chat for planning military exercises.
For GCCS and GCSS users who have real-time needs of even more reliable
and secure access, existing Unix clients will be retained. Users who
have traditionally been using Unix-client software are being gradually
moved to thin clients that use browsers with Java applets. Over time,
all GCSS users will also be given similar software.
Lastly, both GCCS and GCSS are moving to Java-based applications with
authentication and cryptographical capabilities required for high
security. Perry said Microsoft's [9]ActiveX[LINK] has not been an
option because it allows executable content to move around distributed
environments in a mobile mode and raises security questions. Java
Virtual Machine and its sandbox construction offer better assurance,
he said.
Perry said GCCS and GCSS operate over a high-security TCP/IP router
network called the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network that has
500 core routers as well as hundreds of routers at regional and local
networks linked to a WAN using a [10]T3[LINK] line. A nonclassified
network, called the Nonclassified Internet Protocol Router Network,
which is made up of [11]ATM[LINK] switches and TCP/IP routers,
provides the basic infrastructure for all of DOD. Although only data
traffic now goes over ATM, plans are for future transmission of all
voice, data and video over that cell network.
DMS Affected By Web Technologies
The adoption of Web technologies is affecting plans for the DMS. Perry
and Tom Clark, the DMS program manager, said they will adopt the
emerging Internet Message Access Protocol 4 -- the Internet E-mail
standard that promises to let disparate E-mail clients and servers
talk to each other. DMS, which is expected to have 250,000 users by
year's end and 2 million during the next few years, is an X.400
electronic messaging backbone under construction at DOD.
DISA said the GCCS, which replaced the older mainframe-based Worldwide
Military Command and Control System, was completed in 21 months
instead of the typical five years previously required. In addition,
the agency said it expects savings of $260 million in the systems and
operational costs of its networks during the next five years.
"Using and adapting the commercial Web technologies permits [the DOD]
not to spend 20 years building military-unique systems from scratch
and it requires less training of our users," said Emmett Paige Jr.,
president and COO at OAO, a Greenbelt, Md., systems integrator.
Paige was the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Command, Control,
Communications and Intelligence) until he retired last month. He
headed the DOD's adoption of a common operating environment and the
move to TCP/IP and Web technologies. end
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