Advanced Network and Services
Encyclopedia
Advanced Network and Services (ANS) was a United States non-profit organization formed in September 1990 by the NSFNET
partners (Merit Network
, IBM
, and MCI
) to run the network infrastructure for the soon to be upgraded NSFNET Backbone Service.
(T3) upgrade and the approaching end of the 5-year NSFNET cooperative agreement, in September 1990 Merit, IBM, and MCI formed Advanced Network and Services (ANS), a new non-profit corporation with a more broadly based Board of Directors than the Michigan based Merit Network. Under its cooperative agreement with US National Science Foundation
(NSF), Merit remained ultimately responsible for the operation of NSFNET, but subcontracted much of the engineering and operations work to ANS. Both IBM and MCI made substantial new financial and other commitments to help support the new venture. Allan Weis left IBM to become ANS's first President and Managing Director. Douglas Van Houweling, former Chair of the Merit Network Board and Vice Provost for Information Technology at the University of Michigan
, was the first Chairman of the ANS Board of Directors.
Completed in November 1991, the new T3 backbone was named ANSNet and provided the physical infrastructure used by Merit to deliver the NSFNET Backbone Service.
The NSFNET Backbone Service and ANS CO+RE both used and shared the common ANSNet infrastructure. NSF agreed to allow ANS CO+RE to carry commercial traffic subject to several conditions:
ANS and in particular ANS CO+RE were involved in the controversies over who and how commercial traffic should be carried over what had, until recently, been a government sponsored networking infrastructure. These controversies are discussed in the "Commercial ISPs, ANS CO+RE, and the CIX" and "Controversy" sections of the NSFNET
article.
for a little over $30M and became a philanthropic organization with a mission to advance education by accelerating the use of computer network applications and technology". This work helped create ThinkQuest, the National Tele-Immersion Initiative, the IP Performance Metrics program, and provided grant funding for educational programs including TRIO Upward Bound, the Internet Society
, Internet2
, Computers for Youth, Year Up
, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
, Sarasota
TeXcellence Program, and many others.
ANS was incorporated in the State of New York and had offices in Armonk
and Poughkeepsie, New York.
NSFNet
The National Science Foundation Network was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation beginning in 1985 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States...
partners (Merit Network
Merit Network
Merit Network, Inc., is a nonprofit member-governed organization providing high-performance computer networking and related services to educational, government, health care, and nonprofit organizations, primarily in Michigan...
, IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
, and MCI
MCI Communications
MCI Communications Corp. was an American telecommunications company that was instrumental in legal and regulatory changes that led to the breakup of the AT&T monopoly of American telephony and ushered in the competitive long-distance telephone industry. It was headquartered in Washington,...
) to run the network infrastructure for the soon to be upgraded NSFNET Backbone Service.
ANSNet
In anticipation of the NSFNET Digital Signal 3Digital Signal 3
A Digital Signal 3 is a digital signal level 3 T-carrier. It may also be referred to as a T3 line.*The data rate for this type of signal is 44.736 Mbit/s.*This level of carrier can transport 28 DS1 level signals within its payload....
(T3) upgrade and the approaching end of the 5-year NSFNET cooperative agreement, in September 1990 Merit, IBM, and MCI formed Advanced Network and Services (ANS), a new non-profit corporation with a more broadly based Board of Directors than the Michigan based Merit Network. Under its cooperative agreement with US National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
(NSF), Merit remained ultimately responsible for the operation of NSFNET, but subcontracted much of the engineering and operations work to ANS. Both IBM and MCI made substantial new financial and other commitments to help support the new venture. Allan Weis left IBM to become ANS's first President and Managing Director. Douglas Van Houweling, former Chair of the Merit Network Board and Vice Provost for Information Technology at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, was the first Chairman of the ANS Board of Directors.
Completed in November 1991, the new T3 backbone was named ANSNet and provided the physical infrastructure used by Merit to deliver the NSFNET Backbone Service.
ANS CO+RE
In 1991 a new ISP, ANS CO+RE (commercial plus research), was created as a for-profit subsidiary of the non-profit Advanced Network and Services. ANS CO+RE was created specifically to allow commercial traffic on ANSNet without jeopardizing its parent's non-profit status or violating any tax laws.The NSFNET Backbone Service and ANS CO+RE both used and shared the common ANSNet infrastructure. NSF agreed to allow ANS CO+RE to carry commercial traffic subject to several conditions:
- that the NSFNET Backbone Service was not diminished;
- that ANS CO+RE recovered at least the average cost of the commercial traffic traversing the network; and
- that any excess revenues recovered above the cost of carrying the commercial traffic would be placed into an infrastructure pool to be distributed by an allocation committee broadly representative of the networking community to enhance and extend national and regional networking infrastructure and support.
ANS and in particular ANS CO+RE were involved in the controversies over who and how commercial traffic should be carried over what had, until recently, been a government sponsored networking infrastructure. These controversies are discussed in the "Commercial ISPs, ANS CO+RE, and the CIX" and "Controversy" sections of the NSFNET
NSFNet
The National Science Foundation Network was a program of coordinated, evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation beginning in 1985 to promote advanced research and education networking in the United States...
article.
Sale of networking business to AOL and new life as a philanthropic organization
In 1995, after the transition to a new Internet architecture and the NSFNET Backbone Service was decommissioned, ANS sold its networking business to AOLAOL
AOL Inc. is an American global Internet services and media company. AOL is headquartered at 770 Broadway in New York. Founded in 1983 as Control Video Corporation, it has franchised its services to companies in several nations around the world or set up international versions of its services...
for a little over $30M and became a philanthropic organization with a mission to advance education by accelerating the use of computer network applications and technology". This work helped create ThinkQuest, the National Tele-Immersion Initiative, the IP Performance Metrics program, and provided grant funding for educational programs including TRIO Upward Bound, the Internet Society
Internet Society
The Internet Society or ISOC is an international, nonprofit organization founded during 1992 to provide direction in Internet related standards, education, and policy...
, Internet2
Internet2
Internet2 is an advanced not-for-profit US networking consortium led by members from the research and education communities, industry, and government....
, Computers for Youth, Year Up
Year Up
Year Up is a nonprofit organization based in Boston, Massachusetts. Year Up was founded in 2000 by Harvard Business School graduate Gerald Chertavian, and currently has sites in Atlanta, Boston, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, New York, Providence, Puget Sound , and Washington, D.C..- Mission...
, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship
The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship , also referred to as NFTE , is an international non-profit organization providing entrepreneurship education programs to young people from low-income communities.Through entrepreneurship education NFTE helps young people from low-income communities build...
, Sarasota
The Education Foundation of Sarasota County, Inc.
The Education Foundation of Sarasota County is an independent, not-for-profit organization that works in partnership with the community and the Sarasota County School District...
TeXcellence Program, and many others.
ANS closes
ANS closed down its operations in the later half of 2008.ANS was incorporated in the State of New York and had offices in Armonk
Armonk, New York
Armonk is a hamlet and census-designated place located in the town of North Castle in Westchester County, New York. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 4,330....
and Poughkeepsie, New York.