Net-centric
Encyclopedia
Net-centric: (Also spelled "netcentric"): Participating as a part of a continuously-evolving, complex community of people, devices, information and services interconnected by a communications network to achieve optimal benefit of resources and better synchronization of events and their consequences.
In military connotation frequently associated with terms "Net-centric Operations (NCO)" and "Net-centric Warfare (NCW)". Many people use the terms "net-centric" and "network-centric" interchangeably. Some consider "network-centric" to refer to activities within a particular network and "net-centric" to refer to activities that cross networks.
Many experts believe the terms "information-centric" or "knowledge-centric" would capture the concepts more aptly because the objective is to find and exploit information, the network itself is only one of several enabling factors. The best commercial practitioners of globally distributed supply chain management employ net-centric methods.
-centric", refers to participating as a part of a continuously-evolving, complex community of people, devices, information
and services
interconnected by a communications network to optimize resource management and provide superior information on events and conditions needed to empower decision makers. Many experts believe the terms "information-centric" or "knowledge-centric" would capture the concepts more aptly because the objective is to find and exploit information
, the network itself is only one of several enabling factors along with sensors, data processing
and storage
, expert analysis systems
and intelligent agents, and information distribution. The best commercial practitioners of globally distributed supply chain management
and customer relationship management
employ net-centric methods. Network Centric Product Support
(NCPS) is a specific example of the netcentric architecture that is being applied to a range of applications including the NextGen airtraffic control as well as other transportation applications. Netcentric warfare is also a tenet of modern information warfare
concepts.
A Net-centric Enterprise Architecture is defined in lay terms as a: "massively distributed architecture with components and/or services available across and throughout an enterprise's entire lines-of-business."
The formal definition of a "NetCentric Enterprise Architecture" is: "A NetCentric Enterprise Architecture is a light-weight, massively distributed, horizontally-applied architecture, that distributes components and/or services across an enterprise's information value chain using Internet
Technologies and other Network Protocols
as the principal mechanism for supporting the distribution and processing of information services."
established the net-centric model as the architectural foundation for its Global Information Grid
(GIG) concept for integrating all DoD information systems with Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 8500.1 and Department of Defense Instruction 8500.2. Compliance with DoD Architectural Framework is required by Net-Centric Operations and Warfare policy and intends to provide for a consistent architectural model that will enable information sharing and component re-use across the Department of Defense. The DoD vision of net-centric warfare targets a Service-Oriented Architecture
model and associated extensive use of XML
and other web service standards.
More recently strategy papers have outlined the military advantage gained by integrated, networked and internetworked information flow. Specifically, "NCW (Network Centric Warfare) is a new approach to how we might conduct future warfare that consists of networking the warfighting enterprise – shooters, decision makers, and sensors – to translate information superiority into combat power by 'effectively linking knowledgeable entities in the battlespace.'... Its purpose is to 'achieve shared awareness, increased speed of command, higher tempo of operations, greater lethality, increased survivability, and a degree of self-synchronization.”
In military connotation frequently associated with terms "Net-centric Operations (NCO)" and "Net-centric Warfare (NCW)". Many people use the terms "net-centric" and "network-centric" interchangeably. Some consider "network-centric" to refer to activities within a particular network and "net-centric" to refer to activities that cross networks.
Many experts believe the terms "information-centric" or "knowledge-centric" would capture the concepts more aptly because the objective is to find and exploit information, the network itself is only one of several enabling factors. The best commercial practitioners of globally distributed supply chain management employ net-centric methods.
Netcentric
Netcentric, or "networkComputer network
A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of hardware components and computers interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information....
-centric", refers to participating as a part of a continuously-evolving, complex community of people, devices, information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
and services
Web service
A Web service is a method of communication between two electronic devices over the web.The W3C defines a "Web service" as "a software system designed to support interoperable machine-to-machine interaction over a network". It has an interface described in a machine-processable format...
interconnected by a communications network to optimize resource management and provide superior information on events and conditions needed to empower decision makers. Many experts believe the terms "information-centric" or "knowledge-centric" would capture the concepts more aptly because the objective is to find and exploit information
Information
Information in its most restricted technical sense is a message or collection of messages that consists of an ordered sequence of symbols, or it is the meaning that can be interpreted from such a message or collection of messages. Information can be recorded or transmitted. It can be recorded as...
, the network itself is only one of several enabling factors along with sensors, data processing
Data processing
Computer data processing is any process that a computer program does to enter data and summarise, analyse or otherwise convert data into usable information. The process may be automated and run on a computer. It involves recording, analysing, sorting, summarising, calculating, disseminating and...
and storage
Data storage device
thumb|200px|right|A reel-to-reel tape recorder .The magnetic tape is a data storage medium. The recorder is data storage equipment using a portable medium to store the data....
, expert analysis systems
Expert system
In artificial intelligence, an expert system is a computer system that emulates the decision-making ability of a human expert. Expert systems are designed to solve complex problems by reasoning about knowledge, like an expert, and not by following the procedure of a developer as is the case in...
and intelligent agents, and information distribution. The best commercial practitioners of globally distributed supply chain management
Supply chain management
Supply chain management is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers...
and customer relationship management
Customer relationship management
Customer relationship management is a widely implemented strategy for managing a company’s interactions with customers, clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes—principally sales activities, but also those for marketing,...
employ net-centric methods. Network Centric Product Support
Network Centric Product Support
Network Centric Product Support is an emerging computer architecture that was developed to leverage new information technology and global networks to assist in managing maintenance, support and supply chain of mobile complex products made up of one or more systems, such as an aircraft or fleet...
(NCPS) is a specific example of the netcentric architecture that is being applied to a range of applications including the NextGen airtraffic control as well as other transportation applications. Netcentric warfare is also a tenet of modern information warfare
Information warfare
The term Information Warfare is primarily an American concept involving the use and management of information technology in pursuit of a competitive advantage over an opponent...
concepts.
A Net-centric Enterprise Architecture is defined in lay terms as a: "massively distributed architecture with components and/or services available across and throughout an enterprise's entire lines-of-business."
The formal definition of a "NetCentric Enterprise Architecture" is: "A NetCentric Enterprise Architecture is a light-weight, massively distributed, horizontally-applied architecture, that distributes components and/or services across an enterprise's information value chain using Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
Technologies and other Network Protocols
Communications protocol
A communications protocol is a system of digital message formats and rules for exchanging those messages in or between computing systems and in telecommunications...
as the principal mechanism for supporting the distribution and processing of information services."
Net-Centricity in the U.S. Department of Defense
The Concept of Network Centric Warfare was famously introduced to the U.S. Department of Defense by David Alberts, Vice Admiral Art Cebrowski, and John Gartska in a series of articles beginning in the late 1990s. The United States Department of DefenseUnited States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
established the net-centric model as the architectural foundation for its Global Information Grid
Global Information Grid
The Global Information Grid is an all-encompassing communications project of the United States Department of Defense.It is defined as a "globally interconnected, end-to-end set of information capabilities for collecting, processing, storing, disseminating, and managing information on demand to...
(GIG) concept for integrating all DoD information systems with Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 8500.1 and Department of Defense Instruction 8500.2. Compliance with DoD Architectural Framework is required by Net-Centric Operations and Warfare policy and intends to provide for a consistent architectural model that will enable information sharing and component re-use across the Department of Defense. The DoD vision of net-centric warfare targets a Service-Oriented Architecture
Service-oriented architecture
In software engineering, a Service-Oriented Architecture is a set of principles and methodologies for designing and developing software in the form of interoperable services. These services are well-defined business functionalities that are built as software components that can be reused for...
model and associated extensive use of XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
and other web service standards.
More recently strategy papers have outlined the military advantage gained by integrated, networked and internetworked information flow. Specifically, "NCW (Network Centric Warfare) is a new approach to how we might conduct future warfare that consists of networking the warfighting enterprise – shooters, decision makers, and sensors – to translate information superiority into combat power by 'effectively linking knowledgeable entities in the battlespace.'... Its purpose is to 'achieve shared awareness, increased speed of command, higher tempo of operations, greater lethality, increased survivability, and a degree of self-synchronization.”
See also
- BattlespaceBattlespaceBattlespace is a term used to signify a unified military strategy to integrate and combine armed forces for the military theatre of operations, including air, information, land, sea, and space to achieve military goals. It includes the environment, factors, and conditions that must be understood...
- NCOWNCOWNet-Centric Operations Warfare describes how the United States Department of Defense will conduct business operations, warfare, and enterprise management in the future...
Net-Centric Operations Warfare - Network-centric warfareNetwork-centric warfareNetwork-centric warfare, also called network-centric operations, is a military doctrine or theory of war pioneered by the United States Department of Defense in the 1990's....