Network Working Group
Request for Comments: 169
NIC 6789
Categories: B, C, C
Obsoletes: None
Updates: None
S. Crocker
UCLA-NMC
Computer Science
27 May 1971

IEEE Computer Society Workshop

West Coast Committee

COMPUTER NETWORKS

Lake Arrowhead, California

September 8 - September 10, 1971

Co-Chairmen: David J. Farber -- University of California, Irvine

Stephen D. Crocker -- ARPA/IPT

The number of networks has grown to the point where not all participants are familiar with each other; more networks are under development. This workshop is intended especially for those manufactureers, users and researchers who have just entered, or are about to enter, the network field. Presentations are invited on all aspects of computer networks, particularly including user communities, inter-node protocols, terminal and switching equipments, and communications technology.

Presentations on embryonic systems are especially invited.

   Tentative Agenda

Session I and II -- Description of Specific Systems

Presentation of specific systems with emphasis on such topics as the aim of the system and scope; the constraints applied by the application; the equipment used; protocols; expected lifetime; etc.

Session III -- Functional Capabilities - Alan Weis - IBM Research

This session will discuss such topics as file transmission, the referencing of foreign data sets, remote job entry protocols, resource control, data standards, etc.

Session IV -- Limitations of Hardware and Software Systems for Networks - Al Irvine - NCR

Multiplexers, terminals, software systems, and hardware design will be among the topics discussed at this session.

Panel Session -- Network Management Problems - Einar Stefferud - Consultant

Participation in the workshop will be by invitation from the program committee and will be limited to 65 persons, in order to facilitiate discussion. To encourage free discussion of tentative conclusions, no workshop proceedings will be published. The workshop should stimulate generation of high quality papers for subsequent publications.

Should you desire to participate in this workshop, please return the attached questionnaire to the program committee prior to 20 July 1971. Be sure to arrange any release required by your organization. A registration fee of $45 includes means and housing.

Invitations will be mailed to selected participants approximately 15 August 1971. Whether or not you plan to participate, please call this announcement to the attention of qualified colleagues who have been omitted from the mailing.

For further information as either a presenter or as a participant please contact:

                           Prof. David J. Farber
                         University of California
                Information and Computer Science Department
                         Irvine, California 92664
                              (714) 833-6891

or

                               Steve Crocker
               Advanced Research Projects Agency - room 730
                             1400 Wilson Blvd.
                         Arlington, Virginia 22209
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GENERAL INFORMATION ON IEEE WORKSHOPS

What is a Workshop?

The objectives of these workshops are:

To clarify, by exhaustive and off-the-record discussion between active workers in the field, the merits and disadvantages of controversial alternative approaches to a specific phase of computer organization, and to establish the basis for a group of high-quality papers for IEEE meetings and publications.

The workshop involves four (4) key concepts:

  1. Small number of participants to permit exhaustive discussion:
  1. Off-the-record proceedings to allow discussion of incomplete and preliminary results:
  1. Selected mature participants to obviate the need for tutorial and introductory material:
  1. A carefully defined topic to keep the discussion in focus.
   Off-The-Record Meetings

To permit discussion of incomplete and tentative results, information at the workshop cannot be published. Slides or blackboards may not be photographed so the workshop does not constitute disclosure in the sense of the Patent Law. After the meeting, participants are encouraged to publish significant contributions.

   Selected Participants

By limiting the workshop to a small number of active workers, mature scientists knowledgeable in the specific area under discussion, formal papers can be displaced by brief opening statements followed by an open discussion.

General Information on IEEE Workshops
Page 2.

   Publication of Results

One measure of the success of a workshop is the resulting publication of research. While the workshop itself is closed, it should serve as a stimulus to generate a series of high-quality papers for subsequent open meetings.

   Session Organization

The workshop is divided into four (4) scheduled sessions, each centered on one phase of the problem to be discussed. Normally, the workshop chairman will assign to each session chairman the task of clarifying the subsidiary questions to be discussed in his session. Each session is divided into "talks." The speakers are designated as discussion leaders. Most participants at the workshop will be discussion leaders at one of the sessions. The session chairman will attempt to provide each speaker with the time he requests (within limits). Normally, five to ten minutes will be allowed for formal presentation, with 15 to 30 minutes reserved for discussion and debate. In addition, the chairman may include a general discussion period at the end of the session.