On Nov. 10 2009, in Hiroshima Japan during IETF76, the Internet Society (ISOC) convened a panel of experts to discuss the current explosion in bandwidth usage. Topics included metrics, net neutrality, and management methods.

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The possibility of the Internet’s impending collapse due to the explosive growth in Internet bandwidth use is a recurring high-profile theme in the popular media.

However, the reality of measuring and understanding Internet bandwidth growth and its implications at macro-scales is complex. While policy debates around issues such as “network neutrality” are underway, network operators are already managing their networks to address issues raised by bandwidth-intensive applications.

This briefing session shared, in accessible terms, the realities of measuring bandwidth growth on the Internet today, as well as efforts to identify and deal with issues it raises, addressing questions such as:

• Is there anything different about bandwidth growth today that will cause problems not faced in the past?
• Are there better ways than those currently employed by network operators to manage issues raised by bandwidth-intensive applications?
• How does related work underway in the IETF factor into these issues?

On the panel

The panel featured:

Leslie Daigle, ISOC (Moderator)

Leslie Daigle is the Chief Internet Technology Officer for the Internet Society. She has been actively involved in shaping the Internet’s technical evolution for more than a dozen years. Her role with the Internet Society is to provide strategic leadership on important technical issues as they relate to ISOC’s ongoing programs. She has worked with the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) since 1995, and was an appointed member of the related Internet Architecture Board (IAB) from March 2000 to March 2008.

Kenjiro Cho, IIJ

Kenjiro Cho is Deputy Research Director at Internet Initiative Japan, Inc. He is also an adjunct professor at Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, and a board member of the WIDE project. His current research interests include traffic measurement and management, and operating system support for networking. He has been involved in residential traffic measurement in Japan since 2004.

Lars Eggert, Nokia Research Center, IETF Transport Area Director

Lars Eggert is a principal scientist at the Nokia Research Center in Helsinki, Finland and a member of Nokia’s CEO Technology Council. He is also an adjunct professor at the Helsinki University of Technology (HUT/TKK). Lars has worked on research projects ranging from internetwork architecture, transport protocols, virtual networks to resource scheduling. He is a member of the ACM, a senior member of the IEEE and an individual member of ISOC as well as an active participant in the IRTF and IETF, where he currently serves as Area Director of the Transport Area and previously served as Working Group Chair.

Danny McPherson, Arbor Networks

With over 15 years in the Internet network operations, security and telecommunications industries, Danny brings to Arbor extensive technical leadership experience. At Arbor, he is a main contributor to Arbor’s overall strategy and product architecture. Prior to joining Arbor he was with Amber Networks, and prior to that worked in network operations and architecture positions for nearly a decade; at internetMCI, Genuity (acquired by GTE Internetworking), Qwest Communications and the US Army. He has been an active participant in Internet Standardization since 1996, is currently a member of the Internet Architecture Board (IAB), and co-chairs the IETF’s PWE3 WG.

Richard Woundy, Comcast

Richard Woundy is Senior Vice President of Comcast, one of the United States’ leading providers of entertainment, information and communication products and services.