Call for Participation in the First UK Programmable Networks and Telecommunications Workshop

28-29 September 1998

Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol

An Exploratory workshop, sponsored by the EPSRC and Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, Bristol.

Summary: objectives - background - topics - participation - dates - organisers - local info - Main website

EPSRC [Hewlett Packard Laboratories]

Objectives

The objectives of this workshop are:

Background

In traditional telecomms networks all of the intelligence lies within the network under the control of the network operator; whilst in the Internet philosophy the network contains no intelligence and the end-system applications control their interaction. As the Internet technology moves forward to a commercial maturity and to support a new pardigm of human communication there is a movement to reconcile these two approaches to obtain the best of both, and avoid the worst of either.

Recent advances in distributed systems and transportable software together with increasing application demand for better control of network resources are driving a re-examination of network architectures. There is a convergence between Computing and Telecommunications technology as exemplified by integrated 'palmtop' and cellular phones to bring together mobile users and computing by intelligent communications.

There is a new opportunity to reconcile the perspectives of the computing and telecommunication communities in new dynamically programmable network architectures that support fast service creation and resource management through a combination of network aware applications and application aware networks.

There is considerable interest in the use of agent technology: mobile agents; intelligent agents which cooperate in terms of high-level goals, intentions and beliefs; and policy agents which interpret policies relating to management of quality of service or allocation of services and resources to users.

Allowing third parties to manipulate and program the shared resources of the network presents many varied challenges:

The workshop is intended to explore and refine the research issues that must be tackled relating to programmable networks.

Topics of Interest

Topics of interest include:

Participation Guidelines

To keep the workshop interactive and effective there will be a limited number of participants. Potential participants should email a 500-1000 word position statement (joint statements are welcome) to

uk-prognet@cogs.susx.ac.uk.

Participants will be given ten minutes to present (1 slide) at the workshop. If the workshop is over-subscribed the organisers will select participants on the basis of the submitted position statement and the conference objectives. There will be a few invited speakers.

Local Information

The workshop will be held at Hewlett-Packard's European research centre in Bristol. Directions and local information can be found at the web site . Hotel rooms at a reduced rate (£76), using the code HEW270998, have been reserved at the local Stakis hotel, situated just off the M5/A38 junction a few miles from the site. To reserve a room contact the hotel and mention the HP rate, rooms were reserved by Christine Northam for one night on the 28th. You can reach the Stakis on 01454 201144 or their web site. It is possible to commute to the HP site from London, or stations along the way. There will be a fee of £40 to cover the costs of the workshop. This will include all meals and refreshments during the workshop, a workshop dinner (probably at the Stakis for convenience), and some transport arrangements. A coach will take people to and from the hotel on Mon eve and Tues morning. If there is demand we will also run coaches to and from Bristol Parkway station (nearest railway station). Please indicate your requirements when you make the workshop booking. Copies of slides will be provided where these are available.

Dates

Organisers

Ian Wakeman
Last modified: Wed Sep 9 10:42:35 BST 1998