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The Global Information Grid, IPv6
and Web Services
Kent Gladstone
The Force Transformation's success depends on the success of the Global
Information Grid (GIG). The GIG appears unwieldy at first glance, but
after defining all of the various components, it seems much more manageable.
Each component has its own unique set of challenges and opportunities
associated with it. All parts are intertwined; some may stand alone, and
others may have dependencies. The bottom line is that they all support
the data.
The GIG is the basis for Network Centric Operations. Network Centric Operations
"refers to the combination of emerging tactics, techniques, and technologies
that a networked force employs to create a decisive ...advantage."i
This concept requires us to visit all layers of communications to ensure
success. Currently, the DoD is visiting several of these layers, as seen
in Figure 1, in order to optimally share information among the network's
constituents.
Figure 1: 7 Layers of Communications
The adage "it is all about the data" holds more truth today
than ever before. Force Transformation means Net Centric Operations get
the data to the edge users precisely when they need it. Net Centric Operations
have created a new metaphor of data usage by posting it before it is fully
processed, allowing for near real-time use, with each user become both
a consumer and producer. This concept is becoming known as the Net Centric
Operating Environment.
In order for this to work, data must be standalone: it can not be tied
to a single application. The data gathered by an unmanned aerial vehicle
should allow a user to place the data independent of the application or
the geographical location from which it was gathered. The user can create
a graphical or visual report, or put the tracks on a map without performing
any special data manipulation. Meta-tagging allows data to be independent
of its application. Additionally, enabling the user to search for data
without having to know where it resides requires the use of web services.
Web services, as defined by techencyclopedia.com, are "web-based
applications that dynamically interact with other Web applications using
open standards."
In order for the data to get to its destination, we must have the infrastructure
in place. This entails installing more optical fiber and cellular towers,
and building a configuration grid around the world that allows for transmission
across non-service areas.
The technologies that allow a message to get from the source to the destination
with a high level of assurance are the Internet Protocol (IP) in conjunction
with the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). TCP makes the transmission
reliable. Without TCP, IP can be routed but it is not reliable. IP packets
that are routed contain source and destination descriptions. TCP runs
on end-stations and communicates about whether IP packets have arrived
and how quickly they should be sent.
Two important aspects of IPv6 are a) much larger address capability (128
bit versus 32 bit), and b) the capability to deal more effectively with
Quality of Service and security (although organizations are still struggling
with how to handle these areas). Address size is important for a variety
of reasons. According to Cisco (see Figure 2), the United States owns
70% of the addresses worldwide, a fact that explains why other countries
are pushing IPv6 forward at an accelerated rate. China has mandated the
protocol, Korea is developing a parallel IPv6 network, and several European
countries have begun to implement it. Most countries are in a wait-and-see
mode, both for the U.S. to take the lead and to allow vendors to start
putting out IPv6-capable systems. Another important aspect of addresses
is that they can be used to tag just about anything imaginable. For example,
an auto manufacturer might use them to put a sensor in your car to track
its use, or the Marine Corps could use them to track inventory. A final
key note about IPv4 addresses is that their current growth rate may begin
to affect the router tables that keep track of all this information. This
in turn will negatively affect both latency and throughput.
An important aspect of IPv6 is its development for wireless components,
such as the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS). A class of mobile communications
is referred to as a MANET (Mobile Ad hoc Network). MANETs allow communications
between mobile sources and destinations to be routed by other mobile nodes;
in other words, the network connectivity is dynamic, as the nodes comprising
the network are also mobile.
Figure 2: IP Address Allocation History
How does all of this fit in with data? The key term is web services.
If an automaker wants to be able to ping your car and get data out of
it, he will first need a unique address for your car, and then he will
need to actually retrieve the data. IPv6 will guarantee the unique address
for the component and make it searchable; web services will allow automakers'
accountants, engineers, and quality control people to track the performance
of the vehicle. In other instances, dealers will be able to track the
vehicle's maintenance history. These are just a few examples of use the
data uploaded from the vehicle. IPv4 simply cannot supply the number of
unique addresses to all of the potential devices that the commercial industry
and government may want to ultimately contact.
Web services began with the inception of business-to-business concepts.
Web services data language (WSDL) has evolved using XML (and several other
media), and describes the protocol used for the service.
The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) has begun developing the
basis for this through the Net Centric Enterprise Services (NCES) program.
NCES provides the foundation for data discovery and search, messaging
and alerts, and the security for authority and authentication. In the
meantime, OSD/NII has come forth with Horizontal Fusion as part of its
research and development, in its attempt to web-enable data from DoD sources
among the various agencies and Services.
The result facilitates coordinating, testing, certifying and encouraging
the services to meta-tag their data, make it shareable, and make it usable
to the edge commander who needs to know the equipment and personnel he
has available for a battle operation. This will also provide intelligence
gathered at the intra-agency level for special operations people planning
an insertion (and will challenge security policies as they stand today).
On other fronts, the Services are slowly embracing web services for strategic,
logistics and tactical use. Horizontal Fusion has been focused primarily
on the Intelligence Community, providing data for the battlefield commander;
it has included common operation picture tracks, weather information,
and other utilities that the field commander may find useful. Other uses
such as field medicine, satellite tracking, network node management, radio
configuration, and sensor management are areas that web-services can also
provide to users through the network. For this to be successful, the number
of sensors, servers, PDAs and other elements that could potentially send
or receive data all require IP addresses. Without expanded IP addresses
in the future, web services could be unnecessarily limited.
Outside the DoD, web services can provide valuable information to public
safety officers, health services, field technicians, oil companies, and
ranchers with valuable information in their areas of interest.
There are caveats which the success of IPv6 and web services, (as described
in this paper) depends upon. For starters, there needs to be a robust
level 1 and 2 infrastructure. Unless wires and airwave towers are in place,
success will be limited. Additionally, the node address mediation of one
network IP encountering another network IP has not been completely resolved
in the IETF community. For example, if the packet is going from Cingular
to Nextel, how will this hop work? This is particularly true for mobile
systems such as cell phones, and may affect more static components that
are moved from the manufacturer's plant to an unknown destination (both
might remain within the same network, so that there would be no problem,
but they might end up on separate networks). In order to take better advantage
of web services, IP version 6 needs further maturation, especially in
mobility and security.
In summary, web services and IPv6 are enabling technologies that make
possible the concepts of Force Transformation and Network Centric Operations.
The DoD as well as Federal, State and Local Governments can take advantage
of this technology - as can the public safety and consumer goods industries.
The manufacturing industry ought to look closely at these capabilities,
and the potential for increasing marketing demographics, which in the
end could mean better products for the consumers, and more information
and income for industry.
i Military Transformation: A Strategic Approach. Office of Force Transformation,
Department of Defense, Fall 2003
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