OSF Distributed Computing Request for Technology
Jane Carroll
carroll at osf.osf.org
Fri Jul 7 05:04:02 AEST 1989
Open Software Foundation
11 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA 02142
June 15, 1989
The Open Software Foundation (OSF) is pleased to post the attached Request
For Technology (RFT). This RFT is intended to solicit input on
distributed computing environment technologies that may be incorporated
into the OSF Application Environment Specification and offerings.
As computers grow in processing power and as their use spreads to
increasingly networked applications, the user community needs
solutions that will let groups of computers from a variety of vendors
work together transparently to share resources such as computing power,
data, and peripherals. This RFT begins the process of creating a
vendor neutral networking and distributed computing environment to
support distributed applications.
We encourage all interested parties to submit relevant offerings. Not
all submissions are expected to fulfill all stated criteria. An
evaluation team consisting of technical experts under the direction of
OSF staff will review the submissions and select one or more
technologies.
If your organization has technology related to this RFT, we urge you to
prepare a submission for consideration. We also encourage you to
participate as an OSF member. You can obtain additional copies or make
inquiries about the Distributed Computing Environment RFT by calling
the OSF RFT Inquiry Desk at (617) 621-8733 or by writing to:
Open Sofware Foundation
ATTN: RFT Inquiries Desk
11 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA 02142
We look forward to working with your organization on this challenging
program.
DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING ENVIRONMENT
USER REQUIREMENT
As computer processing power grows and as its use spreads
increasingly to networked applications, the user community
is finding that it needs a single software technology that
will let computers from a variety of vendors transparently
work together and share resources such as computing power,
data, printers and other peripheral devices.
The Open Software Foundation recognizes this need. It also
recognizes that the solution is complex and may involve
many different technologies. OSF is therefore addressing
this problem through its full Request for Technology pro-
cess.
SCOPE
This RFT begins the process of creating a vendor neutral
networking and distributed computing environment to support
distributed applications. Technologies selected will be
considered for inclusion in OSF's Application Environment
Specification and OSF offerings.
The objective of this Request for Technology is to identify
technologies to provide a core set of services that facili-
tate the creation and use of distributed applications. The
services might include but are not limited to:
-Remote Procedure Call Services
-Naming Services
-Authentication Services
-Presentation Services
-Distributed File Systems
Alternatives to these suggested services and submissions
addressing a subset of these services are welcome.
In the Open Systems Interconnection Reference Model (OSI),
the technology services sought in this RFT are characterized
by the Session, Presentation, and Application layers.
WHAT IS NOT COVERED IN THIS RFT:
-Applications which are not core services for distributed
application environments, such as electronic mail services.
-Network protocols and interfaces (OSI layer 4 and below).
MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS
The OSF Request for Technology process evaluates software
technologies for inclusion in the OSF Application
Environment. Each software technology consists of specifica-
tions, validation suites, and a reference implementation.
STANDARDS CONFORMITY: Implementations shall be consistent
and conformant with industry accepted standards where appli-
cable, including the IEEE standard 1003.1 (POSIX*) system
interface specification.
Implementations shall be written in ANSI C.
The application interface must support applications written
in ANSI C and must not preclude other language bindings.
PORTABILITY: Implementations shall be portable across a
wide range of hardware platforms, and be easily ported to
additional network transport protocols and interfaces. Sub-
missions requiring modifications to the OSF operating system
kernel must be easily integrated in a modular fashion.
PRODUCT READINESS: Submissions shall be demonstrable to
the OSF staff on request and must be ready for commercial
shipment during the first half of 1990.
TESTING SUPPORT: Submissions shall include validation
suites to assure integrity of design and implementation.
Submissions shall also include provisions for automated
testing.
REASONABLE AND EQUITABLE LICENSING TERMS: The submitter
must have the authority to grant OSF a license under reason-
able terms to use, modify, and sublicense the submitted
technologies, in source and object code form, and documenta-
tion in machine readable and printed form.
DOCUMENTATION: Submissions shall include clear, accurate,
well organized, and usable specifications and product docu-
mentation at the following levels:
-architectural overview
-engineering specification
-interface reference
-programmer's guide
-user's guide
KEY EVALUATION CRITERIA
In general, submissions should provide a comprehensive set
of services for constructing distributed applications in a
heterogeneous environment; they should be designed in a
modular fashion to work with other networking services. Sub-
missions should be extensible and should be easy to use and
administer.
Qualifying submissions will be evaluated on:
-performance in terms of both throughput and latency;
-transparency of local and remote operations;
-scalability over a range of machine types,
network sizes, and network topologies;
-reliability in providing operation without loss of
data or excessive downtime;
-security in allowing only authorized access to
information;
-behavior in cases of failure or overloading;
provision for diagnostics, error detection,
and recovery;
-heterogeneity of supported machine architectures and
networks, including other operating system environments;
-conformity to the OSI reference model and provision
for OSI protocols;
-adherence to good software engineering practices;
-support of national languages.
Consideration will be given to other criteria such as tech-
nology maturity and innovation. Additional criteria will be
determined by the OSF membership during technology evalua-
tion.
WHAT TO SUBMIT
Technology submissions shall include the following:
1. A letter of Intent to Respond
2. An Executive Summary of the proposal including the
following:
-an overview of the technology architecture
-a discussion of the basic design philosophy
-a list of core services provided by the submission
-a response to each mandatory requirement
-a discussion of the technology relative to
-the key evaluation criteria
3. A copy of relevant functional and interface
specifications including:
-programming interface
-protocol specification
-sample application source demonstrating use
of the technology
4. A discussion of appropriate technical issues for each
core service such as:
-asynchronous operation
-data representation
-network protocols and interfaces
-naming/binding models
-authentication and authorization
-caching and buffering
-support of device files and pipes
-fault and orphan detection
-error transparency
5. Outline of proposed license and business terms. Final
terms and conditions will be negotiated during the
selection process.
6. Any other materials the submitter deems relevant to
this evaluation process.
Source code for the proposed technology should not be sub-
mitted but must be available for inspection by OSF staff on
request. CONFIDENTIAL MATERIAL IS NOT BEING SOLICITED AT
THIS TIME. When examination of confidential material
becomes necessary, appropriate non-disclosure arrangements
will be made with the individual technology submitter
involved.
EVALUATION PROCESS AND MILESTONES
INTENT TO RESPOND: The first step is a brief Intent to
Respond letter consisting of a description of your technol-
ogy, its architecture, its applicability, relevant specifi-
cations, and your willingness to license it openly. This is
due by July 28, 1989.
If a small number of letters of Intent to Respond are
received, OSF may accelerate the RFT timetable.
FULL SUBMISSION: The second step is a completed submission
containing the items listed in the What to Submit section
of this RFT. Submissions are due by October 6, 1989.
REVIEW PROCESS: OSF will review submissions against manda-
tory requirements of the RFT and will designate candidate
technologies qualifying for detailed evaluation.
Submitters of qualifying technologies will be given an
opportunity to present their material to an OSF Members'
Technology Review Meeting. This meeting is currently
planned for November 1989. Following the Member Technology
Review, OSF staff will evaluate the candidate technology
based upon member inputs. This evaluation might include
examination of the source code, tests and documentation of
the submissions. Submissions will be evaluated when bound
to a BSD 4.3 socket interface to TCP/IP or UDP/IP, unless
prior arrangement is made to evaluate the submission in
another environment. Submissions requiring changes to the
OSF operating system kernel will be evaluated in an
appropriate environment to be determined by OSF and the sub-
mitter.
OSF will publicly announce the selected technologies along
with the selection rationale. As with all RFT processes,
OSF may combine elements of submissions to create a con-
sistent, complete offering, and will make selections only
where suitable technology is available.
HOW TO SUBMIT
Send submissions to :
Open Software Foundation
ATTN: RFT Inquiries Desk
11 Cambridge Center
Cambridge, MA 02142
Questions concerning this RFT should be directed to:
Open Software Foundation
RFT Inquiries Desk
(617) 621-8733
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