Using the semantic Web to automate the operation of a hybrid internetwork

In hybrid internetworks, the plurality of service options and compositions poses several cross-layer operational challenges. The growing popularity of such internetworks among researchers and advanced users - many of which are grid users - warrants a complexity relief effort in support of the internetworks' continued scalability, all the way to planet scale. This paper proposes the use of semantic Web techniques to automate the processing of networking meta-data in a hybrid internetwork, with the two-fold outcome of raising the degree of confidence in the internetwork and lowering its operating costs. By virtue of latching onto the semantic Web curve, a new breed of power tools - bots, compilers, browsers - will be delivering on the aforementioned outcomes, while fully leveraging COTS and open source building blocks. Furthermore, the investment in the semantic Web is thought to future proof a hybrid internetwork and readies it for times when service metrics other than connectivity (e.g., resiliency, protocol transparency, security etc.) will be evaluated end-to-end. The approach appears to be applicable to the global lambda integrated facility (GLIF) as well as other advanced, experimental communities.