This SGER proposal investigates the application of research and development in network measurement and performance toward international network connectivity. The target environment for this applied research is the set of international network connections and paths established as part of the NSF International Research Network Connections program (IRNC). The investigation will: explore the feasibility of introducing Service Layer Agreements (SLAs) into future international connection services; investigate the possibility of developing a middleware service to address common data access across measurement domains; define a common baseline of uniform instrumentation and measurement capabilities across these connections; improve other award activities by providing guides and best practices in network measurement and performance; and enable new experiments in network measurement across a unique network environment.
