Computer networks in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania - Semantic Scholar

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based electronic mail and very restricted on-line access to permanently available network .... tizirovannykh Sistem (Russian Institute of Automated Systems), Moscow. .... Services. The only widespread net- work-based computer application for.
in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania Algirdas Pakstas, Norwegian Institute of Technology Sonata Pakstiene, Lithuanian Academy of Sciences

Although now independent from the erstwhile USSR, the Baltic states lag behind much of the computing world. Yet their connectivity is better than that of many former Soviet republics. September 1993

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espite the independence they won from the former Soviet Union early in this decade (see the sidebar “About the Baltic states”), Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania still reflect their past dependency on the old USSR in terms of information technology and electronic networking. Even today. most of the technology and hardware in the three Baltic republics continues to bear the “Made in USSR” imprint. Research into fields like cybernetics and genetics was previously discouraged as politically undesirable in the USSR. and in the Baltics as well. Hence, the only people in the Baltics who nowadays need such communications media as electronic networks are certain members of the academic and business communities. Industry and local banks still rely on old methods. using telegraph and telex equipment. A manager in the Baltics would consider the facsimile technology that has become commonplace in much of the industrialized world in the past several years to be the ultimate in technological achievement. But leaders in the Baltics are becoming acutely aware that, in today’s scientific world. computer networks accelerate the process of obtaining and exchanging research results and establishing useful contacts. Hence, they are working to establish a stable academicnetwork in the three states that links them with the rest of the computing world. Their goals are to connect researchers in various academies of science and universities to European networks by extending existing networking facilities (from dial-upbased electronic mail and very restricted on-line access to permanently available network services - for example, FTP. Telnet, Archie, Gopher, etc.); to provide permanent access to databases and information systems widely available elsewhere in the world; to integrate scientists into international projects; t o continue research in areas such as distributed computer systems, since international networks can provide a new technological basis for such work: and

About the Baltic states The Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, are situated along the shores of the Baltic Sea.’ They were ruled by their more powerful neighbors for two centuries before gaining their independence in 1918. However, during World War II, they were overrun by the Soviet Union. The USSR ruled the Baltics until its recent collapse. Lithuania ended a half century under Soviet rule on March t 1, 1990, when it reclaimed its independence. Estonia and Latvia followed suit the next year after the August 1991 coup in Moscow. Estonia, the northernmost of the three states, is bordered by the Gulf of Finland on the north, Russia on the east, the Baltic Sea on the west, and Latvia on the south. Made up of a mainland area and some 800 islands, Estonia covers about 17,400 square miles (45,100 ulation was estimated at 1,565,000 in 1989, with about two thirds of that figure. The capital city is Tallinn, with a population of some 484,000. Latvia lies east of the Baltic Sea, south of Estonia and the Gulf of Riga, west of Russia, and north of Belarus and Lithuania. It covers 24,600 square miles (63,700 square kilometers) and has a population of 2,680,000 (1989 estimate). More than half of its people are Latvians. Riga, with a population of 916,500, is the Latvian capital. Lithuania is bounded on the north by Latvia, on the east and southeast by Belarus, on the southwest by Poland and the Russian oblast of Kaliningradas Mazoji Lietuva or Eastern Prussia), and on the west of 25,200 square miles (65,200 square kilomeof 3,675,000 (1989 estimate). Ethnically, more eople are Lithuanians. Its capital is Vilnius, with a

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nce Book, Estonian Encyclopaedia PuMishers, Latvian Encynian Encyclopaedia Publishers, Talllnn-Riga-Vilnius, 1991.

t o support the transfer of expertise to the Baltic countries, thereby reducing the national expense of research programs. Business and banking would also benefit from such developments. Researchers have studied communication infrastructures, computer technologies and international research, and academic networking in industrial countries,’ in less industrialized countries* (includingcentral and eastern Europe3), and in the former USSR.4 A number of authors are continuing their research in these areas. International connectivity is growing at a rapid pace.’ Meanwhile, the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization has proposed networking guidelines.h This article reviews previous and c u r r e n t networking activity in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania7.* in 54

the hope of contributing t o future development.

Technologica1 background and early networking Despite major Soviet technological achievements in space research (such as the Sputnik launch in 1957, Yuri Gagarin’s flight in 1961, and automated vehicles intended t o reach the moon and other planets), most areas of computer science and technology in the erstwhile USSR lag far behind the West. Some areas of computer science theory are well developed, but the general level is low. For example, software engineering and object-oriented programming, based on knowledge gained on large projects and providing new programming tech-

nologies, are not yet studied at universities in the region. The reasons for this could make a fascinating subject for post-Communist sociological and economical studies and research. Our task here is to show some more-or-less typical examples.

Reasons for the current situation. Limited in capability, most of the firstand second-generation computers in the Baltic countries were developed by the Soviets. Some of this equipment was still in use recently (for example, the often-upgraded 56-bit-word-memory second-generation BESM-6). The thirdgeneration machines introduced in the West featured ICs rather than transistors, and standardized peripheral interfaces and operating systems (for instance, the IBM-360 under OS/360). When this class of equipment arrived on the world market, the Soviets were limited to copying the technology used by such companies as IBM, Digital Equipment, and Hewlett-Packard. In the 1970s, Eastern bloc countries -led by the Soviets -started producing EC-lOxx mainframes that were compatible with the IBM-360/370. In 1980, they began producing the CM-yyyyminis in two lines that were compatible with t h e D E C P D P - l l / V A X - l l andHP.The resultant time lag in production techniques meant that the minis the Soviets produced were about five to seven years behind those of western competitors, and the other “new” mainframe computers were about 10 years behind. Even today, the average Soviet computer center is equipped with technology that trails the rest of the computing domain by 10 years. The exceptions are the wealthier agencies (such as the Ministry of Geology) that have access to hard currency. These agencies were able to purchase more modern equipment, often via third countries in violation of regulations of the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Control (CoCom). With their heavy dependence on Soviet technology, the Baltic countries were in a similar situation. Baltic computer and electronics industry. The Vilnius Factory of Calculating Machines in the Lithuanian capital is the center of computer manufacturing in the Baltics. Opened in 1956, the factory originally produced electromechanical cash registers. It was upgraded in 1960t o produce card-punching equipCOMPUTER

ment and the EV-80 electronic calculator. New data processing devices followed each year, including the EASP-S electronic random process analyzer. the EVP 80-2 Ruta electronic computing punch. the RM-80 decoding device, and the Ruta 110 - the factory’s first generalpurpose electronic computer. The factory is now the headquarters of the Lithuanian industrial conglomerate Sigma. Formed in 1966, Sigma now comprises factories in Vilnius, Panevezys, Telsiai, Taurage, and Pabrade. plus two design centers in Vilnius. Initially required to supply the Soviet Union with equipment for processing statistical information, Sigma developed into a minicomputer vendor. Its most recent product is the supermini CM1700 that is compatible with the D E C VAX 111730.Sigma currently concentrates on manufacturing MicroVAX- and IBM PC-compatible computers and telecommunications equipment. Latvia is known for manufacturing radio sets, electronic and communication equipment, and telephones. The Vef factory in the capital city of Riga is a direct descendant of the Telefunken division that existed there until 1940. Companies called Venta in Vilnius and Nuklonas in Siauliai produce a n a log and digital ICs in Lithuania, as does Alfa in Riga, Latvia.

Computer science in academies and universities. The Baltics feature three kinds of research organizations: academies of science, universities, and industrial research institutes. The primary scientific research is concentrated in the academies of science. The Lithuanian Academy of Sciences was founded in 1940, and Latvian and Estonian science academies were founded in 1946. All three are modeled after the USSR Academy of Sciences, as were other such organizations in all Eastern European countries. Each Baltic academy has about 10 institutes that cover the primary sciences: physicalmathematical, biological-chemical. and social. Computer science is taught at the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics (MII) in Vilnius, the Institute of Electronics a n d C o m p u t e r Techniques (ESTI) in Riga, and the Institute of Cybernetics (KI) in Tallinn, Estonia. Computer science is offered at three of Estonia’s five institutes and universiSeptember 1993

ties, three of Latvia’s 10. and four of Lithuania’s 14. The campuses vary in age. For example, Vilnius University (VU) is the successor of the Jesuit Academy founded in 1579. The Latvian Universi-

ty in Riga was founded in 1919. And in 1990. Lithuania opened the new University of Klaipeda and reopened the Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, which had been closed during Soviet rule.

Related abbreviations and acronyms Academnet: Academy of Sciences network in the former USSR. CCITT: International Consultative Committee for Telephone and Telegraph. CEEC: Central and Eastern European Countries. CIS: Commonwealth of Independent States. DKEARN: Denmark’s main EARN node. EARN: European Association of Research Networks (European Bitnet). ESTI: Elektronikas un Skaitlosanas Tehnikas lnstituts, Latvijas Zinatnu Akademija, (Institute of Electronics and Computer Techniques), Riga, Latvia. Fidonet: Worldwide amateur network. FTP: File-transfer protocol. GPNTB: Gosudarstvennaya publichnaya nauchno-tekhnicheskayabiblioteka (Russian State Public Scientific-Technical Library). IASnet: Institute of Automated Systems network (Vsesoyuzny Nauchnolssledovatelsky lnstitut Prikladnykh Avtmotizirovannykh Sistem), Moscow. IP: Internet protocol. ISO: International Standards Organization. ITU: UN International Telecommunications Union. KI: Kuberneetika Instituut, Eesti Teaduste Akadeemia (Institute of Cybernetics), Tallinn, Estonia. KTU: Kaunas Technological University, Kaunas, Lithuania. Literanet: Lithuanian Electronic Research Academic Network. LTEARN: Name reserved for Lithuania’s main EARN node. MII: Matematikos ir lnformatikos Institutas, Lietuvos Mokslu Akademija (Institute of Mathematics and Informatics), Vilnius, Lithuania. MTA: Message transfer agent. NCAD: National Center for Access to Databases in Russia. NORDUNET: Networking program funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers (NMR). Administration of NORDUNET is hosted by the Swedish Institute for Computer Science. NORDUnet: International backbone that interconnects national networks in the Nordic countries: Denmark (DEnet), Finland (FUnet), Iceland (Suris), Norway (Uninett), and Sweden (SUnet). NSFnet: US National Science Foundation Network. PTN: Public telephone network. RARE: Reseaux Associes pour la Recherche (Association of European Networking Organizations). RIPE: Reseaux IP Europeens. Rlogin: Internet‘s remote log-in procedure. SUEARN: Russia’s main EARN node. SUnet: Swedish University Network. TCP: Transmission-control protocol. Telnet: Internet’s terminal emulation service. UNESCO: UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Uninett: Norwegian Universities Network. UUCP: Unix-Unix communication protocol. VINITI: Vsesoyuzny lnstitut Nauchnoy i Tekhnicheskoy lnformacii (Russian All-Union Institute of Scientific and Technical Information). VNIIPAS: Vsesoyuzny Nauchno-lssledovatelsky lnstitut Prikladnykh Avtmotizirovannykh Sistem (Russian Institute of Automated Systems), Moscow. WEP: Well-known Entry Point.

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Communication infrastructures in the Baltics. With dozens of digital switches and region-to-region lines, new wiring, and so forth, the public telephone network (PTN) in the Baltic countries is the most modern in all the onetime Soviet republics. In fact, the PTN in Lithuania was the pilot for Soviet telecommunication vendors. Most Baltic regions and villages are now accessible via Soviet-manufactured digital switching equipment called Kvarc, which lets users dial direct both nationally and internationally. This equipment is essential for development of modern computer networks. Before 1991, all international calls were routed through Moscow and were restricted to the countries of the old Warsaw Pact. For example, 14 international lines from Vilnius to Moscow served a population of 3.7 million. The rest of the world was technically accessible by direct dialing, but this was only permitted by PTN operators from authorized phone numbers. The Lithuanian PTN’s fax bureau in Vilnius featured this service. By comparison, in Moscow, direct worldwide dialing was only available at a specialized phone station. Hence, the only international phone calls that were allowed had to originate in certain districts or by special contracts. The quality of long-distance and international dial-up connections from Vilnius was acceptable, even for data communication. Calls to and from Poland were the exception because the lines between Poland and other countries were usually overloaded. I n October 1991, a satellite channel was established between Vilnius and Oslo, Norway; the antenna was on the roof of the Lithuanian Parliament building. This represented the beginning of reliable communication with western countries. Estonia started t o offer direct-dialing facilities t o the West in April 1992. I n Latvia, direct dialing is still available only at specially connected phones (in hotels and so forth), and hard currency must be used. However, a Latvian mobile phone network is now under development. The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), a UN agency, has assigned international phone code 370 to Lithuania, 371 to Latvia, and 372 to Estonia. The assignment and initiation of national numbering zones (area codes) 56

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within the Baltic countries was completed early this year. Because of the poor quality of phone lines, data communication via modem requires the use of equipment with Microcom Networking Protocol Level 5 (MNP-5) error-correction and adaptive real-time data compression facilities. In theory, MNP-5 yields 200 percent protocol efficiency, or 4,800 bit-per-second throughput in a 2,400-bps modem installation.

Network-based computer applications. Computer applications in the Baltics are similar t o those in the rest of the computing world. Typical fields include scientific calculations, office automation and business applications, manufacturing, real-time process control, home applications. and services. Scientific cnlculations. These are mostly concentrated in the academies of science and universities and are performed on IBM-360/370 mainframes. Remote access (via dial-up lines and modems) to large computer centers was established in the late 1980s in Lithuania between Kaunas and Vilnius. in Latvia within Riga, and in Estonia between Tartu and Tallinn. Office automation and hzipiness a p plications (banks, statistical bureaus, and accounting agencies). These are also performed on IBM-360/370 mainframes and, in recent years, on PCs. The three countries have begun developing an electronic fund-transfer system for state banks that meets the specifications of the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications.

Mnnzfactzrring (planning and production control). These applications are also performed on IBM-360/370 mainframes and, in recent years, on PCs. Networking is practically nonexistent. although some factories have PC-based local area networks. Real-time process control. This is done on mini- and microcomputers. Distributed computer control systems and flexible manufacturing systems have not been implemented because they are still too expensive compared with the cost of human labor.

H o m e npplications (games. text processing. and so forth). Home computer-

ization started in 1987 with computer games on Sinclair-Spectrum computers; these are now the most popular home computers. Since Zilog-80 microprocessors are the least expensive, some people have been able to create their own designs. The use of private modems and access to Worldwide Amateur Network (Fidonet) nodes is restricted to selected professionals.

Services. The only widespread network-based computer application for ordinary citizens involves the reservation of transportation tickets. The following ticket-reservation systems exist: Sirena. This Aeroflot (Soviet airlines) system used t o service domestic (previously, all main cities of the former USSR) flights on a minicomputer network with nodes in the main cities. The only current nodes in the Baltics are in Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. Sirena uses only USSR-manufactured components (computers, terminals, and modems). Since the airline companies in the Baltics are no longer part of the Aeroflot system, Sirena will have t o be modified, discontinued. or used only for international Baltic-Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) flights. Aeroflot also has a system that was purchased from a western firm and serves international flights with worldwide terminals. Express. This train-ticketing system runs on central mainframes in Moscow The only remote terminals are located in booking offices (for example, Vilnius has one such terminal). The system serves only long-distance trips via Moscow. General domestic train communication and timetable information is not yet computerized. The future of this system should be similar t o Sirena’s. Zntercity h r m s . Until April 1992. it was impossible t o book tickets for this mode of transportation via computer or t o obtain computerized information about bus routes and timetables. The first system for intercity buses was implemented in Vilnius (although it lacked network connections with other cities). There are no computerized shops or restaurant5 with bar-code readers or computeriied bill printing.

Shared PCs and workstations (386/ 486 processors or Sun equipment). These COMPUTER

are very scarce. In 1991, for example, the MI1 employed about 450 people but only 20 PCs; of the 20, only three or four had 386 processors. The number of PCs has doubled t o 40 for use by 200 people. The PCs are, in fact, not personal computers, but rather shared computers. Lithuania has no Sun or other non-PCcompatible Unix workstations. It was only in March 1992 that the K1 in Estonia received its first Sun-3, a secondhand workstation donated by the Finnish Division of Sun Microsystems. A similar donation was later delivered to Latvian University.

ter Lithuania proclaimed restoration of its independence in March 1990, access t o SFMT and western databases became difficult because IAS began to require payment in hard currency instead of “soft” rubles. The last messages to SchoolLink were transmitted in early May 1990. Access to databases via NCAD also was terminated.

Academnetexperience.TheAcademnet was developed in the 1980s, based on plans of the former USSR Academy of Sciences. X.25 protocols were the heart of the system. Academies of sciences in the Baltic republics, especially the ESTI in Riga, participated in the project. It entailed Networking during the organization of Soviet and internaSoviet rule tional conferences, and the publication of material about the Open Systems Access to western databases. The In- InterconnectioniInternational Stanstitute of Automated Systems (IAS or dardsorganization (0SIiISO)networkVNIIPAS, the Russian abbreviation) in ing model, international standards, and Moscow is well known both within the recotnmendationsof the CCITT, IEEE, old USSR and among foreign organiza- and so forth. ESTI developed LANs tions as a network service supplier. IAS between 1985and 1987, but they weren’t was recognized as the only organization widely used; there were about 10-15 providing such a service. installations outside ESTI. IAS computers were the center of During implementation, Academnet IASnet, an X.25-based network con- encountered typical Soviet-related nected to Europe by a 2,400-baud line problems; for instance, the limited techto Prague in the former Czechoslovakia nical capabilities of Soviet-manufactured and then to computers of Radio Austria computers (although they were usually PSS. Typically, they were set up to ac- compatible with IBM mainframes and cess western databases (Inspec, Com- D E C minis); a poor but expensive computer, and so forth). End users were municationinfrastructure;andpoor doconnected to this service by the Nation- mestic (USSR) databases accessible via a1 Center for Access t o Databases network. At M11, for example, an Academnet (NCAD) in Moscow and supported by IAS through three hundred 2.400-baud node was installed i n 1985-1986 based leased lines to remote terminals at dif- on a CM-1300 computer (similar to a ferent sites. D E C PDP 11) with hardware adapters I n 1986, under a contract between and software for packet switching acIAS and MII, a remote NCAD terminal cording to X.25 recommendations. Bewas established in Vilnius via 300-baud cause of the high cost of the leased line modem. A leased line from Vilnius to from Vilnius to Riga, the unreliable Moscow was used about 3-4 hours a operation ofback-end databases (mainly week. Sometimes, it was possible to ac- at VINITI and GPNTB), and limited cess the All-Union Institute of Scientif- end-user interest, this node was “froic and Technical Information (VINITI zen” after a short period of operation. in Russian) and the Russian State Pub- At that time, the term froren was used lic Scientific-Technical Library (GPN‘I’B t o describe the status of equipment that in Russian) databases in Moscow. was switched off with no indication of Via the IAS terminal and the San when or if it would go back into operaFrancisco-Moscow Teleport (SFMT) tion. This particular node was never channel, the first on-line connection with used again. a G T k node in the US was cstablished It is difficult to say what the current iii 1990. 1-hciuimectiuii ciidblcd Lithud state d Acadenitwt is. At any rate, it is nian children t o participate in the glo- safe to state that Academnet nodes are bal SchoolLink project sponsored by not ready for integration into other netG T E Education Services. However, af- work structures: Bitnet/EARN (Euro-

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pean Association of Research Networks), the Internet, and so forth.

Recent networking activity When Mikhail Gorbachev initiated perestroika in the USSR in 1985, the wall between the East and West was partially dismantled, paving the way toward creation of an open network between the two spheres.

Fidonet. Fidonet activity in the Baltics began in Tallinn in 1989-1990 because networking enthusiasts were able to find support from the Estonian PTN for a dial-up connection t o Helsinki, Finland. Tartu and Riga were the next cities connected to the network, and Lithuania joined it in the autumn of 1990. In December 1990, about 10 Fidonet nodes and points were operating in Tallinn, two were in Riga, and one, organized by the Technical Bureau of the Lithuanian Parliament, was in Vilnius. By November 1992, the number of Fidonet nodes and points in the Baltics had grown to nearly 265, with some 111 in Estonia, 100in Latvia, and 53 in Lithuania. They are distributed among seven cities in Estonia, 15 in Latvia, and six in Lithuania. Other regions of the onetime USSR (as of November 1992, about 10 - for example, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Kazakhstan) were alsoconnected to the Fidonet by the Tallinn-to-Helsinki channel. Relcom. I n August 1990, Moscow started the Relcom network supported by the I.V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy and the cooperative firm Demos.“ At the time, the IASnet link from Radio Austria PSS to Moscow was heavily overloaded. Further, the route priorities favored long messages, so that interactive links from academic sites with short mail messages experienced long delays - in some cases, weeks. As a result, the only solution for Relcom was to connect to the West via the Finnish Unix User Group node (fuug.fi) through dial-up lines from Moscow to Helsinki. 1his wassoinetiniespossible via the specialized phone station in Moscow. Today, it is possible to log interactively via Relcom into certain Russian com-

puters over academic nets from sites in Europe.

Latvia has two independent networks with gateways to the Internet:

Estonian networking activity.As mentioned above, Estonia played a pioneering role in Baltics networking because of its close relations with Finland (for example, through Fidonet activity). The Unix-Unix Communication Protocol (UUCP) e-mail connection to Finland, similar to the one provided by Relcom, was established at the end of 1990 by the KI. Today, three independent networks in Estonia have gateways to the Internet. Chronologically, they are

(1) UUCP-based network. A branch of Relcom, this network originates in Helsinki and reaches Riga via Moscow. Service is provided by two cooperative firms, Jet and Versia. It initially operated under the .lat.su subdomain. (2) Fidonet-based network. Started in 1991, this network is connected to the Internet via a gateway in Tallinn linked to Helsinki. In a sense, this network, sponsored by the Technical University of Riga, is designed for academic purposes. Its use is free.

(1) Fidonet-based network. This is connected to the Internet via a gateway in Helsinki. As of November 1992, Estonia had Fidonet nodes and points in Parnu, Polva, Rakvere, Saue, Tallinn, Tartu, and Tartumaa. In fact, some of the nodes in Tallinn serve as hubs for main Fidonet nodes located in the former USSR. (2) UUCP-based network. Connected to Helsinki, this initially operated under the .ew.su subdomain. UUCPbased nodes that belong to the Estonian Academy of Sciences are being connected to gateways provided by domestic Internet nodes, but not to those of foreign nodes. ( 3 ) Internet nodes. These are connected by leased lines to Helsinki and Stockholm, Sweden. Some of these nodes use secondhand Sun-3 computers that were donated to the Estonian Academy of Sciences by the Finnish division of Sun Microsystems. E-mail, Telnet, Rlogin, and FTP services are available.

Both networks have several dozen nodes and are reasonably stable. It takes a message an average of six hours t o get to the Internet and back. During the summer of 1992, there were 93 UUCP nodes (88in Riga and five in Daugavpils); about 100 Fidonet hosts in Latvia (located in Aizkraukle, Balvi, Daugavpils, Dobele, Iecava, Kraslava, Liepaja, Ramava, Rezekne, Riga, Salaspils, Sigulda, Talsi, Tukums, Ventspils) had e-mail connectivity. Leased telephone lines for the Internet connection between Riga and Helsinki-Stockholm are available for about $2,000-$3,000 per month, but no one is able to pay this price right now. The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm is implementing a 14.4-Kbaud link across the Baltic Sea, using a radio channel. The Swedish University Network has offered to pay for the link to Gotland island off Sweden and subsidize the Internet traffic. The European Unix Network, a complex connecting all former USSR UUCP network nodes (including its branch in Riga) via Helsinki, has offered to provide a free connection for Latvia if a link to Scandinavia or The Netherlands is established. Some experimental connections have been in existence from Riga to the Internet via the KI node since October 1992. This connection uses KA9Q software on a 486-based PC and a leased line to Tallinn. Unfortunately, the line hasn’t been totally satisfactory because of its limited speed (2,400 bps) and a lack of local infrastructure to connect all possible users. KA9Q is the usual name of the MS-DOS executable net.exe software implementing the Transmission-Control ProtocollInternet Protocol (TCPIIP), NetlROM, and AX.25

In addition, Estonia is an active participant in the Baltbone project (see the description below) and works in close cooperation with NORDUnet to set up external Internet links.

Latvian networking activity. Data communication between Latvia and the rest of the computing realm began in the fall of 1990 when the first Latvian e-mail message was sent via dial-up connection to Switzerland. Latvia developed its network much as Estonia did. Unfortunately, the Institute of Electronics and Computer Systems of the Latvian Academy of Sciences, which took the leading role during Academnet development, did not assume a similar role in later years.

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facilities. (KA9Q are the amateur radio call letters of Phil Karn, the initial author of this package of amateur radio software.) Latvia also participates in the Baltbone project. Deutsches Forschungs Netz (DFN) sponsors another project that started in November 1992 and entails building links between the University of Latvia and the Technical University of Riga. Connecting t h e two institutes to DFN via a 64-Kbaud X.25 line is being considered. The University of Latvia is coordinating this project. Other initiatives are under way (including an application to the Sorros fund), although none has yet received financing. The University of Latvia established a coordinating committee for networking in November 1992. X.25 services are available from the publicX.25 network Latpak and Sprint.

Lithuanian networking activity. Lithuania began searching for ways to establish international connectivity in the spring of 1990. At the time, only two options seemed feasible: (1)the UUCP connection requiring PCs under MSDOS/Unix or (2) the BitnetlEARN connection requiring IBM-compatible mainframes.

Internet and UUCP. The MI1 Department of Software Engineering for Distributed Computer Systems established the first Internet-addressed e-mail node in Lithuania (ma-mii.1t.m) in January 1991, shortly after obtaining a 2,400baud MNP-5 modem (Viva 2400). The Lithuanians investigated whether to establish the UUCP connection via Relcom in Moscow, KI in Tallinn, or through Poland or the former Czechoslovakia. At the time, it was possible to dial directly from Vilnius only to Poland, Czechoslovakia, the former East Germany, and Bulgaria; however, information about established network nodes in the latter three countries was not available. After testing communication lines to Poland and Tallinn, the Lithuanians decided to set up a UUCP e-mail node hosted by an IBM/PC-compatible computer connected to Relcom. During the summer of 1992, the node ma-mii.lt.su was transformed t o sedcs.mii2.k. Those using the node are primarily from academic and research organizations, not only at MI1 but also COMPUTER

at several institutes of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, the Center of Informatics and Forecasting of the Ministry of Culture and Education. and the Department of Mathematics of Vilnius University. The Literanet project, designed to extend existing UUCP facilities and link all Lithuanian UUCP nodes. has been implemented. UUCP connectivity is also provided by several commercial organizations linked t o Relcom. They are companies like Aiva, Elnet, andTipas. serving about 70 nodes in Vilnius: Lira, serving about 20 nodes in Kaunas: and Mes. serving about 10 nodes in Klaipeda. Bitner/EARN. E A R N provided BitnetiEARN connectivity between Lithuania and Russia. The plan was to establish an LTEARN node in Vilnius using an IBM-compatible mainframe connected by leased line to the SUEARN node in the N.D. Zelinski Institute of Organic Chemistry at the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Connection between the S U E A R N node and the E A R N network was planned via DKEARN in Denmark. Currently. certain academic organizations and centers in or near Moscow are connected to SUEARN. (The now outdated SU prefix is jokingly described as “Such Useful EARN.”) Lithuania applied for and received E A R N membership in 1991. However, the LTEARN node operated for only a week in October 1991 before it was shut down; the necessary IBM-compatible mainframes were simply too expensive, so implementation of the project is on hold. Latvia and Estonia haven’t expressed an interest in becoming E A R N members or establishing BitnetiEARN nodes. But this might change since the six computers donated by IBM t o two universities in each Baltic country have been installed and are operating.

X.400. Part of a project supported by the Lithuania-Norway Association. the X.400 installation usedNorsk Data miniand superminicomputers transported to Lithuania and installed at academic institutions and universities. An X.400 message transfer agent (MTA) has been in operation at the Skailab (a former MI1 department) since October 10, 1991.’ The first X.400 MTA is running on an ND-570iCX 32-bit minicomputer unSeptember 1993

X.400 and European functional profiles The IS0 and CCITT have developed electronic messaging standards that reflect non-plain ASCII requirements important for Europe. X.400: A set of standards from the I S 0 and CCITT that describe a mail service implemented by MTA.’ The only nonproprietary standard for interchange of electronic mail that has the sanction of an official standards body, it exists in three flavors: X.400184, Standard I S 0 Motis186, and X.400188. X.400 describes a message as consisting of an “envelope” and “contents.” The contents consist of a header and one or more “body parts.” Each body part can be marked as a specific type. X.400 defines several “body part types,” including IA5 text (ASCII), GSFax, Teletex document, and “bilaterally defined.” I S 0 Motis186 has also added IS06937 text. Notis-Mail: This product of Norsk Data, called OS1 X.400 Mail since May 1992, has some key features from I S 0 Motid86 and conforms to European functional profiles. Notis-Mail implements automatic conversion between the body part types it supports:

ND Text -> ISO, Teletex, or IA5. ISOiTeletex -> IA5 or ND Text. Conversion is controlled by information the system supervisor enters into the directory about other X.400 systems with which a site desires to communicate. The main facilities are X.400 mail service. An integrated directory service, based on a 1986 draft of the X.500 standards.2 Unfortunately, X.500 changed a lot from the 1986 draft before it was approved. The Notis-Mail directory does not work with other implementations. It is possible to put information about people (including phone number, postal address, X.400 address, etc.) into the Notis-Mail directory and exchange batches of directory entries between Notis-Mail directories. X.29 PAD (Packet Assembler/Disassembler) service is provided into and out of the ND-570 computer. Teletex document: A body part of X.400, this should be a sequence of T.61 strings, where each T.61 string encodes one page of a Teletex document. T.61 is the CCITT recommendation that defines the character set used by the Teletex service. An 8-bit extension of ASCII, it uses nonspacing accent characters, so it can support all letters in use in European languages that use the Latin alphabet (including Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian).

IS0 6937: Unlike the Teletex body part, which is defined to contain a formatted and paginated document, this is text only; that is, IS0 6937 is ISO’s version of T.61 with a few extra characters defined. References 1. J. Onions, “Components of OSI: X.400 Message Handling System,” ConneXions, May 1989,Vol. 3, NO. 5, pp. 2-8. 2. S.Benford, “Components of OSI: X.500 Directory Services,” ConneXions, June 1989, Vol. 3, NO.6, pp. 2-9.

der a Sintran operating system that a Norwegian organization lent to the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences for an unspecified period. It has 30 Mbytes of main memory and 900 Mbytes of disk storage. The computer is connected to Datapak. the Norwegian public X.25 data network, via a 64-Kbaud circuit through an X.25 switch in Vilnius. Previously. a 9.6-Kbaud circuit multiplexed

with several voice channels was connected to a 64-Kbaud satellite channel from the Lithuanian Parliament to the Norwegian PTN. Currently. outgoing X.25 calls from Vilnius are restricted to Norwegian X.25 addresses. Uninett. the Norwegian Universities Network. provides message forwarding to the international research and development message-handling system network (X.400) and to UUCP, the Inter-

59

Table 1. Domains and responsible organizations.

1

Domain

Organization

Domain Name Server ~

~~

~

~~

.ee

Institute of Chemical, Physical, and Biophysics of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Tallinn

uvax2.kbfi.ee sunicsunetse ns.eu.net ns.uu.net

.It

Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius

aun.uninett.no hydra.helsinki.fi sunic.sunet.se ns.eu.net ns.uu.net

.lv

Academy Network of Latvian Universities, Riga

1apsene.mii.lu.lv sunicsunet .se ns.eu.net ns.uu.net

I

Table 2. National research and educational networks. Network

Organization

IP NumbedClass

Estnet (Estonian Research and Education Network)

Institute of Cybernetics of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Tallinn

192.98.49.0/B

Literanet (Lithuanian Electronic Research Academic Network)

Institute of Mathematics and Informatics of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius

158.129.0.0/B

LVnet

Academic Network of Latvian Universities, Riga

159.148.0.01B

net, and Bitnet/EARN; unfortunately, Notis-Mail (see the “X.400 and European functional profiles” sidebar) does not provide access to other e-mail protocols (for example, UUCP or simple mail-transfer protocol). Today, X.400 sites are in operation via dial-in modems at Skailab and Kaunas Technological University (KTU). Both installations primarily serve their own user communities, although the Skailab installation also serves users from a number of organizations. Skailab was the only gateway to Uninett until October 1992 when an alternative one was set up at KTU. The X.500 directories at VU and KTU are based on the original MI1 directory, but there are no regular updates between these sites at present. Commercial activity is provided by Taide, a company that is trying to establish a commercial e-mail service with X.400 links to commercial services (for

60

example, Telemax, BT, and MCI Mail) in other countries. FTP servers and other on-line resources are only available via corresponding mail servers. Hence, the X.400 node e-mail traffic is very heavy; in October 1992 alone, incoming traffic reached more than 30 Mbytes. As a result, the X.400 network is primarily used for mailing messages.

Network Information Center Defense Data Network issued registered country top-level domains to the Baltic states: .ee for Estonia, .It for Lithuania, and .lv for Latvia (see Table 1). Table 2 shows the national research and education networks that were established and received IP numbers in 1992, and Table 3 shows the international connectivity of the Baltic countries, their nearest neighbors, and other c o ~ n t r i e s . ~ Compared with other former USSR republics, the Baltic countries feature better-than-average connectivity. Only recently did Russia establish experimental TCP/IP connectivity. Among the CIS countries, Ukraine is the only one with a registered country top-level domain: .ua. Belarus has its own domain - .by - but it is only visible inside the Relcom network and is not registered by the Internet. Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Slovak Republic have been involved in the Phare project supported by the European Community. The Baltics began participating in Phare this year. It is hard to say precisely how many current network users there are in the Baltics, because many organizations use collective e-mail accounts; but there are about 900 in Estonia, 1,200 in Latvia and 1,800 in Lithuania. International traffic in the Baltics passes free of charge. NORDUnet pays for the InternetlBitnet gateways. UUCP nodes connected to Relcom have separate contracts and are billed according to the value of the traffic. The use of dial-up lines is also billed by local Baltic PTNs.

Fidonet. During 1991-1992, the number of Fidonet nodes and points in Lithuania climbed to 53. By November 1992, there were 29 in Kaunas, 14 in Vilnius, seven in Siauliai, and one each in Klaipeda, Silute, and Marijampole. The number of operating Fidonet nodes and points is now declining because active users have begun switching to more reliable commercial UUCP services.

E-mail-based distribution lists and Usenet news groups. E-mail is an essential media for creating subject-oriented mailing lists, which are a useful form of interaction between widely scattered researchers. The creation of such lists is the first step toward integration. Although networking activity in the Baltics is under development, there still aren’t many operating nodes that can support list servers or mailing lists. Thus, existing international lists are based on l i d m a i l servers located outside the Baltics (see Table 4). In addition, a certain number of local mailing lists were established recently in Estonia, with postings in Estonian.

Internationalconnectivity in the Baltics. On June 3, 1992, the Internet’s

Balt-L mailing list. Started in June 1990 and transported via Fidonet, the COMPUTER

Balt-L electronic newspaper is devoted to communications with and about the Baltics. The service intends to advance Baltic networking even further by establishing the basic links to permit electronic communications and by setting up a network of people who collaborate on matters of common interest. One of the main purposes of Balt-L is to foster practical projects. The list has an administrator, and it broadcast its 3,000th message on November 24,1992. A news group, soc.cult.baltics, was split off from Balt-L in March 1993. Accessible via Usenet, it will operate without an administrator.

Table 3. International connectivity of the Baltics, nearest neighbors, and certain other countries. Region

Connectivity* Domain

Registered** Country

Baltic countries

-1UF- -UFO -1UF-

.ee .It .Iv

Yes Yes Yes

Estonia Lithuania Latvia

Commonwealth of Independent States (Former USSR, under .su domain)

- .U- . - -U- -

.am .az .by .kg .kz .ru

No No No No No No

- -UF- -UF-

.tj .tm .ua .uz

No No Yes No

Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Kyrgyzstan Kazakhstan Russian Federation Tajikistan Turkmenistan Ukraine Uzbekistan

- -UF- -UF-

.ge .md

Yes No

Georgia Moldova

-UfBiUF-

-

- -U-- -U- -

NordBalt mailing list. NordBalt was established January 16,1992, for information exchange on Nordic-Baltic data communication activities. NordBalt is primarily designed for use in the Baltic region, but other European countries and former USSR entities are welcome to use it. The coexistent news group nordunet.dcom.baltics is the first such group totally devoted to serving the Baltic region.

Non-CIS republics (Former USSR, under .su domain) Central and Eastern Europe (without the former Yugoslavia)

CEECmailing list. Established in the summer of 1992, the Central and Eastern European Countries (CEEC) list is designed to coordinate the connectivity activities of eastern European countries. The list is supported by the Association of European Networking Organizations (RARE).

Certain lessindustrialized countries

Nordic countries

X.400 traffic statistics. Figures 1 and 2 show the statistics on X.400 traffic based on data compiled by H.T. Alves-

- -U- -

.a1

biUFBIUF-

JJg .cz

Yes Yes Yes

BIUFo BIUFB- -fbIUF-

.hu .PI .ro .sk

Yes Yes Yes Yes

Albania Bulgaria Czech Republic Hungary Poland Romania Slovakia

- -ufO - -U- -

_____

.cn .cu .kh .kP .la .mn .vn

Yes Yes No No No No No

China Cuba Cambodia North Korea Laos Mongolia Vietnam

bIUFo BIUFO -1UFBIUFO BIUFo

.dk .fi .is .no .se

Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes

Denmark Finland Iceland Norway Sweden

_____ _____ _____ - -U--

Traffic statistics In this section, we compare available traffic statistics for one academic UUCP node with the total traffic of the Lithuanian X.400 nodes. Estonia’s Internet traffic figures are not included here because they are unavailable.

- -UF- -U- -

* Legend: Minimal means < 5 domestic sites, and widespread means 2 5 domestic sites: (1) Bitnet/EARN links (b = minimal, B = widespread); (2) Internet links (i = soon available, I = operational); (3) UUCP links (U = minimal, U = widespread): (4) Fidonet links (f = minimal. F = widemread): (5) Networks offering X.400 services thai are connected to the Global Multiprotocol Open Internet (0= minimal, 0 =widespread). ** By the Internet.

Table 4. Baltics-oriented mailing lists and list servers. Mailing List

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

September 1993

Subscribers 498

List Server/Mail Server

OwnerlModerator

[email protected]

[email protected]

70

[email protected]

[email protected]

58

[email protected]

[email protected]

61

L30

n

r

r

- 20 4

- 10 .......

“ b

Sep. Oct. arch April May June July Au 992 1992 1992 1992 1992 1982 1992 1992

Figure 1. Traffic statistics for Lithuanian X.400 nodes. Incoming traffic and outgoing traffic are shown above and below the dashed lines, respectively.

p

12 10 0,

E

................. ......... .........

$8,gi

k

July Auk 1992 l Q 2 1

Figure 2. Message-size statistics of Lithuanian X.400 nodes. Incoming traffic and outgoing traffic are shown above and below the dashed lines, respectively.

trand of Uninett from October 1991 to October 1992. The statistics deal with communication between the Norwegian Well-known Entry Point and a WEP called Emilie, a Lithuanian superminicomputer gateway for all X.400 nodes in the Baltics. After network operation stabilized in February 1992, outgoing messages averaged about 1.5-2 Kbytes and incoming messages averaged about 5-6 Kbytes. During the 13-month period, 28,279 messages, or an average of 2,175.3 per month, were transmitted. Of that total, 9,957 were outgoing messages, for an average of 765.9 per month, and 18,322 were incoming messages, for an average of 1,409.4. The ratio of outgoing messages to incoming messages was 1 to 1.84.

UUCP node traffic statistics. These statistics were based on data compiled 62

on the PC/XT node in Vilnius and the Relcom UUCP server in Moscow in January and February 1992, after a year of operation. One dial-up line providing a UUCPconnection operates at 2,400 bps over an MNP-5 modem. The type of connection (leased line or dial-up) wasn’t significant, according to the data in Table 5. The service provider wasn’t able to furnish us with data about the ratio of UUCP incoming to outgoing traffic, but we believe it was about the same as for the X.400 traffic -that is, about 1:1.84. Studying the statistics of the two systems in February 1992 shows that the traffic of one UUCP node can exceed the traffic of an entire X.400 network. For instance, during the month, one UUCP node recorded 1,079 outgoing messages and 1,984 incoming messages for a total of 3,063. By comparison, the X.400 node recorded 1,252 outgoing

messages and 1,256 incoming messages for a total of 2,508. Measured in Kbytes, the volume of traffic for the month was comparable: 7,235.3 for the UUCP node, and 1,851 + 6,823 = 8,674 for the X.400 nodes. Foreign traffic was the main part of the academic UUCP-node traffic. This might be different for certain business organizations (commodity exchanges). From this, we can conclude that high prices for long-distance calls put more direct pressure on the structure of dialup-connected UUCP node traffic (that is, fewer long mail-server messages and more short person-to-person messages) than does equivalent bandwidth (2,400 bps).

Baltbone project outlook Europe is rapidly moving toward widespread use of IP communication protocols, and Eastern Europe would be well advised to follow the trend. Reseaux IP Europeens (RIPE), a collaborative organization open to all European Internet service providers, intends to ensure the necessary administrative and technical coordination to bring about a panEuropean IP network. RIPE does not operate a network of its own; however, since it was established in 1989, it has conducted the IP activity of RARE. More than 60 organizations participate in RIPE’S work. Bitnet/EARN can operate over the IP. The cost of IP is very low, since a wealth of free software is accessible, and PC-based routers are cheap and adequate for modest performance pending funding to buy expensive and technically superior dedicated routers (for example, Cisco Systems). Because the opportunity to set up an IP network came late to Eastern European countries, as it did to the UK, they can design it carefully and not end up with a rat’s nest of connections. Baltbone is a joint project of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania designed to build a TCP/IP network backbone (preferably with 64 Kbaud).

Topology and available channels. When fully operational, Baltbone will connect Tallinn, Tartu, Riga, Vilnius, and Kaunas, and will be linked via the Tallinn-Helsinki channel to NORDUCOMPUTER

net'" and the rest of the computing arena (see Figure 3). An alternative for Lithuania might be a connection to Poland's research and academic computer network nodes in Warsaw or Bialystok. Channels already available are * a digital 34-Mbps microwave link between Tallinn and Helsinki; * a 64-Kbps satellite link between Stockholm and Tallinn and between Stockholm and Tartu; a 64-Kbps channel between Tallinn and Tartu, built by grouping 12 analog voice channels; and a digital 64-Kbps link between Vilnius and Kaunas (starting with X.25 protocols). The next Baltbone challenge will be to connect Vilnius, Riga, and Tallinn.

Routers, nodes, and software. The project plans to use routers from Cisco Systems as soon CoCom issues an export licence. Point-to-point Protocol (PPP) software" already runs on a Sun 3/80 in Tallinn. Until leased lines became available, countries with communications limitations could use the TCPlIP as an affordable way to obtain dial-up connections. This was discussed at a RIPE meeting at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics in October 1991. RIPE recommended using IBM PC-based12 routers through two possibilities: PCRoute and the aforementioned KA9Q. PCRoute uses MS-DOS software to convert PCs into dedicated TCP/IP routers. Both options would be slow and relatively expensive, but could provide immediate connections to transmit a sizeable amount of e-mail. When a leased line becomes available, the same equipment can be used for lines up to 64 Kbaud.

Table 5. Tvpical traffic of academic UUCP node.

1

Month

Traffic

Messages

Kb ytes

January 1992

Full Foreign Region Relcom News-Relcom Service

2,267 2,241 3 2 3 18

4,867.1 4,801.1 3.9 1.5 2.7 58.0

February 1992

Full Foreign Region Relcom News-Relcom Service

3,063 2,946 8 3 85 21

7,235.3 6,855.6 34.2 3.3 265.4 76.8

forts in PTNs and among politicians and users, the council voted to allocate 2.5 million Danish kroner (or about $360,000 in US dollars) in January 1993 to extend Baltic-NORDUnet networking infrastructures. The council also allocated 150,000 Danish kroner to conduct a networking workshop for the Baltic countries; it was held in April 1993 at Latvian University. The NORDUnet staff is lending the Baltic countries its expertise, but an

even more systematic approach will be necessary to maximize their efforts.

U N E S C O support. UNESCO has granted $100,000 for routers and other hardware to connect the national Baltic networks to the Baltic backbone networking infrastructure and another $36,000 for network use in the distance education project in Lithuania. NSF support. The NSF will sponsor research and academic networks to con-

-111111111

Operating links Experimental links Planned links

land

9

Funding and political support. The Nordic Council of Ministers, UNESCO, and the US National Science Foundation have contributed financial support to the Baltics' networking efforts. Nordic initiatives. NORDUNET program coordinators applied to the Nordic Council of Ministers to establish Baltic-NORDUnet connectivity and to support research and development in Baltic networking efforts. The council turned down one application in October, 1991, but following lobbying ef-

September 1993

Germany

Berlin 0

Poland

-.y

E

0

Minsk

*.e*

Warsaw a*

Belarus

Figure 3. Baltbone's operating, experimental, and planned links. 63

nect the Baltic states with Internet’s Network Information Center and include them in the NSFnet routing database. NSF’s decision was based on a June 5 , 1992, memorandum from the US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Export Administration, stating that Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania were being granted the same networking status as Poland and the former Czechoslovakia.

he status of networking in the Baltic countries is moderately satisfactory, since the main research and education centers there now have access t o e-mail and some (in Estonia and Latvia) have Internet on-line services (FTP, Telnet, and Rlogin). But the only entities with current access to fast, reliable networks are certain business organizations (commodity exchanges) and academic organizations - although networks aren’t yet being used for direct educational purposes. Banks are also fast becoming interested in networking. Daniel Pimenta’ states that dial-up UUCP is a more affordable solution for less industrialized countries than Bitnet/EARN or TCP/IP, and we agree. High prices for long-distance calls constrain dial-up-connected UUCP nodes more than the availability of leased lines or their bandwidths. The principal reason for the current situation is the shortage of statewide development programs. All the progress we’ve mentioned is based more on the enthusiasm of the people in the Baltics than on any other factor. We anticipate that genuine network administrative problems will arise when networks become as common in the Baltics as they are in other countries. Finally, we believe that special educational programs for the personnel of newly established networks, and popularpublications for end users about available on-line resources, are urgently needed -perhaps even more than hardware and software donations.

tives from t h e three Baltic countries a s well as from Norway and Sweden. T h e representatives include Mikhail Matskin and Ants Work of t h e Institute of Cybernetics of the Estonian Academy of Sciences. Tallinn: Guntis Barzdins, Institute of Mathematics and Computer Science, Latvian University, Riga: Harry Bush, Riga. Latvia: Peter V m lien. N D ServiceTeam AS, Trondheim. Norway; Harald Tveit Alvestrand and Hdvard Eidnes, SintefiDelab, Trondheim. Norway: a n d Mats Brunell. Swedish Institute for Computer Science. W e are also grateful to Reidar Conradi of the Norwegian Institute of Technology. Department of Computer Systems and Telematics. Trondheim. Norway, for reviewing the article and for his useful discussions. We used the comments of the anonymous reviewers as guidelines for the final revision of the article.

References 1. J.S. Quaterman, The Matrix: Compiiter Networks and Conferencing Systenis Worldwide. Digital Press. Bedford, Mass., 1990. 2. D. Pimenta, Research Networks in Developing Countries: Not Exactly the Same Story! R E D A L C Project. Union Latina, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, Oct. 1Y92. 3. Z.J. Pasek. Eastern Europerrn Listof Electronic Computer-Accessible Resources, Version 3.1. Univ. of Michigan, A n n Arbor. Mich.. Aug. 1992. 4. B. Travica and M. Hogan, “Computer Networks in the Ex-USSR: Technology. Users. and Social Effects,” in A S I S 92, Proc. 55th Meeting Ani. Soc. f o r Informutiori Science. D . Shaw, ed., Learned Information, Medford. N.J.. 1992, pp. 120135.

11. R . Hobby, “The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP),” ConneXions, A p r . 1990, Vo1.4, No. 4, pp. 16-20. 12. C . Partridge, “Issues in Dial-Up I P Service,” ConneXions, Nov. 1989, Vol. 3. No. 11. pp. 4-5.

Algirdas Pakstas has been a postdoctoral research fellow a t the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim, Norway, since 1991. Previously, he served as a senior member of the scientific staff and head of t h e Software Engineering for Distributed Computer Systems G r o u p a t the Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius. Lithuania. H i s research interests are distributed systems. with an emphasis on software engineering, programming environments. a n d formal methods for CASE-like tools. With a focus on radiophysics and electronics. Pakstas graduated from Irkutsk State Universityin the former U S S R i n 1980. H e is a member of the I E E E and the I E E E Communications Society.

5. L. Landweber, Int’l Connectivity, Version 8. Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, Wis.. Apr. 1993. 6. Guidelines f o r a Computer Network Interconnection of the African Countries, UNESCO, IIP Program, 1992.

I . A . Pakstas a n d S. Pakstiene, “ I T in the Baltic States.” Computer Bulletin. Vol. 4. Part 3, JuneiJuly 1992, pp. 18-20.

Acknowledgments

8. A . Pakstas and S . Pakstiene, “Networking in Baltic Countries: Current Developments,” IPCCC 93, Proc. 12th I E E E Int’l Phoenix C o n f . Computers und Conin?.. I E E E CS Press, Los Alamitos, Calif., O r d e r No. 3800,1993, pp. 461-467.

This work was partially funded by the Royal Norwegian Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. It would have been impossible t o prepare this article without the help of representa-

9. P. Varlien. Report o n the X.400 Installation ai the Institute of Mathmicitics and Informutic., in Vilnius, Lithuania, N D ServiceTeam AS. Trondheim, Norway, 1991.

64

10. M. Brunell and E. Loevdal, “ N O R D U N E T and the N O R D U n e t , ” in User’s Directory of Computer Networks, T.L. LaQuey, ed., Digital Press, Bedford, Mass., 1990. pp. 239-241.

Sonata Pakstienehas been with t h e Institute ofMathematics a n d h f o r m a t i c s a t theLithuanian Academy of Sciences in Vilnius. Lithuania. since 1990. She serves as a junior memb e r of t h e scientific staff. H e r research interests are computer networks and distributed systems, including simulation and organization of message-handling systems. Pakstiene is a 1990 graduate in applied mathematics from the Kaunas Polytechnic Institute in Lithuania. Readers can contact the authors a t t h e Lithuanian Academy of Sciences. Institute o f Mathematics and Informatics, Akademijos 4, LT-2600, Vilnius, Lithuania, e-mail [email protected] o r (a.pakstas, sonata] @sedcs.mii2.lt.

COMPU I’EK