IN THIS ISSUE:

• Letter From the President, Roger Ward
• TC Chair's Notebook, Avri Doria
• Approaching GMI 2004, Brian Tolly
• MSF News
• Q404 Technical Committee Meeting Information
• Contact Us

We wrap Q304 on a high note with a truly great and productive meeting in Copenhagen. With both GMI 2004 and the planning for MSF 2005/6 well advanced, our recent Copenhagen meeting program was incredibly full - so full in fact, that it was necessary to have late evening sessions scheduled to run up until 8.00 p.m. so that we could get through all the contributions!

Having seen GMI 2004 in the planning for over 18 months, it is of course a pleasure to see all the hard work in planning now coming to fruition. GMI 2002 was very successful, but GMI 2004 marks a significant raising of the game.

Everything about GMI 2004 is on a scale greater than the industry has seen before:

• the 4 globally connected major host sites in the UK, US, Japan and Korea
• the work put into the writing, refining and completion of some 21 IA's highly relevant to the specification and procurement of multi-service, multi-vendor, next generation networks
• the planning of the unique QoS-enabled global MPLS test network between host sites
• the writing in excess of 45 test specifications
• the execution of 5 carrier-significant test scenarios

All of this underscores the major achievement that is the MSF, a success of course made only possible by the excellent working relationships that have been formed over the years between MSF members - both carriers and vendors, working in the industry in Asia, Europe and North America.

Meeting Highlights
For me, I shall remember this meeting for three major achievements.

• Substantial progress in delivering our 2003/4 technical program with its culmination in GMI2004 in October 2004.
• Determination to see the opportunities beyond our immediate commitments and start work on defining a meaningful 2005/6 technical program.
• Continuing to impact the industry and attract new members.

GMI 2004
This event will demonstrate the viability of fully featured carrier-grade PSTN voice as one of a number of applications on an IP over MPLS core in a multi-vendor environment. In addition, testing will be extended at the NTT site to include multi-vendor interoperability of IP V6 and video services. There has been great interest within the industry in GMI 2004, and contractually committed registration stands at 42 paid slots: BT (16); KT (9); NTT (7); Qwest (10).

A late addition to the program is the inclusion of IPv6/IPv4 interworking tests between NTT and the UNH IPv6 "Moon" program interoperability lab. That NTT has been able to include multi-vendor interoperability of IPv6 and video services is but one good example of how the collaborative nature of the MSF is able to help individual members achieve more than they originally imagined.

MSF 2004/6 Strategy
As well as all the immediate activity around GMI 2004, Copenhagen was also significant for the time the MSF Board and TC leadership took out to move forward our strategic planning for what comes next and the development of a viable program to run well into 2005/6.

In a half day workshop held the Monday prior to the start of the technical meeting, the Board and TC leadership in reviewing MSF strengths and the opportunities presented by the industry, determined that the future program would need to focus on two major areas:

• Increased depth and breadth
  
  With QoS enabled VoIP service deployment becoming a reality, the MSF must ensure that it continues to focus on those areas that are critical to the industry and where it is likely to have critical mass in its ability to deliver significant progress
  
  
• Industrial strength/deployment
  
  With the progress towards GMI 2004, it is important to remember that there is now a vast quantity of MSF IA's that will have to be updated following the lessons learnt from the testing in October.

Looking at the new work, the following key addressable industry themes were identified as most likely to be a productive focus in going forward:

• Development of multiservice network to embrace (NGN) Fixed/Mobile convergence
• NGN Service Assurance
• Service Architecture

Of course, in a contribution driven forum such as the MSF, it is important to take into account membership views. The process of consultation was begun with a 2 hour plenary session on the Wednesday of the Copenhagen meeting. However, we still need to get much more detail into the program and the TC will address this by the usual "MSF White Paper" process, with the initial discussion slated for our next meeting in Atlanta meeting.

Impacting the Industry - New Members
It is always a pleasure to welcome new members. This meeting was the first for:

• Acme Packet
• Mitsubishi Electric
• Xener Systems

We hope you will all benefit from your membership in the MSF and that you will be active participants in leading our work program, which is focused on the real challenges facing our industry as we go forward through GMI 2004 and beyond!

And Finally...
I have written rather more than usual, but as I said - there is so much going on! Do remember that in a forum as diverse as the MSF, good communication is everything. So please forward this and other information about the MSF to anybody in your company who might benefit from getting more involved in our work. As they say, if you like what we do, tell your friends - if there are things we could do better, tell me!

I look forward to a successful GMI 2004 October 4 - 16th, and seeing you all in Atlanta November 16 - 18th, 2004. Remember, this will be a really important meeting as it will be our first opportunity to meet face to face to discuss the results from GMI 2004 and also to build the detail of our 2005/6 program!

Roger Ward - MSF President, BT
London, UK

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It has been several weeks since the Copenhagen meeting and looking back on it, it is clear that it was the start of an intense effort to prepare for the GMI 2004 event and for the start of 2005/2006 activities. A large amount of work was completed during the meeting, and the effort has continued unabated since the meeting. This was no time for an after meeting lull, and there has not been one. The effort people are putting into getting the work done is truly impressive.

GMI 2004
The Copenhagen meeting was occupied largely with finalizing Implementation Agreements and with the effort to resolve straw ballot comments. Nine sets of straw ballot comments were completed and will soon be sent out for final ballot. Since the meeting six IAs have been sent out for straw ballot with more on way.

In the Interoperability WG, the test plan organization was updated, with the addition of one test scenario for the underlying MPLS network and one test scenario for IPv6 being added to the previously defined test scenario set. Since the meeting three of the aggregated test scenarios have been sent to straw ballot with the other three soon to be sent.

One obvious result of all this progress is pressure on the membership to review and comment of the documents to make sure that they meet the needs of the MSF. You can expect the flow of documents to continue unabated for several more weeks, please help us by doing prompt reviews.

GMI and IPv6
At the Toronto meeting it became obvious that a number for MSF members wanted to add IPv6 functionality to GMI 2004. As a contribution driven organization, it was important that this need be accommodated by the MSF. During the Copenhagen meeting, details of the architectural extension needed to add support for IPv6 coexistence to the GMI infrastructure were discussed and decided on. Two of the host sites, NTT and KT, are currently planning to support IPv6 testing based on test plans discussed during the Copenhagen meeting.

To strengthen the IPv6 offering, the MSF has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and thus entered into a liaison relationship with the North American IPv6 Task Force (Nav6TF) and with Moonv6, an IPv6 test consortium housed at UNH/IOL. Under this agreement MSF members will be able to test IPv6 functionality at the NTT and KT sites with the regular members of Moov6.

2005/2006
The Board of Directors and the Technical Committee Leadership group spent a half day reviewing the interests of the membership as had been expressed in presentations given at previous MSF technical meetings and forging that content into a proposal for the 2005/2006 program. This proposal was presented to the membership and was discussed at length. The result of that presentation and the discussion is currently being formed in a technical report which will be going out for membership comment in a few weeks. The strategic goals are divided into two parts: the consolidation of the work being done for GMI 2004 for deployability and the broadening of MSF efforts into areas of current membership interest. When the draft becomes available, please take some time to read and comment on the plan. It will discuss the strategic plan as well as the methods for achieving the goals.

And Finally...
My gratitude goes out to all those who have put, and who are putting, so much effort into GMI 2004. I am sure it will be a great experience and prove to be a valuable experience for all involved.

Avri Doria - MSF Technical Committee Chair, ETRI

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GMI 2004: 4 October 2004 - 16 October 2004

Copenhagen was a highly productive meeting and we are moving full speed ahead on the GMI event! Here are some of the highlights:

Network
The network is coming finally coming together. The host sites are working diligently to make sure that the links will be up and operational by the end of August - well in advance of the scheduled event setup!

Regional Meetings
We are pleased to announce the upcoming regional site meetings that were discussed during the Q3 meeting in Copenhagen. For those of you who might not have been at the Copenhagen meeting, the purpose of these regional site meetings is not marketing or hot staging, rather, this is an opportunity to meet with the hosts, identify needs and resolve issues for both parties as well as to have a face to face meeting for any remaining questions, issues or concerns regarding GMI 2004.

The schedule is as follows:

BT - Thursday, 19 August 2004 – SUCCESS! !
NTT - Friday, 27 August 2004
KT - Tuesday, 31 August 2004
Qwest - Wednesday, 8 September 2004

Equipment List Update
I am still missing information from a small list of vendors! If you are one of them, PLEASE get this information to me ASAP!

Participant Update
Well, the number seems to have leveled off... We are at 44 participants! More than twice the GMI 2002 event! There are 17 participants at the BT site, 10 at KT, 8 at NTT and 9 at Qwest!

Status of IA's
MSF Members: For your convenience you can check the status of the IA's here: http://www.msforum.org/private/IA_Table.shtml

Test Plans
MSF Members: The test plan matrix is available at http://www.msforum.org/private/testmatrix.shtml

Non-member GMI 2004 participants: You can access the matrix with your non-ARO logins at http://www.msforum.org/testplans/gmi2004/tp/matrix.shtml

IPv6 at GMI 2004
For those who haven't heard - there will be IPv6 at the GMI 2004! IPv6 is currently planned for the NTT site and UNH IOL Moon v6. This is great news as the addition of IPv6 has also driven an MOU between the MSF and Moon v6 which makes for hot news in the press highlighting the MSF's commitment to the Next Generation Networks which will include IPv6!

Brian Tolly - GMI Technical Coordinator

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On the heels of GMI 2004, MSF will participate at Fall VON as an exhibitor and sponsor. Fall VON will take place in October 18-21, 2004 in Boston MA. See the MSF Calendar page for more details. http://www.msforum.org/events/calendar.shtml.

IA Update
The IA for Core SIP Profile for Voice over IP (MSF-IA-SIP.002-FINAL) was passed on August 13. The document is posted on the MSF website: http://www.msforum.org/techinfo/approved.shtml.

Membership
MSF is very pleased to welcome two new members in Q3, Acme Packet and Huawei Technologies.

Acme Packet, the leader in session border control, enables service providers to deliver premium, interactive communications - voice, video and multimedia sessions - across IP network borders. Our Net-Net family has been selected by 6 of the top 10 and 10 of the top 25 service providers in the world to satisfy critical security, service assurance and law enforcement requirements in wireline, cable and wireless networks. These deployments span all border applications - peering, access network-backbone network, and data center - and all protocols - SIP, H.323, and MGCP.
http://www.acmepacket.com

Huawei Technologies, established in 1988, is a high-tech enterprise which specializes in research and development (R&D), production and marketing of communications equipment, providing customized network solutions for telecom carriers in optical, fixed, mobile and data communications networks.
http://www.huawei.com/index.shtml

Circle of Excellence
MSF congratulates Peter Chang of Cisco, who was selected as the Circle of Excellence Winner for Q304.

The Circle of Excellence Award recognizes individuals who have made a significant and lasting contribution to the MSF and the multiservice industry. The contributions of MSF's volunteers both in time and technical expertise are critical in fulfilling MSF's mission and in shaping next generation networks. The Circle of Excellence Award winners embody the commitment and dedication that makes MSF a leader in developing and promoting open-architecture, multiservice systems.

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The next MSF Technical Committee Meeting will be held on November 16-18, 2004, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Call for Sponsors
The MSF is currently seeking Platinum, Gold and Silver Meeting Sponsors for the Atlanta meeting. Attached is the MSF Sponsorship Prospectus, which includes detailed Meeting Sponsorship information. Please contact Alysia Johnson at ajohnson@msforum.org to sign up as a sponsor. Sponsors are assigned on a first come, first served basis.

Meeting Registration
To register for the meeting, please complete the on-line registration process on the MSF web site under Meetings and Events http://www.msforum.org/events/upcoming.shtml.

• Pre-registration (Through Tuesday, November 2, 2004): $395 USD
• Late registration (Wednesday, November 3, 2004-Tuesday, November 16, 2004): $545 USD

NOTE: You MUST submit payment information when registering for the meeting in order to secure your registration. To submit payment, click on the "Pay" button after saving your registration record. By submitting credit card information, you will secure your reservation. The actual payment will be charged to your card on Tuesday, November 9, 2004, and your receipt will be delivered to you when you check in on site. Meeting registrations cancelled before Tuesday, November 9, 2004 will receive a full refund. After November 9, no refunds will be provided.

Important Deadlines

• Hotel Reservation Deadline: Thursday, October 28, 2004
• Contribution Deadline: Tuesday, November 2, 2004
• Meeting Registration Deadline: Tuesday, November 2, 2004

Hotel Accommodations
To make your room reservations, please contact:

DoubleTree Hotel Atlanta-Buckhead
3342 Peachtree Road
Atlanta, GA 30326
Reservations Phone: +1-404-231-1234
Reservations Fax: +1-404-231-3112

MSF Room Rate: $119 USD per night for single/double room. Please mention "Multiservice Switching Forum (MSF)" to secure the MSF Room Rate.

Bring A Friend!
Don't forget to invite your friends or colleagues -- anyone who is interested in MSF -- to the upcoming MSF Technical Committee Meeting. If you do bring a guest, we will ask a board member and/or a member of the TC leadership to roll out the welcome wagon and spend some personal time with them to help them understand the benefits of participation. Guests of MSF members can register easily by contacting Cindy Morgan at cmorgan@msforum.org or +1.510-608-5925.

Membership participation is the driving force behind MSF's success. Please
join us in Atlanta and continue to support MSF's mission.

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Want to include something in the next issue? We want to hear from you! Send your comments and contributions for the next issue to Julianne Fitzpatrick at jfitzpatrick@msforum.org.

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