Combined Federal Battle Laboratories Network
Encyclopedia
The CFBLNet is a laboratory environment which utilizes a distributed Wide Area Network
(WAN) as the vehicle to experiment with new capabilities by conducting Research and Development
, Trials and Assessment (RDT&A) initiatives. The CFBLNet consists of a distributed and integrated network architecture
of Combined, Joint, and Military Service infrastructure components (networks, database servers, application servers, client workstations, etc.). These strings of network equipment and services are located within the confines of the various national and international battle laboratories and experimentation sites of the participants, which provide the applications, analytic tools, and communications necessary to conduct initiatives or experiments.
The participants are bound by a formal Technical Agreement (or charter) which includes.
The CFBLNet grew out the network designed to support the U.S. Joint Warfighter Interoperability Demonstrations (JWID), which used to build a support network for the period of the demonstrations and tear it down each year after the demonstrations. In 1999, the Joint Warrior Interoperability Demonstration
(JWID) exercise used, for the first time, a permanent infrastructure that became what is now called the Combined Federated Battle Lab Network (CFBLNet), as established by the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Board (NC3B) in 2001.
No single nation owns the CFBLNet infrastructure; each member nation is responsible for the funding and maintenance of its own systems and CFBL network segments, which hook into the backbone at a defined Point-of-Presence (POP). All CFBLNet members (US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ and NATO nations) must respect the sovereignty and intellectual property of the other nations. Also, each country is responsible for funding its own experiments. The Multinational Information Sharing (MNIS) Program Management Office (MNIS-PMO) in Arlington, Virginia (US) maintains day-to-day control of the network and coordinates activities on the network.
The U.S. CFBLNet infrastructure is extensive and reaches to international demarcation points for the Southern Hemisphere and Europe. Nations and organizations within nations which are not a part of the Technical Agreement must be sponsored by a charter member to sponsor initiatives and to connect to the CFBLNet.
Wide area network
A wide area network is a telecommunication network that covers a broad area . Business and government entities utilize WANs to relay data among employees, clients, buyers, and suppliers from various geographical locations...
(WAN) as the vehicle to experiment with new capabilities by conducting Research and Development
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...
, Trials and Assessment (RDT&A) initiatives. The CFBLNet consists of a distributed and integrated network architecture
Network architecture
Network architecture is the design of a communications network. It is a framework for the specification of a network's physical components and their functional organization and configuration, its operational principles and procedures, as well as data formats used in its operation.In...
of Combined, Joint, and Military Service infrastructure components (networks, database servers, application servers, client workstations, etc.). These strings of network equipment and services are located within the confines of the various national and international battle laboratories and experimentation sites of the participants, which provide the applications, analytic tools, and communications necessary to conduct initiatives or experiments.
The participants are bound by a formal Technical Agreement (or charter) which includes.
- The U.S. DoD Joint Chiefs of Staff/J6X, serving as chair in the Governance Structure and representing the United States as an independent entity.
- The Combined Communications and Electronics Board (CCEB), representing the major English-speaking nations (AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, and the United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
), minus the U.S., which represents itself.
- The NATO Command, Consultation, and Communications (C3) Board, representing its 26 member nations (minus the native English-speaking nations; Canada, United Kingdom, and the United States, as noted above).
The CFBLNet grew out the network designed to support the U.S. Joint Warfighter Interoperability Demonstrations (JWID), which used to build a support network for the period of the demonstrations and tear it down each year after the demonstrations. In 1999, the Joint Warrior Interoperability Demonstration
Coalition Warrior Interoperability Demonstration
The Coalition Warrior Interoperability Demonstration began in 1994 as the Joint Warrior Interoperability Demonstration . Since 1994, the program has evolved into a coalition program and the name was changed in 2004 to reflect this new trend. U.S...
(JWID) exercise used, for the first time, a permanent infrastructure that became what is now called the Combined Federated Battle Lab Network (CFBLNet), as established by the NATO Consultation, Command and Control Board (NC3B) in 2001.
No single nation owns the CFBLNet infrastructure; each member nation is responsible for the funding and maintenance of its own systems and CFBL network segments, which hook into the backbone at a defined Point-of-Presence (POP). All CFBLNet members (US, UK, Canada, Australia, NZ and NATO nations) must respect the sovereignty and intellectual property of the other nations. Also, each country is responsible for funding its own experiments. The Multinational Information Sharing (MNIS) Program Management Office (MNIS-PMO) in Arlington, Virginia (US) maintains day-to-day control of the network and coordinates activities on the network.
The U.S. CFBLNet infrastructure is extensive and reaches to international demarcation points for the Southern Hemisphere and Europe. Nations and organizations within nations which are not a part of the Technical Agreement must be sponsored by a charter member to sponsor initiatives and to connect to the CFBLNet.
External links
- http://www.disa.mil/cfblnet/vision.html Vision and Mission of CFBLNet
- http://www.disa.mil/cfblnet/docs.html CFBLNet Reference Documents
- http://www.disa.mil/cfblnet/links.html CFBLNet Links