James P.G. Sterbenz - Böcker

Presenting research in the field of high-speed networking, this text focuses on: switching and routing, OS and middleware; QoS scheduling and modelling; virtual networks; and wireless networking. Individual papers representing the work of researchers from around the world were accepted for presentation at the Sixth International Workshop on Protocols for High Speed Networks (PfHSN), which was held in Salem, Massachusetts, USA, in August 1999. PfHSN is sponsored by the International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP), and co-sponsored by the IEEE Communications Society Technical Committee on Gigabit Networking. This marks the tenth year since the first workshop, held in Zurich, Switzerland, during which time the field of high-speed networking has gone from the esoteric to the mainstream. PfHSM provides an international forum for the exchange of ideas and research in network, end-to-end, and application protocols for high-bandwidth low-latency networking, as well as network and end-system architecture.

1 This year marks the l0 h anniversary of the IFIP International Workshop on Protocols for High-Speed Networks (PfHSN). It began in May 1989, on a hillside overlooking Lake Zurich in Switzerland, and arrives now in Salem Massachusetts 6,000 kilometers away and 10 years later, in its sixth incarnation, but still with a waterfront view (the Atlantic Ocean). In between, it has visited some picturesque views of other lakes and bays of the world: Palo Alto (1990 - San Francisco Bay), Stockholm (1993 - Baltic Sea), Vancouver (1994- the Strait of Georgia and the Pacific Ocean), and Sophia­ Antipolis I Nice (1996- the Mediterranean Sea). PfHSN is a workshop providing an international forum for the exchange of information on high-speed networks. It is a relatively small workshop, limited to 80 participants or less, to encourage lively discussion and the active participation of all attendees. A significant component of the workshop is interactive in nature, with a long history of significant time reserved for discussions. This was enhanced in 1996 by Christophe Diot and W allid Dabbous with the institution of Working Sessions chaired by an "animator," who is a distinguished researcher focusing on topical issues of the day. These sessions are an audience participation event, and are one of the things that makes PfHSN a true "working conference.