THE HISTORY OF THE SYMPOSIUM

The Chinese American Networking Symposium (CANS) was initiated in the summer of 1998 by the Chinese Association for Science and Technology (CAST), USA, and the University of Maryland (UMCP) and co-sponsored by the China Education and Research Network (CERNET) and the China Science and Technology Network (CSTNET). The first event was held in Washington, DC in January, 1999, with more than 50 executives, network industry leaders, and officials from China, and over 60 participants from the USA. Chinese attendees represented the education and research community and the major Internet service providers in China: China Education and Research Network (CERNET), China Science and Technology Network (CSTNET), China Commercial Network (ChinaNet), and representatives from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Information Industries, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and some Chinese local governments. With the great success of this event, it has since become an annual event held alternatively in the USA and China.

Technical topics have focused on the traditional advanced networking research and infrastructure development issues that have been integral to CANS and remain important, but have evolved and expanded to include “higher level” subjects:  infrastructure development and especially Open International Exchange Points; the complexities of international network interoperability and routing issues; IPv6 deployment and development; Middleware and Federations; technical aspects of Grids; and e-Science and research collaboration support.  Each CANS meeting also incorporates unique cultural experiences for the attendees.

The second annual event, CANS 2000 was held in Beijing, China in May, 2000. A high level of American network researchers and administrators met their Chinese partners and explored future collaboration. A historical Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Internet2 and the Chinese advanced network organizations to collaborate in bringing advanced networking capabilities to Chinese R&E communities.

CANS 2001 was held in Washington DC, with probably the most memorable conference event being a “Crab Feast” of Maryland blue crabs in addition to the rich presentations and demonstrations of a variety of advanced applications, including high definition uncompressed video.

CANS 2002 was held in Shanghai, China, in August, 2002. It attracted more participants from both USA and China, A strong program covered broader fields in advanced network research and industries. Remote presentations via advanced networks were first introduced, with video conferencing supported in every meeting room for the first time.

CANS 2004 was hosted by Florida International University in Miami, Florida. Program highlights included updates on the China Next Generation Internet (CNGI) and high performance computing programs, the NSF International Research Network Connections (IRNC) program, and eScience and digital library applications; special highlights included a Caribbean dinner at an authentic Latin American restaurant, a violin tutoring session between New World Symphony instructor in Miami and student at Tsinghua University via HD video, and live Panda webcam from Sichuan Province.

CANS 2005 was held Nov. 1-2 in Shenzhen, China, hosted by CSTNET. Topics focused on Advanced Network Architecture, Grid Enabled Infrastructure and Middleware, e-Science and Applications.

CANS 2006 was the 7th annual event and met Dec. 6-8, 2006, in Chicago, IL, hosted by Internet2 and held in conjunction with the Internet2 Fall Member Meeting. Topics focused on the traditional advanced network-focused topics that have been integral to CANS and remain important: infrastructure development and especially Open International Exchange Points; the complexities of international network interoperability and routing issues; IPv6 deployment and development; Middleware and Federations; and technical aspects of Grids. An addition this year featured a “Grid Collaboration Workshop”, focused on promoting specific grid-based collaboration between US and Chinese counterparts.

CANS 2007 was held Aug. 25-26, 2007, in Xi’an, Shaanxi, China, hosted by CERNET and held in conjunction with the APAN Member Meeting. The cultural highlight of the meeting was dinner at the Shanzi Grand Opera House where we enjoyed the “Dumpling Banquet Tang Dynasty” followed by the “Tang Dynasty Show”.  And of course many attendees took advantage of the location to visit the Terra Cotta Army. Symposium topics focused on: Network Research & Next Generation Internet, Infrastructure and Hybrid Networking, Middleware, Applications and Promote Human Networking