IT/98-0367 T11/98-446v0

Annual Report for: T11

Covering the Period from April 10, 1997 to August 31, 1998

Title of X3 Subgroup: Technical Committee for Device Level Interfaces

• TC & TG Officers
• Membership in T11, T11.1, T11.2, T11.3 & T11.4
• Liaison Activities
• Administrative Matters of Note
• Procedural Matters of Note
• Recommendations
• Market Impact
• Anticipated Projects
• Future Trends

Informal Description of Work:

T11 is responsible for the Intelligent Peripheral Interface (IPI), High-Performance Parallel Interface (HIPPI) and Fibre Channel (FC) families of standards in the Device Level Interface arena. T11 assumed the program of work of Task Group X3T9.3 in February 1994, and is co-TAG to ISO/IEC/JTC 1/SC 25/WG 4 along with T10 & T12, the other former X3T9 Task Groups.

1. Executive Summary

1997-8 has been a period of both considerable change and some achievement for T11. During the period covered by this report one Fibre Channel amendment (X3.230:1994/AM1:1996), two Fibre Channel Technical Reports (FC-PLDA & FC-FLA), and two IPI standards (IPI-3 Disk Revised and IPI-3 Tape Revised) have been approved. In addition, five Projects for new FC standards (FC-10KCR, FC-AL-3, FC-FS, FC-PI, FC-SW-2), two Projects for new FC Technical Reports (FC-MJS-2, & FC-TAPE), three projects for new HIPPI standards (HIPPI-6400-OPT, ST, ST-API) and two projects for revisions to an existing HIPPI standards (HIPPI-FP Revised & HIPPI-LE Revised) have been approved. Also in this period one FC project, two HIPPI projects, and three published IPI standards have been withdrawn. Therefore the total program of work of T11 is as follows (the figures in brackets are the numbers from the last T11 Annual Report):

Family	Projects in Development	Projects in Approval	Published Standards	Total
FC	13 (11)	6 (4)	12 (9)	31 (24)
HIPPI	4 (5)	3 (0)	8 (8)	15 (13)
IPI	0 (0)	0 (2)	5 (6)	5 (8)
SBCON	0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (1)	1 (1)
Other	0 (0)	0 (0)	1 (1)	1 (1)
TOTAL	17 (16)	9 (6)	27 (25)	53 (47)

The T11 work continues to attract extensive industry interest and support. The membership of T11 in April 1997 was 79 organizations, but this had diminished slightly to 77 organizations by August 31, 1998. There are two reasons for this contraction. Firstly, the consolidation identified in the last Annual Report has continued, with six organizations losing membership because of being acquired by an organization which was already a member of T11. Secondly, three organizations lost membership at the most recent T11 Plenary meeting due to conflicts, and two of these have already stated that they will seek membership again at the earliest opportunity. The average attendance @ T11 Plenary weeks was 145 persons during the period of this annual report, the same as was reported in the previous report.

The change in T11 is a function of the reorganization that was outlined in the last Annual Report having been implemented in full. The program of work of T11 has been reorganized into four Task Groups, namely:

TG T11.1 HIPPI

Projects currently allocated: Revised HIPPI-LE, HIPPI-6400-SC, HIPPI-6400-OPT, ST, ST-API

TG T11.2 Physical Variants

Projects currently allocated: FC-10KCR, FC-CU TR, FC-MJS, FC-MJS-2, FC-PI

TG T11.3 Interconnect topologies

Projects allocated: FC-AL-2, FC-AL-3, FC-FS, FC-SL, FC-SW-2, FC-Tape

TG T11.4 Protocol Mappings

Projects allocated: FC-AE, FC-AV, FC-BB, FC-GS-2, FC-VI

T11.1 and T11.2 have now been in operation for a full year, and T11.3 and T11.4 have been in existence for six months. While it is still too early to fully assess the success of the reorganization, no major problems have yet been encountered and participants seems to be adjusting well to the new structure.

T11 will also experience significant changes in personnel in the near future. The present T11 Chair has resigned, and the T11.1 Chair (who was also the previous T11 Chair) has indicated that he will resign at the end of the year.

Three parts of the program of work of T11 are worthy of special note. Firstly, the additional projects related to HIPPI-6400 that were anticipated in the last report have started to appear. Projects for HIPPI-6400-OPT (6400 Mbaud optical interface), ST (scheduled transfer), and ST-API (Application programming interface) have been approved. Secondly, two projects have been approved to address the usability problems with respect to FC standards that were identified in the last report - namely FC-PI (Physical Interface) and FC-FS (Frame Signaling). These projects are taking as their starting point a "merged" version of existing FC standards, but the output of the projects will require careful checking as the binary versions that are available of the earliest FC standards have been found to contain inaccuracies. Lastly, it should be noted that a single project, FC-AL-2, has consumed far more resources, and taken far longer to complete, than was anticipated, due to issues with its predecessor that were identified during interoperability testing.

2. Projects

2.1 Project 54-L (ISO DP 7069 - 1995)

a. Project Title: Small Computer to Peripheral Bus Interface, Data Transfer between Computer and Peripheral

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

None

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. Current ISO project, no direct T11 involvement.

2.2 Project 496-M (ANSI/ISO 9318-3:1992)

a. Project Title: IPI Device Generic Command Set for Magnetic and Optical Disk Drives

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a packet-based command set for magnetic and optical disk drives which features time-independent operation and is based on a high-level generic device model.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. This published standard will be withdrawn when X3.291:199x is published.

2.3 Project 496-R (A X3.291:1997)

a. Project Title: Revised IPI Device Generic Command Set for Magnetic and Optical Disk Drives

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a revision to ANSI/ISO 9318-3:1992 to incorporate the additional functionality required by new mass storage architectures and to provide mappings to allow the IPI-3 protocols to be transported over the Fibre Channel and HIPPI definitions.

d. Publications During Past Year:

A X3.291:1997

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

The draft has completed the approval process, and is with the ANSI editor for processing. However the technical editor has had trouble allocating time to respond to the editor's requests due to other commitments. T11 requested in 97-460 that ANSI/ISO 9318-3:1992 remain in force until processing of this draft is completed. The ISO project has been canceled, and the intent is now to submit the draft for the Fast Track procedure upon publication.

2.4 Project 505-M (ANSI/ISO 9318-4:1992)

a. Project Title: IPI Device Generic Command Set for Magnetic Tape Drives

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a packet-based command set for magnetic tape drives which features time-independent operation and is based on a high-level generic device model.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. This published standard will be withdrawn when X3.290:199x is published.

2.5 Project 505-R (A X3.290:1997)

a. Project Title: Revised IPI Device Generic Command Set for Magnetic Tape Drives

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a revision to ANSI/ISO 9318-4:1992 to incorporate the additional functionality required by new mass storage architectures.

d. Publications During Past Year:

A X3.290:1997

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

The draft has completed the approval process, and is with the ANSI editor for processing. However the technical editor has had trouble allocating time to respond to the editor's requests due to other commitments. T11 requested in 97-460 that ANSI/ISO 9318-4:1992 remain in force until processing of this draft is completed. The ISO project has been canceled, and the intent is now to submit the draft for the Fast Track procedure upon publication.

2.6 Project 667-M (ANSI X3.183:1991[R1996])

a. Project Title: High Performance Parallel Interface - Physical Interface

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop the mechanical, electrical, and signalling protocol specification for a simplex high-performance point-to-point I/O channel, supporting data rates of 800 or 1600 megabits per second over distances of up to 25 meters.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. A further five year review is due in 2001.

2.7 Project 702-M (ANSI X3.210:1992)

a. Project Title: HIPPI Framing Protocol

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop the packet format specification, error notification mechanisms, and identification of those fields necessary to allow the use of the HIPPI interface within a network environment with packet rates of up to 100,000 packets per second.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

This project underwent five year review in 1997. T11 decided in 6/97 to undertake a revision and a project (702-R) was approved for this in 7/97. T11 requested in 97-460 that X3.210:1992 & X3.210:1992/AM1:1996 remain in force until processing of this new revision is completed.

2.8 Project 702-M (ANSI X3.210:1992/AM1:1996)

a. Project Title: HIPPI Framing Protocol Amendment

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop and amendment to ANSI X3.210-1992 to update the identification of protocols supported by HIPPI and to add a bibliography.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. (See previous project for revision details.)

2.9 Project 702-R (210:199x)

a. Project Title: Revised HIPPI Framing Protocol

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 8/97
Previous 8/97
Actual 10/97

c. Project Description:

To incorporate additional ULP-IDs to support new applications, and to investigate additional capabilities with the restriction of not requiring changes to existing applications.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 conducted a Letter Ballot (97-368) on draft revision 4.7 (97-365), which closed on 11/26/97 with F69-O00--DNV15, (two F ballots had comments). Responses to the LB comments are 97-441. T11 voted F61-O00-DNV22 in 12/97 to forward Rev 4.8 (97-444) for further processing, including an OMC Compliance Review and a first Public Review, and to accept the responses to the T11 Letter Ballot comments. The draft completed Management Review at the 3/98 OMC meeting, and an NCITS Letter Ballot closed on 6/9/98 and passed. The draft is currently at BSR awaiting final approval. Upon publication, this draft will replace X3.210:1992, which was due for 5 year review in 1997. T11 requested in 97-460 that X3.210:1992 remain in force until processing of this draft is completed. T11 voted by a rollcall of F59-O00-DNV22 in 2/98 to direct the IR to submit HIPPI-FP Revised (Revision 4.8) for the Fast Track Procedure upon publication.

2.10 Project 755-D (ANSI X3.230:1994)

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel Physical and Signaling Interface

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop the mechanical, optical, and signaling protocol specification for a high-performance interface for direct attachments to computers, supporting data rates up to 100 megabytes per second or more, over both optical fibre and copper media at distances from 10 meters to one or more kilometers. The interface is capable of transporting the IPI, SCSI, and other command sets and HIPPI and other protocols.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. The ISO Project has been canceled, and the published standard is in the Fast Track Procedure. T11 approved submitting the contents of Amendment 1 and Draft Amendment 2 as comments against the DIS Letter Ballot in 6/98 by F59-O00-DNV20. A 5 year review is due in 1999.

2.11 Project 755-M (ANSI X3.230:1994/AM1:1996)

a. Project Title: FC-PH Amendment #1

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

This project is to correct a small number of typographical errors and inconsistencies in X3.230-1994.

d. Publications During Past Year:

ANSI X3.230:1994/AM1:1996

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 voted F59-O00-DNV20 in 6/98 to authorize the IR to submit the contents of X3.230:1994/AM1:1996 and X3.230:1994/DAM2:199x as comments along with the DIS LB vote on the fast track of X3.230:1994.

2.12 Project 755-M (X3.230:199x)

a. Project Title: FC-PH Amendment #2

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 4/97
Previous 6/97
Actual 8/97

c. Project Description:

To document errors and omissions in X3.230-1994 which have been discovered subsequent to the processing of ANSIX3.230:1994/AM1:1996.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 Letter Ballot 97-321 on Revision 1 closed on 10/2/97 with 65 for, 4 opposed, and 14 organizations not voting (3 for ballots included comments). Comment responses were documented in 98-356v0. T11 voted on 8/13/98 to "forward Revision 2 of the draft for further processing, including a compliance review and a first Public Review, and to accept the responses to the T11 Letter Ballot comments", by a vote of 41 for, 0 opposed and 36 organizations not voting. The covering letter is 98-444v0, and the Expository Remarks 98-442v0.

2.13 Project 789-M (ANSI X3.236:1995)

a. Project Title: Enhanced IPI Device Specific Command Set for Magnetic Disk Drives

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop enhancements to ANSI/ISO 9318-2:1992 to support the additional functionality required by next-generation disk drives. Included in this functionality are support for bufferred and cached devices, and zoned recording schemes.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. The published standard is due for a five year review in 2000.

2.14 Project 818-M (ANSI X3.222:1997)

a. Project Title: Revised HIPPI Physical Switch Control

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop extensions to X3.222-1993 to support automated management and configuration discovery functions.

d. Publications During Past Year:

ANSI X3.222:1997

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 voted by a rollcall of F59-O00-DNV22 in 2/98 to direct the IR to submit X3.222:1997 (Revision 3.1) for the Fast Track Procedure. The published standard is due for 5 year review in 2002.

2.15 Project 825-M (ANSI X3.218:1993)

a. Project Title: HIPPI Encapsulation of ISO 8802-2 (IEEE Std 802.2) Logical Link Control Protocol Data Units

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop an encapsulation of ISO 8802-2 (IEEE Std. 802.2) Logical Link Control Protocol Data Units (PDU's) for transmission over HIPPI.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

This project underwent five year review in 1998. T11 decided in 6/98 to undertake a revision and a project (825-R) was approved for this in 7/98. T11 requested in 98-447v0 that X3.218:1993 remain in force until processing of this new revision is completed.

2.16 Project 825-R

a. Project Title: High Performance Parallel Interface Encapsulation of ISO 8802-2 (IEEE Std 802.2) Logical Link Control Protocol Data Units Revision

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 10/98

c. Project Description:

To develop a revision of ANSI X3.218-1993, HIPPI-LE, with: (a) replacement of specifications being superceded by references to the new standard; (b) incorporation of editorial changes suggested by the ISO editor; (c) other changes as necessary. The revised standard will not invalidate any existing ANSI X3.218 implementations.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 voted F51-O00-DNV30 in 6/98 to "forward the Project Proposal (98-256v1) for further processing". The Covering Letter is 98-335v0. NCITS approved the project proposal (NCITS 98-0279) on 7/14/98. Number 825-R was assigned. An initial draft (Revision 3.5, 98-434v0) was distributed in 8/98. The target date of 10/98 is close, but possible. An Ad Hoc meeting has been arranged in 9/98 to specifically work on this draft.

2.17 Project 901-M (ANSI X3.297:1997)

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel 2nd Generation Physical Interface

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop enhancements to the Fibre Channel - Physical and Signaling Interface (FC-PH) with support for new functions such as broadcast or multicast, striping, alias addresses, hunt groups and guaranteed bandwidth and latency services. The definition of additional physical variants using new media types, and operating at rates greater than 1.0625 gigabaud are also included.

d. Publications During Past Year:

ANSI X3.297:1997

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. A five year review is due in 2002. A document editor for the ISO version still needs to be identified and resolution of the CD Letter Ballot comments is outstanding.

2.18 Project 954-M (ANSI X3.254:1994)

a. Project Title: FC - Mapping to HIPPI-FP

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a mapping to provide HIPPI-PH and HIPPI-FP equivalent physical level transport capability to the HIPPI upper-layer protocols when using Fibre Channel physical layers.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project other than the direction to the IR below. A five year review is due in 1999. T11 voted (rollcall) F57-O00-DNV21 in 4/98 to direct the IR to vote Yes on FC-FP (DIS 14165-211) at the 6/98 SC 25/WG 4 meeting.

2.19 Project 955-M (ANSI X3.287:1996)

a. Project Title: FC Link Encapsulation

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a mapping to allow the transport of IP (Internet Protocol) and IEEE 802.2 LLC (Logical Link Control) Protocol Data Units (PDUs) over Fibre Channel.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project, other than the direction to the IR below. A five year review is due in 2001. T11 voted (rollcall) F57-O00-DNV21 in 4/98 to direct the IR to vote No on FC-LE (DIS 14165-231) at the 6/98 SC 25/WG 4 meeting with the technical reason that emerging implementations do not follow this standard and there is an IETF RFC underway which differs from this standard.

2.20 Project 957-M (ANSI X3.271:1996)

a. Project Title: FC Mapping of Single Byte Command Code Sets

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop the mapping by which Single-Byte Command Code Sets (SBCCS), such as those implemented on Block Multiplexer Channels (also known as Federal Information Processing Standards 60, 63, 97 et al.), may be transported across Fibre Channel.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. A five year review is due in 2001. Resolution of the CD Letter Ballot comments is still required.

2.21 Project 958-M (ANSI X3.289:1996)

a. Project Title: FC Fabric Generic Requirements

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop the definition of a Fabric, which is the part of the Fibre Channel architecture used to interconnect multiple Fibre Channel ports in a total system. This project will specify the generic capabilities such as fabric initialization, address assignment, fabric services, error recovery, etc., for different topologies such as cross point switches, arbitrated loops, and distributed fabrics.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project, other than the direction to the IR below. A five year review is due in 2001. T11 voted in 12/97 to submit Revision 3.5 (equivalent to the published US standard) to JTC 1 as a contribution for a DIS Letter Ballot by a rollcall vote of F60-O01(Ophidian Designs)-DNV20.

2.22 Project 959-D (321:199x)

a. Project Title: FC Switch Fabric and Switch Control Requirements

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 4/93
Previous 8/97
Actual 12/97

c. Project Description:

To develop the unique requirements for a Fibre Channel Fabric based on switching topologies and technologies.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 voted F60-O00-DNV23 in 12/97 to forward Rev 3.3 (97-376) for further processing, including an OMC Compliance Review and a first Public Review, and to accept the responses to the T11 Letter Ballot comments . Cover Letter is 97-453, expository remarks is 97-454. T11 voted by a rollcall of F59-O00-DNV22 in 2/98 to direct the IR to submit a New Work Item for FC-SW to the JTC 1 TAG. Compliance review was completed in 1/98, and first Public Review was from 1/18-3/17 and closed with only suggestions from the ANSI editor. T11 voted F56-O00-DNV24 in 4/98 to forward Rev 3.3 (98-376) for final approval. Cover Letter is 98-244v0. Management review took place in 5/98, and an NCITS Letter Ballot closed on 6/9 and passed. The draft is currently at BSR. This document is regarded by several companies as the key to defining interoperability between second generation Fibre Channel switches. The slight delay in processing the draft was due to a thorough review being conducted.

2.23 Project 960-M (ANSI X3.272:1996)

a. Project Title: FC Arbitrated Loop

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop the unique requirements for a Fibre Channel Fabric based upon inexpensive, distributed and expandable topologies.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. A five year review is due in 2001. Resolution of the CD Letter Ballot comments is still required.

2.24 Project 979-M (ANSI X3.283:1996)

a. Project Title: HIPPI - Encapsulation of Frames of the Fibre Channel Physical and Signaling Interface

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a mapping of to allow all protocols and command sets mapped to Fibre Channel to be transported over HIPPI. This will allow a "reverse" migration path for applications ultimately targeted for Fibre Channel, yet must run for some period of time on HIPPI.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. A five year review is due in 2001. The ISO project has been withdrawn due to lack of interest.

2.25 Project 1026-M (ANSI X3.299:1997)

a. Project Title: HIPPI Mapping to Asynchronous Transfer Mode

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a mapping between HIPPI and ATM constructs to allow the creation of systems incorporating both ATM and HIPPI.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project, other than the direction to the IR noted below. A five year review is due in 2002. T11 voted (rollcall) F59-O00-DNV22 in 2/98 to recommend that the JTC 1 TAG respond to the DIS LB with approval. Resolution of the DIS Letter Ballot comments will still required.

2.26 Project 1050-M (ANSI X3.288:1996)

a. Project Title: FC Generic Services

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop definitions of a number of service functions designed to support the management and control of Fibre Channel configurations.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

2.27 Project 1117-M (ANSI X3.300:1997)

a. Project Title: HIPPI Serial Specification

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop an extension to the physical interface defined in X3.183-1991, to support longer-distance operation and serial, fiber-optic media.

d. Publications During Past Year:

None.

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project, other than the direction to the IR noted below. A five year review is due in 2002. T11 voted (rollcall) F59-O00-DNV22 in 2/98 to recommend that the JTC 1 TAG respond to the DIS LB with approval. Resolution of the DIS Letter Ballot comments will still required.

2.28 Project 1118-DT (X3.TR-18:1997)

a. Project Title: 10-bit Interface Technical Report

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a definition for a "child card" containing serialization/deserializtion circuitry and a fibre-optic transceiver operating at a gigabit rate.

d. Publications During Past Year:

X3.TR-18:1997

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. The Technical Report was finally published in 1997 after a long delay due to considerable difficulties being experienced in obtaining a binary copy to allow inclusion of some final edits because the original Technical Editor had disappeared.

2.29 Project 1119-D (X3.303:199x)

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel 3rd Generation Physical Interface

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 12/95
Actual 8/96
c. Project Description:

To develop a third-generation FC physical interface definition.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 voted to accept responses to the first Public Review comments, to accept Rev 9.4 for further processing in 10/97 by F63-O00-DNV21, and to recommend that the changes between Revision 9.4 and the version which completed first Public Review be regarded as non-substantive. Cover Letter is 97-348. The Management Review package was cover letter X3/97-0600, and response to LB comments X3/97-0599. The Management Review passed at the 1/98 OMC meeting. The NCITS Letter Ballot for final approval closed on 2/23/98 and passed. Getting some final edits included has proved troublesome because the original Technical Editor is no longer involved, but this was accomplished in late summer.

2.30 Project 1132-M (ANSI X3.296:1997)

a. Project Title: Single Byte Command Code Sets Connection

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a publically-available document reflecting the current industry practice relating to the ESCON interface

d. Publications During Past Year:

ANSI X3.296:1997

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

There has been no activity in T11 during the past year on this project. A five year review is due in 2002.

2.31 Project 1133-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel 2nd Generation Arbitrated Loop

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 6/96
Previous 6/97
Actual 8/98

c. Project Description:

To develop a second-generation FC Arbitrated Loop definition, including the definition of new services for real-time applications.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

A T11 Letter Ballot on Revision 5.7 closed on 10/2/97 with F60-O10-DNV13 (4 For ballots included comments, and with the Opposed ballots a total of over 500 comments were returned). At the same time as resolution of these Letter Ballot comments were being attempted, and number of open interoperability tests were being conducted with equipment from a number of sources. These tests identified some significant clarifications and extensions to the published predecessor standard (X3.272:1996) which would significantly enhance interoperability, and T11 decided in 12/97 that the FC-AL-2 draft was the appropriate place to introduce these clarifications. At that point the job of agreeing changes to the FC-AL-2 draft took on mammoth proportions. In the time since the first T11 Letter Ballot closed, a total of six additional revisions of the draft have been produced, and in excess of a thousand additional comments have been made against those drafts with in T11. This single project has occupied a majority of the time of Task Group T11.3 (and the Ad Hoc group which preceded it). A formal comment resolution process, involving seven people in addition to the Technical Editor, has been used to address this plethora of comment. Only at the 8/98 T11.3 meeting was the comment resolution completed. Because of the length of time which had passed after the original T11 Letter Ballot, it was decided to hold an additional T11 LB for forwarding for Compliance Review and a first Public Review. This online ballot will close on 9/29/98.

2.32 Project 1134-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel 2nd Generation Generic Services

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 4/96
Previous 12/97
Actual 8/98

c. Project Description:

To develop a set of additional and enhanced service definitions that will be used to support the management and control of Fibre Channel configurations. Included within this scope are services such as distributed directory services, management services, security services and an operations management service.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

Work on this project languished for all of 1997 and early 1998 because of the inability of the Technical Editor to allocate time to completing the draft. However a new volunteer undertook the editing in mid 1998, and two new revisions of the draft were produced, the second of which is currently in T11 online Letter Ballot closing on 9/29/98. T11 also voted F43-O00-A07-DNV33 in 12/97 to direct the editor to remove the X.500 Directory Services.

2.33 Project 1135-DT

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel Copper Interface Implementation Practice Guide

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 6/96
Previous 6/98
Current 6/99

c. Project Description:

To develop descriptions of the implementation, testing, characterization, and design tradeoffs necessary to create Fibre Channel compatible electrical interfaces.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

Four revisions of a draft TR have now been produced, and a Table of Contents has been agreed which divides the editorial task by section among six volunteers. It is now very clear that the task of producing this report was substantially underestimated in the formulation of the project. However the participants are still committed to the task. They still see the need for a reference work in this area and are making progress, albeit slowly. Some issues have been experienced in getting companies to disclose details of approaches, and to provide examples based on their own products - because the knowledge that is being published here has in many cases not been openly discussed before. The ongoing effort to redefine the NCITS copyright situation also periodically gives concern to the participants in this project. While their employers may be persuaded to grant rights under their own copyrights for use in an freely-available "industry document", the issue of "derivative rights" and "for profit usage" is much less clear.

2.34 Project 1162-DT (NCITS TR-19:1998)

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel Private Loop Direct Attach

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a subset of other Fibre Channel and SCSI standards for use in devices connected only to isolated single FC loops.

d. Publications During Past Year:

NCITS TR-19:1998

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 agreed in 4/97 to go forward to first Public Review with Rev 1.10 (97-005). The submittal for a Public Review was 97-0223. NCITS TR-19:199x was assigned. The Public Review took place from 5/22 to 7/22 and closed with two comments. T11 voted by a rollcall of F63-O00-DNV21 in 10/97 to approve the Public Review comment responses contained in 97-237, and to forward Revision 2.1 of the dpTR (97-430) for final approval. The Covering Letter was 97-349. The Management review package was X3/97-0510. The responses to 1PR comments were X3/97-0509. The NCITS Letter Ballot for final approval closed on 12/29/97 and passed. The draft has been published as NCITS TR-19:1998.

2.35 Project 1213-D (323:199x)

a. Project Title: HIPPI-6400 MBits/s Physical Layer

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 3/97
Previous 10/97
Actual 2/98

c. Project Description:

To develop a physical-level, point-to-point, full-duplex link interface for reliable, flow-controlled transmission of user data at 6400 Mbits/s, per direction, over either parallel copper cables or parallel fibre-optic cables. A scheme using small fixed-size micropackets provide an efficient, low-latency structure for small messages, and a building block for large messages.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

A T11 LB (97-369), on HIPPI-6400-PH draft revision 1.9 (97-366), closed on 11/30/97 with F68-O00-DNV16 (comments accompanied 3 For ballots). In 12/97 T11 unanimously agreed to hold the draft in T11 and attempt resolution of the comments. T11 voted by rollcall F63-O00-DNV20 in 2/98 "to forward revision 2.2 (98-084v0) for further processing, including an OMC Compliance Review and a first Public Review". The covering letter was 98-119v0, the Expository Remarks 98-120v0. The draft was assigned NCITS 323:199x. The First Public Review took place from 4/10 to 6/9, and closed with a single comment submitted on behalf of TG T11.1. The TGS took the unusual step of submitting a comment against its own document because it felt that, while the definition was correct, operation over the full length of the specified cable had not been proven. However by 8/98 the necessary testing had taken placed, and the comment response is documented in 98-408v0. T11 voted in 8/98 "to accept the response to the Public Review comment documented in 98-408v0, and to forward Revision 2.3 (98-157v2) for final approval with a recommendation that the changes between it and Revision 2.2 be regarded as non-substantive" by F48-O00-DNV29. The Cover Letter was 98-439v0.

2.36 Project 1230-DT

a. Project Title: Methodology of Jitter Specification

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 2/97
Previous 6/97
Actual 4/98

c. Project Description:

To provide a background for revising the jitter specifications in FC-PH-x, to increase knowledge of jitter effects in gigabaud serial transmission, and to refine jitter allocations and test methods.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

Revision 1.0 of the dpTR was made available in the March 1997 mailing, and since then four additional revisions have been made available and the group continues to meet bimonthly. An online T11 Letter Ballot on Revision 4.0 (98-055v4) closed on 5/30/98 with F56-O01-DNV23 (6 For ballots included comments). It was unanimously agreed at T11 in 6/98 that the draft be held in T11 while resolution of the comments was attempted. Due to the very technical nature of these comments, comment resolution has taken some time, by Revision 5.0 of the dpTR will be considered at TGS T11.2 in 10/98. As was stated in the 1996 T11 Annual Report, this group is doing leading-edge work on jitter measurement techniques and parameters, and the participants bring a wealth of rare experience in the area. Concerns have recently been voiced about existing patents for items such as measurement techniques, and an attempt is being made to identify any impacts in advance of further processing.

2.37 Project 1231-D (324:199x)

a. Project Title: HIPPI-6400 MBits/s Switch Control

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 3/97
Previous 10/97
Actual 2/98

c. Project Description:

To develop a physical-level switch standard to including 16-bit logical addresses, to span multiple switches, to support auto-configuration & 4 virtual circuits in each direction and to provide control & management functions.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

A T11 LB (97-370), on HIPPI-6400-PH draft revision 1.5 (97-367), closed on 11/30/97 with F69-O00-DNV15 (comments accompanied 2 For ballots). In 12/97 T11 unanimously agreed to hold the draft in T11 and attempt resolution of the comments. T11 voted by rollcall F63-O00-DNV20 in 2/98 "to forward revision 1.9 (98-004v3) for further processing, including an OMC Compliance Review and a first Public Review". The covering letter was 98-121v0, the Expository Remarks 98-122v0. The draft was assigned NCITS 324:199x. The First Public Review took place from 4/10 to 6/9, and closed with a single comment submitted on behalf of TGS T11.1. The TGS took the unusual step of submitting a comment against its own document because a simulation exercise performed concurrently with the Public Review had pointed out a flaw in the definitions contained in the standard with regards to multi-switch broadcast. The dpANS was therefore reworked subsequent to the first Public Review to properly support both broadcast and non-broadcast switches. The response to the first Public Review comment is documented in 98-409v0. T11 voted in 8/98 "to accept the response to the Public Review comment documented in 98-409v0, and to forward Revision 2.5 (98-407v1) for final approval with a recommendation that the changes between it and Revision 2.2 be regarded as technical and substantive and a second Public Review be performed" by F48-O00-DNV29. The Covering Letter was 98-440v0.

2.38 Project 1232-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - Slotted Loop

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 8/97
Previous 2/98
Current 10/98

c. Project Description:

To develop extensions to FC-AL to support isochronous and time deterministic services, including QoS definitions and controls, and methods of managing loop operational parameters.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

Though a first revision of the dpANS has been available since late 1996, there was very little activity on this project until recently. This project was the main casualty of the preoccupation with FC-AL-2 throughout 1997 and 1998. However a dpANS Revision 5.0 (98-402v0) was made available in 8/98, and a decision is scheduled for 10/98 on wether to proceed with this project.

2.39 Project 1235-DT (NCITS TR-20:1998)

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - Fabric Loop Attachment

b. Target date for Milestone 4: Not Applicable

c. Project Description:

To develop a subset of existing definitions to support the development of devices which can be either loop-attached or fabric-attached, and to define cost-effective & efficient methods by which mixed configurations of loops and fabrics can be created, controlled, and managed.

d. Publications During Past Year:

NCITS TR-20:1998

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 agreed in 4/97 to go forward to first Public Review with Rev 2.6 (96-020). The submittal for a Public Review was 97-0224. NCITS TR-20:199x was assigned. The Public Review took place from 5/22 to 7/22 and closed with one set of comments. T11 voted by a rollcall of F63-O00-DNV21 in 10/97 to approve the responses to the Public Review comments (97-303) and forward Revision 2.7 (97-304) for final approval. The Cover Letter is 97-350. The Management review package was X3/97-0512. The responses to 1PR comments were X3/97-0511. The NCITS Letter Ballot for final approval closed on 12/29/97 and passed. The draft has been published as NCITS TR-20:1998.

2.40 Project 1237-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - Audio-Visual

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 10/97
Previous 10/97
Current 2/99

c. Project Description:

To develop definitions: for the transport of ITU RBT-601 and ISO/IEC 3818 (incl MPEG) protocols over FC; for supporting film formats and compressions schemes, YUV and RGB formats etc; and for synchronization of the FC segment with existing analog and digital segments.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

The Working Group has met for almost two years now under the guidance of a very able facilitator, and with the services of an experienced Technical Editor. A number of key companies in this market segment have contributed their experts to the effort, and a significant amount of documentation has been produced. This group has worked in close liaison with a subgroup of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) to ensure that the resulting standard will be complementary to, a coherent with, the standards produced by that group. A significant part of the delay has been to ensure that the development of the dpANS remains synchronized with SMPTE activities. The effort of the people working on this project has been so successful that, even in advance of a draft entering the approval process, Fibre Channel is already seen as the key technology in the future development of digital broadcast studio architectures. Five revisions of the dpANS have been produced. The latest draft is 98-042v9, is more than 140 pages in length and with the exception of a streaming protocol the draft is largely complete.

2.41 Project 1238-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - Backbone

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 12/97
Previous 12/97
Current 2/99

c. Project Description:

To develop the mappings necessary to bridge between physically-separate instance of the same network definition, including MAC address mapping & translation, configuration discovery, management facilities and mappings of FC Service definitions. Candidate network definitions are all flavors of Ethernet (incl. Gigabit) & FDDI, but will be a function of resources provided.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

Work on this project did not begin in earnest until late 1997, mostly due to difficulties in persuading the required "network experts" to attend an otherwise storage-focused set of meetings. There was also an issue that the companies that had participated in creating the Project Proposal looked to other technical areas for their immediate products. However at the end of 1997 the technical area addressed by this project became of interest to a number of companies, and that solved the problem of lack of expert participation. In the last six months the group has started to make good progress. Parts of the draft are still being based on text provided by companies in Japan, and Ad Hoc meetings have been specifically scheduled to take advantage of visits of people concerned with those products to the US. Five revisions of the draft have been produced, with the most recent (98-164v1) approaching 100 pages. While much editorial work remains to be done, the technical direction is now fairly well established.

2.42 Project 1245-D

a. Project Title: Scheduled Transfers

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 4/98
Current 10/98

c. Project Description:

To develop a high-performance data transfer protocol standard with the following goals: - Small control messages to pre-arrange buffers at each end of the transfer. - A message syntax that allows hardware-based message delivery to the pre-arranged buffers at the receiving end. - Separate logical control and data channels, which may use different physical media, or may share a single physical medium. - Support for "Get" and "Put" operations. - Support for using buffer indices and 64-bit addresses. - Parameters exchanged between the end devices for port selection, transfer identification, and operation validation. - Efficient mapping between the sender's and receiver's natural buffer sizes. - Provisions for re-sending partial transfers for error recovery.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

OMC recommended approval of the Project Proposal (97-0101) in 5/97, and an NCITS Letter Ballot closed on 7/14/97 and passed. Project Number 1245-D was assigned. The people working on this project have been very active in Task Group T11.1 for more than a year, with ten revisions of the dpANS being produced. The basic transfer functionality, including atomic operation, was largely in place by the end of 1997. Since then the feature set has been expanded to prevent aliasing, detailed state tables have been created to avoid ambiguities, and informative annex material has been added. A patent issue has been identified, and upon its successful resolution the approval process is expected to commence.

2.43 Project 1249-D

a. Project Title: HIPPI-6400 MBits/s Optical Specification

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 10/98
Current 10/98

c. Project Description:

To develop a high-performance parallel optical interconnect standard with the following goals: - Optical multi-mode fibers used in parallel, with the total bandwidth being the sum of the bandwidth on the individual fibers. - A system that is eye-safe in a commercial environment, either by limited power from the operating fibers or by an open fiber control system to reduce the power when not in a closed-loop configuration. - A system that is general enough for use in other applications. - Specification of the optical parameters, connectors, ferrules, and fiber. - Specification of the electrical interface parameters.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 voted by a rollcall F58-O00-DNV26 in 6/97 to forward the Project Proposal (97-110) for further processing. The Covering Letter is 97-158. The Project Proposal (97-0309) was approved by meeting votes at the 7/97 OMC & NCITS meetings. Project Number 1249-D was assigned. Despite the fact that this project is assigned to Task Group T11.1, a number of optical transmission experts from TGS T11.2 have been active in this project. The definition for this project currently includes advanced parallel optical technologies, and makes use of a connector technology which is different than that employed by Fibre Channel. Issues with jitter in the short wavelength optics have occupied this group for several months, and these problems must be resolved before further progress can be made. Because of the advanced nature of the technology being used, there is a risk that the target date for the approval process will slip. 6 revisions of the dpANS have been produced.

2.44 Project 1300-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - 10 Km Cost-Reduced Physical variant

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 6/98
Actual 4/98

c. Project Description:

To develop a Fibre Channel 10 Kilometer Cost Reduced standard. Included within the recommended scope of this project are: 1) The definition of an additional FC Physical Variant using single-mode fibre plant, with transmitter and receiver characteristics which permit a substantially reduced optical component cost than allowed by the 10 Kilometer Physical Variants which are already defined in X3.230, FC-PH and X3.297, FC-PH-2. 2) The definition of interoperability, where possible, between parts meetings the requirements of the new physical variant and parts meeting the requirements of existing physical variants. Note that this project will define an additional physical variant, and will not amend or remove any of the existing physical variant definitions.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

This project was specifically created to bring the definition of a single cost-reduced physical variant to the marketplace in a timely manner. When complete, the variant definition will also be included in a future physical interface standard. T11 approved the Project Proposal (97-254) in 10/97 by rollcall of F60-O00-DNV24. Cover Letter is 97-351. An online T11 Letter Ballot on FC-10KCR Revision 2.0 (T11/98-052v2) closed on 5/30/98 with F56-O01-DNV23 (4 for ballots included comments). On 5/30/98 T11 had 80 members, and thus this vote also met the 2/3rds rule. However it was unanimously agreed at the T11 Plenary at St. Petersburg Beach, FL on June 11, 1998 that the draft would be held in T11 while resolution of the comments was attempted. At the T11 Plenary at Portsmouth, United Kingdom on August 13, 1998, a motion "to accept the responses to the T11 Letter Ballot comments, and to forward FC-10KCR Revision 3.0 (T11/98- 370v0) for further processing including an OMC Compliance Review and a first Public Review" was approved by a rollcall vote of F48-O00-DNV29. On 8/13/98 T11 had 77 members, thus this vote met the 2/3 rds rule. The covering letter was 98-443v0, the Expository Remarks 98-441v0.

2.45 Project 1304-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - Arbitrated Loop - 3

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 2/99
Current 12/99

c. Project Description:

To develop an FC-AL-3 standard. It is a requirement of this project that FC-AL-3 devices shall interoperate with devices operating in FC-AL-2 compliant mode. FC-AL-3 environments shall permit operation of FC-AL-2 devices. Included within the recommended scope of this project are: 1) Improved media access schemes; 2) Other enhancements determined to be necessary by experience with existing implementations.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 voted F54-O00-DNV29 in 12/97 to forward the Project Proposal for further processing (97-450). The Covering Letter is 97-451. OMC recommended approval of the Project Proposal (97-0593) in 1/98. NCITS voted by Letter Ballot closing on 3/7 to approve the Project Proposal and Project Number 1304-D was assigned. Work on this project has not yet really begun, due to the delay to FC-AL-2 and the extra work involved in resolving the many comments. Therefore, realistically, the target date has already slipped by close to a year.

2.46 Project 1305-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - Switch Fabric - 2

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 12/98
Current 12/98

c. Project Description:

To develop a Fibre Channel Second Generation Switch Fabric (FC-SW-2) standard. Included within the recommended scope of this project are extensions to the Inter-Switch Link definition to support: 1) Unicast Path Selection; 2) Coordination of the Common Service definitions being produced by Project 1134-D, Fibre Channel - Generic Services 2 (FC-GS-2); 3) Models of flow control schemes defined by FC-PH-x; 4) Multicast Path Selection; 5) Other enhancements derived from experience with first-generation FC-SW implementations. It is a key goal of this project that devices meeting the definitions produced herein be backwards compatible with devices meeting the existing FC-SW definitions. Note however that some of the functions based on FC-SW-2 definitions may not be available in configurations which incorporate switches only meeting the FC-SW requirements.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 voted F58-O00-DNV25 in 12/97 to forward the Project Proposal (97-256). The Covering Letter is 97-452. OMC recommended approval of the Project Proposal (97-0595) in 1/98. NCITS voted by Letter Ballot closing on 3/7 to approve the Project Proposal and number 1305-D was assigned. Work only began on this project in earnest in June 1998, and an initial draft, assigned Revision 4.0 to provide some continuity from FC-SW, has recently been distributed. This project is extend the switch feature set beyond that defined in FC-SW, and items such as distributed servers, hot swapping of switch elements, failure recovery pathing and the management of latency and ordering are topics that are currently being investigated.

2.47 Project 1306-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - Physical Interface

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 10/98
Current 2/99

c. Project Description:

To develop a Fibre Channel 1998 Physical Interface (FC-PI'98) standard. Included within the recommended scope of this project are: 1) The creation of new electrical physical variant definitions at data rates in excess of 1.0626 gigabaud; 2) The creation of new optical physical variant definitions at data rates in excess of 1.0626 gigabaud; 3) The selection of the existing physical variant definitions (both electrical and optical) which are suitable for use in current and future implementations as of 1998; 4) The full definition of the SG optical connector previously approved for inclusion by T11; 5) Other improvements to physical variant definitions that have been suggested by experience with existing implementations. Note that the exclusion of existing physical variant definitions from this document will be approved by specific motions only after the widest possible publicity within the T11 community.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 voted F54-O00-DNV29 in 12/97 to forward the Project Proposal (97-486). The Covering Letter was 97-487. OMC recommended approval of the Project Proposal (97-0594) in 1/98. NCITS voted by Letter Ballot closing on 3/7 to approve the Project Proposal and number 1306-D was assigned. T11 unanimously approved a name change for the project from FC-PI'98 to FC-PI in 4/98. FC-PI is one of two projects under which the considerable task of consolidating three generations of FC-PH standards, and two amendments, into a single coherent structure is being performed. Two projects have been sought for this task to allow division upon the lines of the T11 reorganization, and thus FC-PI will contain all of the definitions related to the physical interface i.e. transceivers, connectors, media, signals and will be executed in Task Group T11.2. The scope of the project proposal made specific reference to "selecting the existing physical variant definitions which were suitable for current and future implementations as of 1998" and not carrying forward the others. This selection process has begun (see 98-338v0), and a very preliminary first draft (98-381v0) has been distributed.

2.48 Project 1315-DT

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - Tape Technical Report

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 8/98
Current 10/98

c. Project Description:

To document a subset of existing Fibre Channel definitions to support streaming devices and medium changers, including, support for additional functions defined in X3.269:1996 (FCP), and being defined in Project 1144-D, FCP-2. The project will focus on class 3 operation and private NL_Port configurations between SCSI initiators and targets. Support of streaming devices and medium changers over FC-AL using other FC classes of service or other configurations may be addressed in this project proposal if the specified target date can be met.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 forwarded the Project Proposal (98-077v2) for further processing at its February 12, 1998 Plenary at San Diego, CA by a vote of 56 for, 1 opposed and 25 not voting. OMC recommended approval of the Project Proposal (98-0062) in 3/98 and NCITS approved by a meeting vote in 3/98. Project Number 1315-DT was assigned. This project has generated considerable controversy regarding the Fibre Channel subset upon which it should be based, with specific reference to the Class of Service used and the implications for the error recovery scheme. However significant progress has been made, largely by virtue of industry-leading companies making available key resources to facilitate the groups activitie's and edit the draft. In four months more than none revisions of the draft TR have been distributed, and an excellent set of agendas and minutes have been produced as well. The list of problems remaining to be resolved is now manageable, and there is a good chance that a slip of no more than two months will be incurred.

2.49 Project 1316-DT

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - Methodology of Jitter Specification 2 Technical Report

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 2/2000
Current 2/2000

c. Project Description:

To define methodologies that will support the physical layer used by the FC Protocol transport layer while maintaining a high degree of compatibility with the methodologies of FC-MJS. This may include an extension of FC-MJS methodologies to higher data rates, improved compliance testing methods, a more precise algorithm for extracting Gaussian jitter components from the total jitter population, and a treatment of jitter accumulation. Interaction of signal amplitude, signal/noise, slew rate, receiver sensitivity, component bandwidth and transmission reflections may also be considered.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 forwarded the Project Proposal (97-485) for further processing at its February 12 1998 Plenary at San Diego, CA by a vote of 57 for, 0 opposed and 25 not voting. OMC recommended approval of the Project Proposal (98-0063) in 3/98 and NCITS approved by a meeting vote in 3/98, with the proviso that the project name be changed (from MJS-2 to FC-MJS-2). Project Number 1316-DT was assigned. Work on this project will not begin until the prior-generation document (FC-MJS) is forwarded for further processing.

2.50 Project 1331-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel Framing and Signaling Interface

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 10/98
Current 12/98

c. Project Description:

To consolidate the relevant sections (framing and signaling) from FC-PH, FC-PH-2, and FC-PH-3 and associated errata, annexes and amendments into a single encompassing document. The project may also involve the deletion or obsoleting of outdated functions and features from those documents, the inclusion of additional link services in support of new functions defined by the FC family of documents, the inclusion of improvements and clarifications to the definitions of existing services as dictated by experience with existing implementations, and other capabilities which will improve the performance of existing FC products and fit those products for new applications.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

In 4/98 T11 voted F46-O00-DNV34 to forward the Project Proposal (98-146v1) for further processing. The Covering Letter is 98-246v0. NCITS approved the project proposal (NCITS 98-0215) on 7/14/98, and Project Number 1331-D was assigned. FC-FS is one of two projects under which the considerable task of consolidating three generations of FC-PH standards, and two amendments, into a single coherent structure is being performed. Two projects have been sought for this task to allow division upon the lines of the T11 reorganization, and thus FC-FS will contain all of the definitions related to the Framing Protocol and levels above it (including class definitions, link services etc.) and will be executed in Task Group T11.3. In similar fashion to the physical variant selection process in FC-PI, a selection of Extended Link Services definitions to be carried forward will be made in FC-FS. An initial list of those definitions which could be excluded has already been distributed.

2.51 Project 1332-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel - Virtual Interface Architecture Mapping

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 4/99
Current 4/99

c. Project Description:

To develop a Fibre Channel - Virtual Interface Architecture (FC-VIA) mapping (FC-4) standard. The goal of FC-VIA is to provide a mapping between FC and VIA which fully exploits the potential of both. Included within the recommended scope of this project are the creation of mappings to Fibre Channel for the transport of Virtual Interface Architecture and support for the full range of Fibre Channel topologies, including loops and fabrics, to enable scalable clustering solutions.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

In 4/98 T11 voted F50-O00-DNV30 to forward the Project Proposal (98-138v2) for further processing. The Covering Letter is 98-247v0. NCITS approved the project proposal (98-0216) on 7/14/98. Project Number 1332-D was assigned. This project has attracted considerable interest within the industry, and three well-attended Ad Hoc meetings dedicated to this project have already been held. The project will work only with public VI documents to avoid copyright issues, and questions regarding patents have already been raised and are being investigated. An initial draft is expected before the end of the year.

2.52 Project 1333-D

a. Project Title: Scheduled Transfer - Application Programming Interface Mappings

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 8/99
Current 8/99

c. Project Description:

To develop API mappings for common APIs onto the facilities provided by ST. The project would determine the most important APIs needed by the emerging ST community. These would likely include, but not necessarily be limited to, socket-based interfaces, common extensions to sockets-based interfaces, VIA, and MPI.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

T11 voted F56-O00-DNV25 in 6/98 to "forward the Project Proposal (98-256v0) for further processing". The Covering Letter is 98-334v0. NCITS approved the project proposal (NCITS 98-0278) on 7/14/98. Project Number 1333-D was assigned. Work on this project is expected to begin in the November timeframe.

2.53 Project 2009-D

a. Project Title: Fibre Channel Avionics Environment

b. Target date for Milestone 4:

Original 6/96
Previous 12/97
Current 12/98

c. Project Description:

To develop reference system designs and implementation guides for the use of Fibre Channel in avionic, military and real-time applications.

d. Publications During Past Year:

e. Statement of Progress and Current Status:

This project has suffered a decrease in interest over the last year, and has undergone changes of Technical Editor and group facilitator. Both of these factors can be attributed to ongoing consolidation amongst the major players in the avionic and military electronic marketplace. The group has been assigned a "checkpoint" to be completed before the end of 1998, to determine if it makes sense to continue with this project. It may be that the project has already served its purpose by creating a group of people who were able to champion the inclusion in other FC draft standards of the features required in order for FC to compete effectively in the avionic and military equipment marketplaces.

3. Committee Activities

a. Previous years meetings

June 9-13, 1997, at Seattle, WA (T11 #21)

August 4-8, 1997 Honolulu, HI (T11 #22, T11.1, #1 T11.2 #1)

October 6-10, 1997 at Tucson, AZ (T11 #23, T11.1 #2, T11.2 #2)

December 8-12, 1997 at Orlando, FL (T11 #24, T11.1 #3, T11.2 #3)

February 9-13, 1998 at San Diego, CA (T11 #25, T11.1 #4, T11.2 #4)

April 20-24, 1998 at Palm Springs , CA (T11 #26, T11.1 #5, T11.2 #5, T11.3 #1, T11.4 #1)

June 8-12, 1998 at St. Petersburg Beach, FL (T11 #27, T11.1 #6, T11.2 #6, T11.3 #2, T11.4 #2)

August 10-14 at Portsmouth, UK (T11 #28, T11.1 #7, T11.2 #7, T11.3 #3, T11.4 #3)

b. Next Year's planned meetings

Oct 5-9, 1998 at Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Dec 14-18, 1998 at Tucson, AZ

Feb 8-12, 1999 at San Diego, CA

Apr 12-16, 1999 at Palm Springs, CA

Jun 7-11, 1999 at Minneapolis, MN

Aug 2-6, 1999 at Minneapolis, MN

Oct 4-8, 1999 at Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Dec 6-10, 1999 at Reno, NV

Full details of these meetings can be found by following the meetings link at www.t11.org. Currently the plenaries of the various groups occur within the meeting week as follows:

T11 Thursday afternoon and evening

T11.1 Wednesday evening

T11.2 Wednesday afternoon

T11.3 Thursday morning

T11.4 Tuesday evening

c. Officers

TC T11 Chair: (appointed 7/5/94, reappointed 6/23/97, resigned 7/1/98)

Roger Cummings

Distributed Processing Technology

140 Candace Drive

Maitland, FL 32751

Phone: (407) 830-5522 x348

Fax: (407) 260-5366

Email: cummings_roger@dpt.com

(Officer training completed 8-9-94 @ ITI)

TC T11 Vice-Chair: (appointed 1/1/97)

Mr. Edward L. Grivna

CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR

2401 E. 86th Street

Bloomington

MN 55425

USA

Phone: 612-851-5046

Fax: 612-851-5087

EMail: elg@cypress.com

TC T11 International Representative: (appointed 12/1/97)

Gene Milligan

SEAGATE TECHNOLOGY

PO Box 12313

Oklahoma City

OK, 73157-2313

USA

Phone: 405-324-3070

Fax: 405-324-3794

Email: gene_milligan@notes.seagate.com

TC T11 Secretary (appointed 2/1/94)

Neil T. Wanamaker

CROSSROADS SYSTEMS

Suite II-300

Austin

TX, 78759

USA

Phone: 512-794-2727

EMail: ntw@crossroads.com

TGS T11.1 Chair (appointed , resignation submitted effective 12/31/98)

Don Tolmie

LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LAB

CIC-5 MS-B255

Los Alamos

NM, 87545

USA

Phone: 505-667-5502

Fax: 505-665-7793

EMail: det@lanl.gov

TGS T11.1 Vice-Chair (appointed 8/6/97)

Roger Ronald

RAYTHEON E-SYSTEMS

P. O. Box 66023

Dallas

TX, 75266-0023

USA

Phone: 972-205-8043

Fax: 972-272-8144

EMail: rronald@esy.com

TGS T11.2 Chair (appointed )

Schelto Van Doorn

SIEMENS FIBER OPTIC COMPONENTS

19000 Homestead Road

Cupertino

CA, 95014

USA

Phone: 408-725-3462

Fax: 408-725-3435

EMail: schelto.van-doorn@smi.siemens.com

TGS T11.2 Vice-Chair (appointed 8/6/97)

Bill Ham

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP.

MS: SHR3-2/W8

Shrewsbury

MA, 01545

USA

Phone: 508-841-2629

Fax: 508-841-5266

EMail: bill_ham@ix.netcom.com

TGS T11.3 Chair (interim as of 4/23/98, volunteered )

Rich Taborek

G2 NETWORKS INC.

16780 Lark Avenue

Los Gatos

Ca, 95032-7646

USA

Phone: 408-399-3867

Fax: 408-399-3899

EMail: rtaborek@g2networks.com

TGS T11.3 Vice-Chair (appointed 4/23/98)

Jeffrey Stai

BROCADE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS INC.

15707 Rockfield

Irvine

CA, 92618

USA

Phone: 949-455-2908

Fax: 949-455-9287

EMail: stai@brocade.com

TGS T11.3 Secretary (appointed 4/23/98)

Douglas Hagerman

DIGITAL EQUIPMENT CORP.

SHR3-2/C5

Shrewsbury

MA, 01545

USA

Phone: 508-841-2145

Fax: 508-841-6100

EMail: douglas.hagerman@digital.com

TGS T11.4 Chair (interim as of 4/21/98, volunteered )

Edwin S. Lee III

EMF ASSOCIATES

15 Patrick Way

Half Moon Bay

CA, 94019

USA

Phone: 650-726-3354

Fax: 650-726-4272

EMail: edwinlee@alum.mit.edu

TGS T11.4 Vice-Chair (appointed 4/21/98)

Kumar Malavalli

BROCADE COMMUNICATIONS

1901 Guadalupe Parkway

San Jose

CA, 95131

USA

Phone: 408-487-8156

Fax: 408-524-8601

EMail: kumar@brocadecomm.com

TGS T11.4 Secretary (appointed 4/21/98)

Virginia F. Haydu

MITRE

202 Burlington Road

Bedford

MA, 01730

USA

Phone: 617-271-3844

Fax: 617-271-2423

EMail: vfh@mitre.org

d. Membership

The separate membership lists for TC T11 and its Task Groups follow. For full address information for the persons identified, see the T11 web page.

Technical Committee T11

Task Group T11.1

Task Group T11.2

Task Group T11.3

Task Group T11.4

e. Liaison activities

Liaison activities are conducted on a voluntary basis by various members of the Technical Committee as the opportunities warrant, and is supplemented by correspondence. Specifically, close liaison is maintained with Technical Committee T10, the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), and the IEEE 802.3Z group developing Gigabit Ethernet. A number of industry groups now exist to promote developments based on T11 standards, including the HIPPI Networking Forum (HNF), the Fibre Channel Association (FCA) and the Fibre Channel Loop Community (FCLC), and close liaison is also maintained with these organizations. Recently liaison has been established with a group within the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) which is chartered to work on a draft called "Internet Protocol over Fibre Channel", amongst others, and with the Storage Networking Industry Association (SNIA).

f. Administrative Matters of Note

As was noted in the Executive Summary, the current T11 Chair as resigned. A Call for Volunteers for this position (closes on 9/18/98.

Calls for Volunteers for the positions of TG T11.3 Chair and T11.4 Chair, closed on 8/10/98 with one submission for each position.

g. Procedural Matters of Note

T11 has made a major transition in early 1998 from paper-based operating procedure to a completely web-based, interactive procedure. An online document register allows documents to be numbered automatically, submitted via ftp, and linked into the register for clickable access. The full details (company, address, phone, e-mail etc.) of attenders at all T11 plenary meetings, and of Principal and Alternate Representatives of all T11 member companies, are available online, and people may updated their own details under password control. A web-based Letter Ballot scheme is in place which allows the submittal of comments by completing a form OR attaching a file to the vote. Future meeting notices may also be generated by completing a web-based form. Both the document and "people" databases are searchable.

The effort that has been necessary to create all of the above web-based pages and databases has been very significant, and is a major reason behind the T11 Chair's decision to resign the post. It is, however, strongly recommended that the Secretariat investigate the provision of such facilities for all NCITS Subgroups in the future, even at the cost of a significant increase in membership fees.

At the same time as the above web-based facilities have been created, the Document Subscription Service has been enhanced by two compact disk options in addition to the paper mailing.

The Editing Fund procedure which was adopted by T11 during 1996 has still not been reflected in the T11 invoices.

h. Recommendations

None at this time

i. Market Impact

The work of T11 continues to attract significant industry attention. Fibre Channel continues to be seen as a key to providing the next generation of system architectures based upon clustered processing systems sharing a single "pool" of mass storage., and its market presence has developed significantly during the period of this report. There is starting to be significant news of FC implementations, in addition to news of FC components or technologies.

Technologies developed for Fibre Channel continue to be adopted for use in other standards, ranging from Gigabit Ethernet to various schemes for "home networks". Significantly, FC technology is also finding usage in new designs which will replace proprietary interfaces. In many cases these new designs are still not being advertised as industry-standard, but do conform to the FC standards at some levels if not others.

HIPPI-6400 continues to attract a small but dedicated following. However among that following there is company committing the standard to silicon, and several with applications which are committed to use the technology, so this work will clearly result in more than just paperwork.

4. Anticipated Projects

Of the two areas of activity in which projects were anticipated in the last report, only one has really come to fruition, namely the continued development of the FC physical interface. The group of people who define the FC and HIPPI physical variants, and who are based in TG T11.2, continue to be widely regarded as being the industry leaders in both electrical and optical gigabit transceiver technologies. That group is specifically focused at present on leading-edge work on jitter specification and measurement, and upon the development of technologies for higher-speed electrical connections. With such advanced work as this, it is not possible to accurately anticipate future developments, but work on these themes is expected to continue for at least another year.

The other area of anticipated development was protocol mappings, and in the term of this report only one additional mapping project has been initiated. However this project is very significant as it is for a mapping of the VI Architecture, and this project is attracting significant interest from people who see FC gaining use as a cluster interconnect. It is very possible that the interest in FC-VI will lead to other protocol mapping projects within T11.

It is also possible that for the first time the focus of FC developments will shift outside of T11. With FC's ability to connect thousands and more devices obtained from a number of vendors over a period of a number of years, two areas of standardization become key which have not previously been important in smaller, bus-connected mass storage configurations. These areas are management integration and compliance testing, and standards on those subjects are traditionally produced by bodies other than NCITS.

Management integration requires FC devices to be able to be identified, controlled, and diagnosed using industry-standard applications based upon standards such as the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). Standards in this area are typical produced by organizations such as the Internet Engineering Task Force.

Compliance testing requires a formal specification of the features and required operation of FC devices such that stringent and accurate evaluations can be performed which guarantees interoperability over multiple vendors and extended timescales, and can provide users some guarantee of compatibility as part of an acceptance procedure.

Work is already underway in FC-related industry organizations in these areas and liaisons are being formed with the appropriate standards bodies. Some of these bodies already have liaisons with T11, and in many cases there is common membership. However the extent to which this work will result in standards projects within T11, or elsewhere, is difficult to gauge at this time.

5. Future Trends in Area of standardization

The trend towards the development of computer-related standards in industry groups rather than in formal standards committees has continued to gain strength. Specifically, this trend reflects the consolidation of "design activities" for the entire computer industry into a much smaller number of centers. The industry groups referenced elsewhere in this report have now reached a level of stability that they are probably capable of pursuing such a path themselves and, although none have yet given notice of an intention to do so, it would be wise to anticipate such developments in the future. Furthermore, it is presently felt unlikely that any new major standardization activities in the computer interface arena will take place in a formal standards committee, given the current structure of the marketplace.

The power of the T11 approach of developing modular standards, wherein physical characteristics and logical functions are standardized separately, has again been demonstrated during 1997. The ability of the interface technologies to support higher data rates, and longer distances, still seems to be only a function of cost. The ability to upgrade field installations with new technology without major systems impact has now been clearly demonstrated. It is this demonstrated lack of a performance "ceiling", or lack of a "compatibility break" which is often seen to be the key in obtaining investment in current-generation technology.

Attachment 1. Committee Projects: SD-4 Data

            ANSI                                ISO
Proj #    Title        ANS #    Est. Comp.  Proj# Doc #

   54-L  PBI                    Published   97.13
  496-M  IPI-3D        9318-3   Published         IS 9318-3:1990
  496-R  IPI-3DR       X3.291   Published   canc.
  505-M  IPI-3T        9318-4   Published         IS 9318-4:1990
  505-R  IPI-3TR       X3.290   Published   canc.
  667-M  HIPPI-PH      X3.183   Published   12.01 IS 11518-1:1995
  702-M  HIPPI-FP      X3.210   Published   12.02 IS 11518-2:1996
  702-M  HIPPI-FP:AM 1 X3.210   Published
  702-R  HIPPI-FP Revi 210      1998
  755-D  FC-PH         X3.230   Published         CD 14165-111
  755-M  FC-PH:AM 1    X3.230   Published
  755-M  FC-PH:DAM 2   X3.230   1998
  789-M  IPI-2DE       X3.236   Published
  818-M  HIPPI-SC Revi X3.222   Published   12.06 IS 11518-6:1996
  825-M  HIPPI-LE      X3.218   Published   12.03 IS 11518-3:1996
  825-R  HIPPI-LER              1998
  901-M  FC-PH-2       X3.297   Published   13.14 CD14165-112
  954-M  FC-FP         X3.254   Published   13.04 CD14165-211
  955-M  FC-LE         X3.287   Published
  957-M  FC-SB         X3.271   Published   13.11 14165-221
  958-M  FC-FG         X3.289   Published   13.05 CD14165-141
  959-D  FC-SW         321      1998        13.12 14165-131
  960-M  FC-AL         X3.272   Published   13.06 CD14165-121
  979-M  HIPPI-FC      X3.283   Published
 1026-M  HIPPI-ATM     X3.299   Published   12.08 CD 11518-8
 1050-M  FC-GS         X3.288   Published   13.15 14165-411
 1117-M  HIPPI Serial  X3.300   Published   12.09 CD11518-9
1118-DT  10 Bit Interf TR-18    Published
 1119-D  FC-PH-3       X3.303   1998        13.16 CD14165-113
 1132-M  SBCON         X3.296   Published
 1133-D  FC-AL-2                1998
 1134-D  FC-GS-2                1998
1135-DT  FC_CU                  1999
1162-DT  FC-PLDA       TR-19    Published
 1213-D  HIPPI-6400-PH 323      1998
1230-DT  FC-MJS                 1998
 1231-D  HIPPI-6400-SC 324      1998
 1232-D  FC-SL                  1998
1235-DT  FC-FLA        TR-20    Published
 1237-D  FC-AV                  1999        13.18
 1238-D  FC-BB                  1999
 1245-D  ST                     1998
 1249-D  HIPPI-6400-OP          1998
 1300-D  FC-10KCR               1998
 1304-D  FC-AL-3                1999
 1305-D  FC-SW-2                1998
 1306-D  FC-PI                  1998
1315-DT  FC-Tape                1998
1316-DT  FC-MJS-2               2000
 1331-D  FC-FS                  1998
 1332-D  FC-VI                  1999
 1333-D  ST-API                 1999
 2009-D  FC-AE                  1998        13.19

Attachment 2. Internal Procedures

Electronic Procedures

T11 unanimously approved a set of procedures to support electronic mailings in February 1998. While they are felt to comply with X3/96-0311 "X3 Guidelines on Use of Electronic Means of Communication", they are attached for reference.

T11/98-050v2

T11 Procedures to support electronic mailings

The following represent an amendment to the working procedures which T11 as previously followed made necessary by the transition to CD mailings. The new procedures cover three areas:

1) Submission of presentation material in advance of the T11 meeting weeks

2) Submission of material for the mailings

Additional items that procedures are being proposed for at this time, taking advantage of the same web-based support scheme as for 1) & 2) above:

3) Self-maintenance of personal record information by T11 attenders

4) Submission of details of ad hoc and study groups meetings and teleconferences

5) A web-based "letter ballot" procedure

In addition, the previously-agreed procedures on electronic notification of jeopardy are updated here in line with the new procedures.

1) Submission of material in advance of T11 meeting weeks

This procedure is based on use of the document numbering scheme accessed via the "docs" link on T11 web page, and also on use of a writable directory (currently called t11/member/incoming) on the T11 FTP site. It shall be required to both upload the file of the material and obtain a document number by 1159pm Pacific Standard Time on WEDNESDAY of the week before the T11 meeting week. It is important to correctly identify both the project with which the submission is associated, and the meeting at which the material will be presented, in the form which is filled in as part of the numbering process. The primary file formats accepted are as follows (in order of preference):

a) PDF;

b) HTML;

c) Text;

d) RTF.

In addition, the following secondary file formats will be accepted in exceptional circumstances only IF THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE:

e) Postscript;

f) Any common binary format (Word, WordPerfect, Framemaker MIF etc.).

When the requirement is met, there shall be no requirement to bring paper copies to the meeting.

If this requirement is not met, the material will only be able to be presented at the discretion of the chair or facilitator of the meeting, and paper copies in sufficient numbers that they can be easily referenced by all meeting attenders shall be required to be provided. However subsequent to the meeting, a binary copy shall also be required for the following mailing, see 2) below.

When significant changes are made to a document which has already been submitted, authors are asked to upload a complete new version and create a new record in the database indicating a new revision of an existing document, rather than replacing the previously-uploaded file.

2) Submission of material for T11 mailings

This procedure is based on the use of the document numbering scheme accessed via the "docs" link on T11 web page, and also on use of a writable directory (currently called t11/member/incoming) on the T11 FTP site. It shall required to both upload the file of the material and obtain a document number by 1159pm Pacific Standard Time on THURSDAY of the week following the T11 Plenary. It is important to correctly identify the project with which the submission is associated, and if appropriate the meeting in the following two months at which the material will be presented, in the form which is filled in as part of the numbering process. The primary file formats accepted are as follows (in order of preference):

a) PDF;

b) HTML;

c) Text;

d) RTF.

In addition, the following secondary file formats will be accepted in exceptional circumstances only IF THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE:

e) Postscript;

f) Any common binary format (Word, WordPerfect, Framemaker MIF etc.).

Only information which meets the above requirements shall be included in the following T11 mailing. The T11 Chair reserves the right to refuse to include material in a T11 mailing on such grounds as inappropriateness, commercial nature etc, and will return to the submitter reasons for the rejection by e-mail.

When significant changes are made to a document which has already been submitted, authors are asked to upload a complete new version and create a new record in the database indicating a new revision of an existing document, rather than replacing the previously-uploaded file.

Material which met the requirements of 1) above will be included in the following T11 mailing, and shall not have to be submitted twice.

3) Self-maintenance of personal record information

A link on the T11 web page provides the ability for designated T11 representatives and meeting attenders to update their personal information (i.e. company, address, phone, fax, e-mail address). T11 representatives will need to enter the invoice number from their most recent NCITS invoice number in order to complete the edit of their information. T11 meeting attenders will need to receive a password from the T11 chair in order to complete the edit of their information.

It will no longer be necessary for attenders @ T11 meetings to provide a full address and fax number on the T11 meeting signup sheets. The only information which will be required to be provided in the company affiliation and e-mail address. The attenders will receive an e-mail after the meeting week asking them to complete their person record via the web, but this will be optional.

4) Submission of Ad Hoc group meeting information

A link on the T11 web page allows facilitators to create notices for upcoming Ad Hoc and Study Group meetings and teleconferences (Ad Hoc meetings are associated with existing projects), and Study Group meetings. Information shall be provided at least two weeks before the actual meeting or teleconference, and full details shall be provided either on the web page or via an open e-mail reflector to allow participation by all interested parties.

5) Web-based "letter ballot"

T11 Letter Ballots shall be disseminated to all Principal and Alternate Representatives via a special reflector maintained by the T11 Chair (t11m@dpt.com).

A link on the T11 web page will allow access to all current T11 Letter Ballots. Letter Ballot forms will no longer be included in the T11 mailings. Votes shall be able to be cast via a form on the web page which is specific to each ballot, and will also be able to be returned by e-mail to the T11 Chair in emergency situations only. Where comments are attached to a vote, the shall be required to be submitted in binary form by one of the following methods in order of preference:

a) In a text field on the ballot form;

b) As a MIME attachment to the ballot form (requires a capable browser);

c) Via fax to the T11 Chair

Reminder messages will be issued by e-mail to the representatives of member organizations which have not submitted votes at intervals until the ballot closes.

Votes shall be regarded as confidential until the closing of the ballot period. The ballot results will be disseminated via the open t11 reflector (currently t11@network.com), along with all comments

submitted.

6) Jeopardy

Notification of a T11 member organization being in jeopardy for both non-attendance at Plenary meetings, or failure to return Letter Ballots, shall be conducted by e-mail only. Jeopardy notifications will no longer be included in T11 mailings.

Attachment 3. Financial Statement

Not applicable