Over the lifetime of the CRC, the telecommunications industry has shifted from a focus on ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) and Broadband ISDN favoured by the traditional telecommunications carriers to a fous on the use of the Internet Protocol to support a wide range of network transmission and switching approaches. The CRC has focussed on developing new applications for Australian organisations that take advantage of these network technology developments. The recent opening up of the Australian telecommunications market to new carriers is increasing the range of choice of network technologies, and increasing the need for research into how to most effectively use these technologies to commercial advantage.

The Network Applications and Performance project has focussed on the development of expertise in designing and implementing systems for the delivery of audio and video services over a range of new telecommunication networks. The project implemented its McIver video-on-demand system over the Victorian Regional Network (part of AARNet) between Monash University and Melbourne University. It also installed McIver in the State Library of Victoria. McIver was converted to operate over an IP data network to improve its support for a range of underlying switching and transmission technologies. The project has also been working closely with Cinemedia in the development of its Swift video-on-demand service, which uses McIver technology, for schools in Victoria. Initial testing of the service is under way over a range of network technologies.

The Framework for Access to Multimedia Environments (FRAMES) project has focussed on the development of system architectures and tools for intelligent storage, querying and retrieval of digital media content. The project issued an expression of interest for the commercialisation of FRANK (Film Researchers Archival Navigation Kit), which has led to negotiations for the incorporation of the technology in commercial products. The project carried out a case study of TV sports footage with Optus Sportsvision.

The On-Line Data Archives (OLDA) project is focussing on the development of systems for on-demand access to large distributed data archives, and demonstrating high performance solutions to time-critical applications requiring large datasets. The project has developed the DISCWorld architecture for managing distributed archives in a scalable manner, which is used in the development of demonstrations for industry. The project developed a distributed image archive system for the management of photo-reconnaissance data for the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO). It also developed the CROP demonstrator for processing and delivering wheat crop forecasts derived from satellite images for Agrecon Pty Ltd.

The Resource Discovery project investigates technologies for the effective publishing and retrieval of electronic information and services on the Internet and World-Wide-Web. The project was involved in three large commercially competitive consultancies with the federal and state governments. These consultancies established a firm framework for the Whole-of-Government information search architecture that will see the introduction of more effective online government services in the future. The project successfully commercialised and sold its premier research product (HotOIL) into industry. The project was also successful in establishing and influencing a new standards working group within the World-Wide-Web Consortium (W3C) on metadata technologies.

The Research Data Network CRC completed its funding of the upgrade to the Australian Academic and Research Network (AARNet) in the 1996/97 financial year. Over the past year, AARNet initiated several pilot projects to demonstrate new uses for AARNet made possible by higher bandwidth and the ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) network backbone. Experiments were conducted between Canberra and Brisbane to test the viability of connecting university PABXs to carry interstate voice traffic across AARNet. AARNet is also carrying out a survey of telephone traffic and equipment used in universities to determine whether there is a business case for carrying telephone traffic over AARNet. The Research Data Network CRC has been involved in pilot projects for video-on-demand (including McIver) over AARNet.

Telstra's Experimental Broadband Network (EBN) played a key role in providing a common infrastructure for collaboration between the projects. During 1997, each of the projects had significant demonstrations operating over the EBN. A workshop was held in October 1997 to share experiences in using the EBN, and to discuss further collaboration. Unfortunately the EBN service was withdrawn in December 1997. The CRC then commenced negotiations with major carriers for use of their new commercial ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) services.

The Network Applications project began to use Telstra's Accelerate service in January 1998 to continue communications between Monash University and Cinemedia. The OLDA and FRAMES projects commenced negotiations with Optus to use the Optus Multi-net ATM service in the fourth quarter of 1998. The Research Data Network CRC intends to develop proposals to re-establish broadband connectivity to all the sites during 1999. In the meantime, the CRC is contributing to broadband application trials in video communications and distributed computing being conducted by AARNet. These trials build on the developments on the EBN and are demonstrating possible future developments of AARNet.

The CRC had its third year review conducted during the second half of 1997. International experts carried out stage one of the review separately for each project. The reviewers gave high praise for the quality of the research program in each project, and made several useful suggestions that were acted upon by the Boards of Management for each project. The second stage of the review highlighted the strength of the cooperation between the partners of each project, but recommended that cooperation between projects be strengthened. The second stage review also requested that the CRC develop a plan to ensure that the outcomes of the projects are utilised beyond the official completion date of the Commonwealth Government funding in March 1999.