The Internet needs to be upgraded with a new layer of abilities that will deal with imminent problems of capacity, security and reliability, Intel Chief Technology Officer Pat Gelsinger said Thursday. . . .

Gelsinger pointed to PlanetLab, an experimental network that sits on top of the Internet, as a step in the right direction. Hewlett-Packard and Intel have begun work trying to commercialize the project, which was started in 2002 in order to overlay the Internet with intelligence and adaptability. And the Public Broadcasting Service will use Planet Lab to broadcast high-definition TV shows, Gelsinger said in a speech here at the Intel Developer Forum.

"We think the work we're doing today is laying the foundation for the Internet of tomorrow," Gelsinger said, dubbing the fruits of PlanetLab work "the new Net."


Servers embedded in the network provide PlanetLab with the new layer of services, Gelsinger said. Those services include event processing to monitor what's happening; network mapping to arrange connections between computers; content distribution to optimize where information is stored; and Webcasting to make broadcasting efficient.

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