DOD Global Information Grid Architectural Vision

As a follow-up to our July piece on the IPv6 (and beyond)-based U.S. military Global Information Grid (see A New GIG in Town), we draw your attention to a newly released paper, the DOD's GIG Architectural Vision statement.

Department of Defense Global Information Grid Architectural Vision (39-page PDF)

Information is the key commodity in the target GIG, and vast amounts of data are available in near-real time to information consumers. This includes intelligence, business process, logistics, status, Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), sensor, raw, processed, structured, unstructured, and multi-media data. Recognition of information as a strategic, enterprise asset, coupled with significant improvements in IA and IT capabilities, underlie the willingness of information producers and providers to share information. Data capture, retention, and sharing are key requirements for all new GIG capabilities. Using automated tools, information providers ‘post’ information to the GIG (so that it is visible, accessible, and understandable to others) as soon as it becomes available. For example, streaming video from an unmanned sensor is ‘posted’ to the net as it is produced. It is then available to multiple users such as the local tactical Commander and CONUS-based intelligence analysts.

Sharing information is enhanced through a set of automated activities and capabilities including the tagging of information with discovery, semantic, syntax, access control, and other metadata. Metadata is cataloged and discoverable allowing even unanticipated information consumers to find and access the information they need. It is also enhanced by the formation of ad hoc Communities of Interest (COIs) focused on sharing information for specific joint missions/tasks. At a minimum, these COIs agree on a common language and structure for data, and identify relevant information sources. Users can find and access the information they require by advanced search and retrieval methods (pull) or by identifying, in advance, their information requirements (smart pull). Rapidly developed and fielded applications and services (discussed in more detail in Section 4) support advanced, automated methods to fuse, process, visualize, and exploit information in ways tailored to the user needs.

Finally, users explicitly trust the availability, authenticity, confidentiality, non-repudiation, integrity, and survivability of the information, assets, and services of the assured target GIG. They also trust the resources that users need to access, share, and use, are not static but can be adjusted to support changing priorities and requirements. GIG NetOps is an enterprise-wide construct that includes procedural and technological elements including doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership and education, personnel, and facilities (DOTMLPF). It is used to operate and defend the GIG in support of timely and secure operations and information sharing throughout the DoD and with mission partners. The target GIG is operated and defended as a unified, agile, end-to-end information enterprise that is protected, optimized, and responsive to user needs. Operational GIG capabilities are continually analyzed and provisioned; configurations are controlled; performance is monitored and anticipated; vulnerabilities are mitigated; and resource allocations (including spectrum) are dynamically adjusted to optimize the performance and security of the GIG and meet specific mission demands and priorities. (...)

All services and information in the target GIG are published to the enterprise (i.e., visible) and are accessible and understandable to the user independent of geography or organization. In addition, all GIG services are assured, which means that the design and implementation of the functionality provided by services provide confidence that security features, practices, procedures, and architecture mediates and enforces the security policy. Assured also means that the provider of the service is validated and that the consumer of the service: can trust the use of services from many different providers, can obtain validated information on the identity of providers, and may be able to negotiate specific performance guarantees in service level agreements. All service providers use a common set of service description information to enable consistent discovery and use of the services.

Services are monitored and managed as part of NetOps. Service consumers will have access to real-time reliability, maintainability, and availability metrics in order to make informed decisions on the reliability of the service for use in mission capabilities. Service providers provide real-time operational status and long-term service-level performance.

h/t Bob Brewin