Advances in high-speed networking and computing have led to a diversification of distributed applications ranging from distributed hypermedia systems such as WWW, through to interactive multimedia conferencing systems. Underlying transmission technology has not simply speeded up, but a broader range of performance characteristics must now be subsumed within any communications system. Nomadic, wireless, high speed, best effort and guaranteed Internet, B-ISDN and other services are all available. Multicast group communication in the local and wide area is often possible. Advances in specification languages, implementation languages and compiler techniques should be accomodated in new architectures.

Existing communications architectures such as the ISO's OSI and the Internet model fall short of providing a framework for designing and implementing complete systems for supporting novel applications in this new world. A number of ad hoc techniques have emerged beyond simple layered models of protocols that help structure open communications systems that are flexible (to allow for new services and applications) and efficient (to take advantage of increased performance, but not incur too much overhead at the low-speed or high delay and error rate end of the spectrum). Automatic, or semi-automatic techniqus (protocol graph re-linking, stack and configuration specification languages and so on) are emerging as a possible path forward.

In this issue of JSAC, we address the systems architecture for protocols to support networked applications: Topics of interest include (but are not restricted to):

• New communication system architectures
• Languages and other approaches for Efficient Automatic Protocol Generation
• Integration of applications and higher layer protocols
• Integrated Layer Processing and Application Level Framing
• Application oriented design (or tailored protocols)
• Continuous Media and Protocol Layers
• Network Conscious/Adaptive Applications and Protocols
• Delivery of Signaling through the Systems Stack
• Resource management and control
• Quality of Service for whole Protocol Stacks
• Quality of Service Mapping between Applications and Protocols
• Native ATM stacks
• API design questions
• Open Reference Architectures and Standards
• Experimental Systems

SUBMISSION

Deadline of the initial paper submission is January 1, 1997. Acceptance notification by May 1, 1997. Final papers are due July 1, 1997, with an anticipated publication date in the first quarter of 1998.

Authors should follow the IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communication manuscript format described in the Information for Authors section found on the inside back cover of any issue of JSAC. A manuscript identical to, or largely based on, a conference paper must be so identified. Prospective authors are requested to submit five (5) copies of their manuscript to one of the guest editors listed.