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Steven Titch,
Editor-in-Chief
titch@titchonline.com
Sharon J. Watson, Managing Editor
Developers
working on massive multiplayer online gaming platforms
Butterfly.net Inc.
123 E. German Street
Shepherdstown, WV 25443
p: +1 304 870 1234
f: + 1304 876 0959
Micro Forté Ltd.
95 Rose Street
Chippendale, NSW 2008
Australia
p: +61-2-9319-3047
f: +61-2-9319-7590
Zona Inc.
633c Veterans Blvd.
Redwood City, CA 94063
USA
p: +1 650 361 1133
f: +1 650 361 8833
The Personal Information Technology Report
August 13, 2002
In this issue:
First person shooters and other uses for the grid
Sprint's voice strategy speaks volumes
First person shooters and other uses for the grid
The story in brief:
Massively multiplayer online gaming is set to be the first major
commercial application for grid networking. It also needs a robust
service provider network to reach its fullest potential. Developers of
gaming platforms see a profitable role for service providers and are
urging them to use their broadband and wireless networks to get a
sizable piece of the action.
Is it time for the Bells to bed
Lara Croft?
Up to now, computer gaming,
which draws on sophisticated, creative design and programming talent,
has been strongest in the video console and PC software industries. As
residential broadband connections increase and the processing power and
graphics capabilities on mobile devices improve, the gaming industry
sees the public network as a playing field, both in the literal sense
for its customers and in a figurative sense as a marketing and revenue
opportunity.
New developments in grid
computing, which supercharges the distribution and processing of
interactive information, have heightened interest. In May,
Butterfly.net Inc., a game development studio, announced an agreement
with IBM to deliver the first computing grid for the video game
industry.
Grids are 24/7 environments
that enable software applications to be shared across institutional
boundaries.
Grid networking is analogous to
parallel processing. With mainframe computers, parallel processing
speeds computation by dividing a large operation among several
processors. With the Internet, grid networking accelerates processing
by distributing functions over multiple servers.
Grid networks are built with
clusters of servers joined together over the Internet, using protocols
developed by the Globus Open Source Community, a project founded by the
University of Chicago and now based at Argonne National Laboratory and
the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute.
IBM is the industry's leading
supplier of grid systems and services to the scientific and technical
community, largely using its line of p690 eServers running Linux. It is
working with the Globus group to extend grid computing into the
commercial sphere. Despite several requests, IBM declined to be
interviewed for this article.
__________________________________________________
The technical end
Online video games have
historically segmented players onto separate servers, limiting the
number that could interact and creating reliability and support
obstacles. Butterfly.net's grid technology assembles single gaming
environments across numerous servers, letting video game providers
deliver fast-paced games to millions of users at the same time (see
diagram). Butterfly.net's gaming grid will support:
Massive numbers of players within one persistent-state world. Before the Butterfly grid, online video games have been divided into "shards" that provide copies of the complete game environment on separate servers, limiting the number of players that can interact. The Butterfly grid provides "cross-server sentinels" that could potentially support the interaction of millions of players in one true world, with server boundaries invisible to players. A portion of the game environment and its associated processing can be hosted on a server owned and controlled by one service provider, yet can be seamlessly linked to another portion of the environment managed by another server and another service provider. Both share in revenues generated by gamers.
Distributed Artificial
Intelligence. Butterfly.net provides a "daemon controller" for
advanced interactions between players and non-player characters through
a simple, standard interface.
Connected devices. Butterfly.net connects PCs, PocketPCs,
Palm-compatible handhelds, and dedicated video-game consoles in
massively-multiplayer online games. An innovative packet-transport
protocol provides fast, balanced game-play over broadband, dial-up and
mobile.
Hot-swappable components.
Once an online video game is launched, it doesn't need to be constantly
taken off line for patches or maintenance. When grid components are
unavailable, connections are redirected to available resources for
continuous game play.
3D engine support.
Game developers working on the Butterfly grid can exploit fully
integrated, industry-standard 3D engines out of the box.
Shared-source developer
sandbox. A licensing program allows for real-time prototyping on a
live server grid with full bandwidth and simulation/load testing.
_________________________________________________
Butterfly.net's deal with IBM
moved the small, privately-held West Virginia company to the forefront
of a number of small companies developing massive multiplayer gaming
systems. Others include Micro Forté, Chippendale, Australia, and
Zona Inc., Redwood City, CA, which last week said it received a new
round of $2 million in venture capital funding.
The Butterfly.net-IBM agreement
and the concept of grid networking illustrate the next round of
opportunities that exist in Internet infrastructure development. Grid
networking increases the scale of Internet applications to previously
unimaginable dimensions. Gaming is just one application, but because it
is highly interactive, requires speedy processing and derives greater
value as more users participate in real time, it is well-suited to
illustrate the way service providers can draw on the resources of a
global network infrastructure and use them to distribute the same
personal information technology application to an individual using any
type of device anywhere in the world.
The online gaming value chain
IDC expects on-line gaming to
be a $2.3 billion market by 2005. In a similar study, Frost &
Sullivan forecasts that revenues will be as high as $12.8 billion by
2008. By then, Frost & Sullivan predicts, there will be close to
180 million mobile players.
Service providers can be an
important link in the online gaming value chain along with developers
and publishers, says David Levine, CEO of Butterfly.net.
Developers license or create
entertainment properties and develop interactive game products, Levine
explains. This includes designing game play, producing the art and
environment and programming the game logic. Examples would be Lucas
Arts, Maxis, Squaresoft and Blizzard.
Publishers manufacture,
distribute and market the packaged game product, support consumers of
the packaged product, manage intellectual property rights and develop
business opportunities by funding completion, collecting revenue and
distributing royalty payments to developers and license holders.
Examples would be Electronic Arts, Sony, Vivendi Universal, Microsoft
and Activision.
Service providers host game
servers, support consumers of subscription products, bill consumers for
subscription fees and distribute subscription revenue to developers and
publishers. Examples here, says Levine, include regional Bell companies
such as Verizon Communications and BellSouth; long distance service
providers such as AT&T and Sprint, wireless companies such as
Orange and Vodafone, cable companies such as AOL Time Warner, ISPs such
as Earthlink and publisher portals such as Microsoft's Zone and Xbox
Live and Electronic Arts' EA.com.
Notice that service providers
and publishers are on two sides of the same coin. Both collect
revenues, provide customer support and distribute revenue. In this
respect, service providers will be called on to learn more about the
way the publishing business works with content creators (e.g., content
isn't free). The service provider revenue stream, however, doesn't come
from retail sales as it would for a publisher; instead it comes from
subscription services that leverage the service providers' ability to
use their network to both support the grid and provide access to it.
This is what makes the service provider channel unique and what
justifies greater investment in up-to-date network platforms.
Notice, too, that Electronic
Arts and Microsoft, along with Vivendi and Sony, are carving out
on-line mechanisms through their game portals. Service providers need
to respond with their own portals or structure partnerships with portal
providers, or else miss a substantial opportunity to get a piece of
this emerging revenue stream. Again, service providers' ability to
configure complex data networks is their key asset. The investment and
partnership window is open now.
_________________________________________________________
The Globus Toolkit
Butterfly.net is working
with the Globus Project to ensure that any video game developed
according to publicly available specifications and Internet open
standards can draw resources-on-demand from the Butterfly.net grid.
The Globus Project
provides software tools that make it easier to build computational
grids and grid-based applications. Collectively called the Globus
Toolkit, the tools provide authorization and accounting functions,
allocate hardware resources, and configure game-specific logic and
monitors performance on the grid.
The Globus Toolkit is an
open architecture, open source software toolkit. A number of companies
have committed to supporting this open source activity by porting the
software to their platforms or by other means.
The Globus Toolkit
continues to evolve as a result of user feedback and ongoing research
and development. For more information about the toolkit, toolkit
downloads and general information about grid computing, visit www.globus.org.
_________________________________________________________
"It's a big opportunity for
revenue," says Levine, who believes gaming can be an added selling
point for broadband connectivity services like cable modems and DSL.
Also, grid networking promises
to have many more commercial applications, particularly in
collaboration, manufacturing and e-commerce. Most other initiatives
right now are experimental. Toyota reportedly is using grid networking
in an assembly line application. Grid networking's ongoing development
is part of the overall evolution of the phone network from
point-to-point voice to a meshed processing environment supporting
personal information technology.
It's now understood that neither broadband nor wireless data sells itself. Building the infrastructure doesn't automatically mean subscribers will come. Consumers need reasons for using broadband. Online gaming is one of the best applications for both landline and wireless ends of the business. Because it's a proven commodity, gaming technology continues to attract talent and investment dollars. Now it's fueling some of the most exciting developments in large-scale networking.
For public network service
providers, the combination of online gaming with grid networking is a
lucrative opportunity with near-term payback. At the same time
providers can gain immediate experience with a brand-new technology
that stands to have profound influence on the evolution of network
technology and services just as it's emerging from the lab.
***************
Sprint's voice strategy speaks volumes
The Story in Brief:
Sprint and Sprint PCS hope to lead in the integration of voice into
data applications, specifically in enterprise networks. Beyond plans to
explore the potential of VoIP and voice interfaces, Sprint is also
defining a new value chain in which it is the critical link between
systems integrators and applications developers, using its extensive
network to ensure applications functionality across multiple transport
platforms.
Sprint quietly has been taking
the lead in integrating Internet protocol (IP) -based voice
applications into the network platforms it offers large enterprises.
From a broader perspective, it is creating a role for itself in another
new service provider value chain.
This value chain places system
integrators on the customer side, applications developers on the supply
side, and Sprint's national long distance, local and wireless networks
in the middle, hosting applications and providing the functional glue
to tie locations and individuals to the corporate wide area network
(WAN).
More information about Sprint's
strategy will come at Sprint PCS's applications developers' conference
later this month in Las Vegas. Last month, in a keynote address at the
VOX2002 Conference, Rob Hammond, senior director, integrated product
and market planning for Sprint Business, outlined the vision of how
Sprint would integrate business networking applications so they
incorporate the ease of voice telephony functionality, yet do so all
within an IP environment (see Reality Check
for week ending July 26, 2002).
Sprint would integrate
applications within its network, but would seek partnerships with
systems integrators who would package these integrated applications for
their own customers, Hammond told TitchOnline.com. Meanwhile, at the
back end, Sprint would partner with applications developers to tailor
new network applications that would exploit voice over IP platforms.
Sprint calls its approach the Voice Applications Preferred Partner
Program, or VAP3.
To be sure, using VoIP to
integrate voice and data applications is not a new concept. But what's
key is that Sprint is the only major telephone company to have
articulated a strategic approach to using VoIP as a way to add value
and utility to enterprise networks. Its public network competitors,
including AT&T, WorldCom and the Baby Bells, have tended to focus
on providing bandwidth, a commodity that is difficult to differentiate.
And while AT&T and WorldCom have experimented with VoIP, the Bells,
ever concerned about protecting their dial-tone revenues, consider VoIP
radioactive.
Perhaps sensing its advantage,
Sprint's been stealthy, letting signs of this strategy slip only at
venues designed for enterprise users, such as VOX2002 and, earlier this
year, Comdex Chicago. That's when Sprint PCS disclosed an agreement
with Computer Associates International and CompuCom Systems. That deal
involved extending corporate LAN applications to function over 802.11b
(Wi-Fi) networks, but it reflected the same value chain described above (See Sprint Stoops to
Conquer). CA builds the software; CompuCom, as a systems
integrator, packages the complete solution. Sprint PCS provides the
cross-network functionality so all of the applications would port
across public and private networks.
'Triple A'
As applications call for more
data transactions between servers and databases within the network,
Sprint sees itself as pivotal in providing authentication,
authorization and administration (increasingly being referred to in IT
circles as "Triple A") for these transactions.
By emphasizing Triple A, Sprint is pointing out a strategic direction to an industry that continues to bang its collective head against the wall believing that all its problems would be solved if it could only make the dial-tone model work for broadband.
Sprint has realized that the
future growth of its business lies in managing diverse LAN/WAN
applications as they expand beyond the stationary desktops within
geographic confines of the office park. This
will be far more important than merely providing a simple connection to
a network "core" where those applications reside.
Sprint isn't trying to create
every new application or take on the difficult task of configuring them
from segment to vertical segment. What it won't concede is its position
to use its network to manage, direct and administer hundreds, if not
thousands of different servers that will be called on to support all
those new applications.
This isn't easy, for it means
taking responsibility for millions of mission-critical network
transactions that occur daily in support of corporate and individual
Web and Internet applications. It also means tackling complex issues of
mesh network signaling, real-time transaction processing and next
generation operations support systems. It means less linemen and more
line coders.
Still, because their networks
already scale beyond what exists in any enterprise WAN, Triple A is
where telephone companies are best positioned to provide unique value.
That's why Sprint can leave specific applications configuration to
systems integrators. With IP as the common denominator, Sprint sees its
job is to provide universal support for all applications
across different management, administrative and device platforms. And
voice is as important as all others.
__________________________________________________
Sprint PCS's Application Developer's
Program is dedicated to cultivating a strong wireless
developer community that will enrich the wireless Internet experience
and drive adoption of Sprint PCS Wireless Web through innovative
application design and development of wireless applications.
The company's second annual
ADP conference is scheduled for August 25 - 28 at the MGM Grand in Las
Vegas. For more information, follow the link above or visit www.sprint.com.
__________________________________________________
"Voice does certain things
well," says Hammond. "You can go to a web site and see a weather map,
but sometimes it's easier just to hear what the weather forecast is. We
see it as just another choice users can have when accessing their
data."
By allowing a user to receive
information from a server by voice over the phone, or execute a command
in any given application by voice response, rather rely on a keyboard
or mouse, Sprint takes a direct hand in making that application easier
to use, thereby increasing its utility and appeal.
"We are providing the customer
with an interface they can use on their own terms," says Jeff Adelmann,
director, emerging and integrated solutions, Sprint Business.
This simplicity is especially
valuable in wireless situations, where the user's device might be small
and a keyboard impractical. At the same time, interest in wireless data
functionality has sharpened with the sudden popularity of Wi-Fi
networks. It's no surprise then to see Sprint PCS with a leading part
in the company's overall VoIP effort.
The paradox of letting go
If there's a paradox in the
current services market, it's this: Yield control of the end customer
-- as Sprint has by partnering with systems integrators -- and greater
customer revenues will follow. It makes sense when one realizes that
today, delivery of network services relies less on a large turnkey
platform and more on the skill of a provider who can mix and match
standard IP building blocks to support distinct applications.
For years, service providers
have tried to design enterprise networks for various vertical markets
including manufacturing, banking, health care, etc., always falling
short because they invariably began with one large platform that needed
to be shoehorned to fit different requirements of each vertical
segment.
Meanwhile, more systems integrators sprung up, some specializing in specific vertical markets, all of which could do a better job in formulating network systems. But as modern commerce demands greater network integration across industries, it creates an opportunity for anyone in a position to provide that network glue that brings together voice, data, wireline and wireless. That's what makes Triple A so important. The public network service provider who can excel at it will thrive. So far, Sprint is the fastest out of the gate.
-- Steven Titch
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