The Sixth International Network Conference (INC 2006)

Citation

Steven Furnell, P. (2007), "The Sixth International Network Conference (INC 2006)", Internet Research, Vol. 17 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/intr.2007.17217aaa.001

The Sixth International Network Conference (INC 2006)

The papers in this issue of Internet Research are based upon a selection of submissions from INC 2006, the Sixth International Network Conference, which was held in Plymouth, UK, from 11-14 July 2006. The INC conference series has been running since 1998, and provides a forum for sharing the latest research in computer networks and related technologies. As regular readers of Internet Research may recall, papers from earlier events have provided the basis for previous themed issues of the journal.

Like its predecessors, INC 2006 drew a truly international audience, with authors from 20 countries. The main themes addressed by the 2006 conference were web technologies, network protocols and performance, security and privacy, mobile and wireless systems, and the applications and impacts of network technology. The full proceedings include a total of 49 papers, with coverage ranging from discussion of applications and services, down to details of specific underlying technologies (see Furnell and Dowland, 2006). The papers selected for this issue all received highly positive comments from their original reviews, and have been chosen to be representative of the broad range of topics covered by the conference.

The first topic under discussion is Peer-to-Peer networking, with the paper from Exarcharkos et al., proposing a model for sharing network capacity to satisfy workload requirements. This paper was the recipient of the INC 2006 Best Paper Prize (sponsored by Emerald and Internet Research), and presents simulation results to demonstrate the success of the proposed approach in terms of handling dramatic increases in network workload.

The next two papers consider issues relating to page ranking within web search engines. Evans presents an investigation of techniques that may be used to achieve high rankings within Google, and examines the approaches that 50 sites used to achieve their success. Meanwhile, Rimbach et al. examine the marketing and sales implications of page ranking techniques, in terms of how companies may use knowledge of their operation to increase the chances of attracting custom.

The next paper, from Loew et al., also addresses our need to retrieve information, but focuses its attention within a company context. Specifically, the authors present mechanisms to supported personalised knowledge retrieval based upon the concept of a “Knowledge Broker Network” approach.

Tryfonas et al. turn the focus towards the important topic of security, and present a new testing methodology for assessing the vulnerability of Voice over IP systems. The discussion describes the testing of this approach, leading to recommendations for good practice when evaluating future installations. The subsequent paper, from Tucker et al., stays with the security theme and presents a new means for comparing intrusion detection technologies, with a proposed taxonomy being utilised as the basis for comparing the footprints of different types of approach.

The final paper, from Kim and Lim, examines the topic of Service-Oriented Architecture in the telecommunications domain, looking at how the approach may be implemented to provide solutions for operations support.

All of the papers presented here have been updated from the versions in the conference proceedings. The original versions were limited to eight pages in length, and so the extended papers have allowed authors the opportunity to provide greater detail, as well as to modify the papers to incorporate feedback received during the conference and cover more recent developments in their research.

The next INC event has been scheduled for July 2008, and readers who may be interested in attending, or submitting a paper, are asked to look at www.inc2008.org for further details.

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to a number of people who helped to make INC 2006 a success. First, the Guest Editor would like to acknowledge the support received from the members of the International Programme Committee who assisted with the original review process. He is also grateful for the support received from various co-sponsors: Cisco Networking Academy, Symantec, the British Computer Society, and of course Emerald (the publishers of Internet Research). In addition, particular recognition must be given to the local organising team, whose support and involvement ensured the smooth running of conference and the associated events. Finally, sincere thanks must be given to David Schwartz for again giving the opportunity to compile a special issue.

Professor Steven FurnellNetwork Research Group, School of Computing, Communications and Electronics, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK