University Park, Pa. -- Staff members in Penn State's Information Technology Services (ITS) were very busy this past December...and it's not just because of the holidays. Institutions and groups from around the world have been contacting them about Penn State's recent promotion of LionShare, a technology that enables legitimate file-sharing of academic materials via peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.
The notion of using authenticated P2P technology to securely exchange academic data has been so compelling to scholars that ITS staff are fielding questions and suggestions for collaboration on a daily basis.
"A large number of well-recognized groups, including institutions from the United Kingdom, Brazil and Australia, in addition to several well-known U.S. universities and corporations, are approaching us with an eye toward collaboration," said Michael J. Halm, principal architect of the project. "These organizations already understand the significance of LionShare as a sophisticated tool with practical applications for both business and higher education."
Some individuals simply want to know how LionShare — unlike controversial file-swapping tools that can be used to illegally exchange files — offers a legitimate system for academic collaboration and file-sharing. Other inquiries center on LionShare's unique P2P network features, including: how it will be used by groups and institutions to build digital repositories (such as 3-D architectural image collections, Web-based video archives and art collections); its ability to search national or international repositories like Merlot, SMETE, EdNA and CAREO from a single query; and its ability to organize and retrieve personal digital resources.
As interest grows, LionShare's development team has designed a Web site at http://lionshare.its.psu.edu/main that will use a variety of tools to manage the project's communication interests. The site, which went live on Dec. 1, features discussion forums for visitors who have questions about the technology; listservs for keeping track of the latest developments; and a discussion area known as a "wiki" for LionShare's current development partners (Penn State, MIT, Simon Fraser University in Canada and Internet2) to converse about ongoing project needs.
Halm believes the site will be a key way for the development team to connect with communities that share common interests as well as a means to convey opportunities for collaboration.
"With the immense volume of interest in using P2P technologies for academic interaction, we envision this Web site as a convergence point for discussion and coordination of ideas that will enable us to continually develop new approaches to the technology," he observed. "These are conversations that will have significant impact on how digital information will be shared in the future."
Begun initially as a proof-of-concept software development project that was part of Penn State's Visual Image User Study initiative (VIUS), LionShare was funded last month by a $1.1 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon foundation. The grant is currently enabling Internet2 member institutions Stanford, Dartmouth and the University of Florida to explore working with Penn State to test the system and adapt it for widespread higher-education use. Internet2 universities also are finalizing plans to collaborate with Penn State on implementing authentication/authorization features that will verify the identities of users and ensure network security.
A white paper slated for release in late January will provide a summary of these upcoming efforts, explain the technical directions of the project and outline LionShare's software development plan. The software's final release is scheduled to take place in 2005, after a beta launch in late spring next year.
According to John T. Harwood, senior director of Teaching and Learning with Technology at ITS, faculty worldwide are enthusiastically looking forward to the completion of LionShare, since they anticipate the tool will make it much easier for them to create, locate and share digital resources in a safe, authenticated way.
"The promise of a secure file-sharing technology with unlimited potential for collaboration among individuals and institutions is very exciting," he said. "LionShare has harnessed the speed and power of P2P to put control directly into the hands of the people who want to use these resources for legitimate purposes."