Architecture Working Group

If virtual worlds are to become as ubiquitous as e-mail and the Web (and we believe they will), then like the Internet itself, virtual worlds must be built upon open protocols. Linden Lab is pioneering the development of open, well-specified standards through the design and implementation of its Second Life Grid technologies.

On 13 September 2007, Linden Lab kicked off a public planning process for scaling the Second Life Grid and designing protocols for virtual world software interoperability. The resulting Architecture Working Group (AWG) brings Second Life residents and open source community members together with Lindens in a grassroots effort to ensure that the future of virtual worlds is open, robust and safe.

The near-term goals of the Architecture Working Group are to:

• Enable third parties to run servers that connect to the Second Life Grid platform
• Scale the Second Life Grid to support 60 million regions, 2 billion users and in-world concurrency of 50-100 million residents.

To reach these goals, the AWG is refining the Second Life Grid architecture, writing design documents and protocols, and doing implementation testing. The group's work is carried out in the public Architecture Working Group wiki and on the SLdev listserve. Formal meetings are are held 3-4 times per year, and technical discussions happen in-world twice a week at Zero Linden's office hours.

Membership in the AWG is open. Individuals and organizations wishing to participate can get started on the Architecture Working Group wiki. The work ahead requires a variety of expertise. We welcome programmers to participate in the AWG as well as people with aptitude and experience in areas such as web services, identity, security and usability.

The strength of the Second Life world is the diversity and creativity of its residents, and Linden Lab is committed to growing the Second Life Grid platform to meet their expanding needs.