DARPA's Active Network page (fwd)

[Sunder]

Jim Choate wrote:
> 
> Forwarded message:
> 
> > Date: Tue, 15 Dec 1998 17:50:56 -0500
> > From: Robert Hettinga <rah at shipwright.com>
> > Subject: DARPA's Active Network page
> 
> > I saw an article on this in InfoWorld. NAI/TIS and DARPA talking about
> > putting self-switching packets into the network. I don't see this as too
> > far off from packets purchasing their passage across the network with
> > micromoney of some kind.
> 
> How does the packet know what is a good price or a bad price as it makes
> each hop? Whose processor is it using to run its program to evaluate the
> costs? Who pays for that processor cost on a node that isn't selected? Who
> has access to the audit trail? How does a reliable copy get back to the
> originator? How does it do this in an anonymous network?

Joy, just what we needed, a twist on the old source-routing packets.  A bad
idea within a bad idea. :(  Gee, how many of your routers allow source routed
packets these days?

To add to the above question, how big will the over head of the packets be?
How will the routers know that the packets aren't forged and that they contain
real micromoney and not already spent micromoney (possibly for the purposes of
denial of service attacks or other hacking attempts)?  
How will they do this in real time and not incur huge propagation delays?


IMHO, This has the words "Stupid Idea" written all over it.


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