Internet Problems
There are a number of problems with the Internet. Solutions to the problems range from software changes to long term research projects. Some of the major ones are detailed below:
- Number of Networks
-
When the Internet was designed it was to have about 50
connected networks. With the explosion of networking,
the number is now approaching 300. The software in a
group of critical gateways (called the core gateways of
the ARPAnet) are not able to pass or store much more
than that number. In the short term, core reallocation
and recoding has raised the number slightly. By the
summer of '88 the current PDP-11 core gateways will be
replaced with BBN Butterfly gateways which will solve
the problem.
- Routing Issues
-
Along with sheer mass of the data necessary to route
packets to a large number of networks, there are many
problems with the updating, stability, and optimality
of the routing algorithms. Much research is being done
in the area, but the optimal solution to these routing
problems is still years away. In most cases the the
routing we have today works, but sub-optimally and
sometimes unpredictably.
- Trust Issues
-
Gateways exchange network routing information.
Currently, most gateways accept on faith that the
information provided about the state of the network is
correct. In the past this was not a big problem since
most of the gateways belonged to a single administrative entity
(DARPA). Now with multiple wide area networks under different administrations, a rogue gateway
somewhere in the net could cripple the Internet. There
is design work going on to solve both the problem of a
gateway doing unreasonable things and providing enough
information to reasonably route data between multiply
connected networks (multi-homed networks).
- Capacity & Congestion
-
Many portions of the ARPAnet are very congested during
the busy part of the day. Additional links are planned
to alleviate this congestion, but the implementation
will take a few months.
Committee Chair
Autonomous Networks Deborah Estrin
End-to-End Services Bob Braden
Internet Architecture Dave Mills
Internet Engineering Phil Gross
EGP2 Mike Petry
Name Domain Planning Doug Kingston
Gateway Monitoring Craig Partridge
Internic Jake Feinler
Performance & Congestion Control Robert Stine
NSF Routing Chuck Hedrick
Misc. MilSup Issues Mike St. Johns
Privacy Steve Kent
IRINET Requirements Vint Cerf
Robustness & Survivability Jim Mathis
Scientific Requirements Barry Leiner
Note that under Internet Engineering, there are a set of task forces and chairs to look at short term concerns. The chairs of these task forces are not part of the IAB.
