A road named NoNameUno

Being trained in Graph Algorithms, Netwrork optimizations, stochastic calculas including queuing theories, I've been drifting around networking area for almost all my working years. But my own networking ability is immensly poor !

Just about 25 yrs ago, I was dealing with general network design/model to charactrise different metrics to measure certain known user perceptible networking traits. As a result, we were even able to produce some nice parametric results that showed up in conference papers. In particular, back then the micro controller based memory was quite expensive, and a mega bytes costed bit of extra money. So we had to model to comeup with estimated range of memory needed for network components thruout a network.

Without getting into details, we already had a sliding window protocol in place for receiver to advertise what it is capable to take within then next epoch. And sender will adjust itself based on the receiver's indication to sender. At that time I used to talk about how we could make Etiquette being a protocol. Hence the name of this post.

But the wave of high-tech revolutions took me off the track quite a few times, as well as perhaps lack of imagination. By the time we were done, only few companies were actively involved dealing with networking protocols, where as lot of companies were interested in platform areas. So it was hard, if not possible to convince that some of the protocols does not have to be the way it is. The perception was that few companies tried their own protocols but tcp/ip prevailed, so why bother ?

Good question, right? Way too many times we hard the mouthful direction - Don't reinvent the wheel. Even a damn illiterate people would advice you the same !

Now proliferation of IoTs and mobile everywhere things are changing. Once again, lot of bright people thinking and tearing apart our beloved tcp/ip protocol stack to comeup with need based design and implementations. What it means to me ?

Trying to find a wonder drug, so that I can retrieve all the lost temoral-memories! But the good sign is that people are now realizing that a protocol designed in late 1970s was good enough then but now we need to deal with present state of affairs.

Happy to see the movements. Will detail later on couple more posts.

Yeah make Etiquette to Protocol!