Reimagining the Internet
- Vint Cerf has described the Internet as a homogenous network that connects heterogeneous computers. What did he mean by that?
- What is Metcalfes law?
- Where geographically are the majority of Internet Users located?
- Concerning the percentage of a country's population that uses the Internet, with what are mobiles helping?
- In design terms, what differentiates the Internet from earlier networks such as the Telephone and Telegraph networks?
- Was there a particular logic in Vint Cerfs choice of a 32 it addresses space for IP addresses?
- How do digital signatures relate to closing an important vulnerability in the DNS system?
- What is a sensor network? Give an example. Sensor network are sensors that are connected to each other and can be used to monitor autonomous sensors such as power grids, temperature, wind speed, vibration etc.
- What does Vint Cerf describe as one of the hardest problems that he can imagine?
- Why is cloud collaboration important?
- How does Vint Cerf describe the job that his Internet Design did with mobile? Specifically, what was the problem?
- How does Vint Cerf describe the job that his Internet Design did with broadcast? Specifically, what was the problem?
- What is strong authentication? Why is the lack of this an issue?
- In an Internet context, what is the overrun problem?
- What does Cerf cite as a problem with the Internet and copyright?
- What does Cerf mean when he talks about rotten bits? Give an example.
- Briefly describe the InterPlanetary Internet. In your description, describe how this solves the point to point InterPlanetary communications problem.
- In an Internet context, what is common carriage? What implications does this have for Internet billing?
- What does Cerf mean when he says that in the future, the network will disappear?
Vint Cerf meant that a homogenous network connected by heterogenous computers only exists because users want it there. That millions of people all over the world see great power and opportunities when this network exists.
Metcalfe’s law states that the value of a network grows by the square of the size of the network.
Geographically the majority of Internet users are located in Asia
Mobiles are helping populations to use more internet because they can go with you anywhere and some mobile phones are cheaper than some computers making it very attractive to use.
Internet differentiates from earlier network such as telephones and telegraph networks because the internet is not a centralized entity. If one network fails other networks will still be up and running.
I believe there was a particular logic in Vint Cerf’s 32 bit choice for IP addresses because he stated that him and his team did not even know this was going to work. “So surely 4.3 billion terminations would be enough”. He also stated that having IPv6 at the time would have hindered computer processing so it did make sense to go with the 32bit IP addresses at that time.
Digital signatures relate to closing an important vulnerability in the DNS System by telling routers that they are legitimately connected rather than a false device connection. This will allow internet traffic to go where it needs to rather than a place it does not belong to.
Vint Cerf describes going after security issues at the source rather than the symptoms; is one of the hardest problems he can imagine. It remains difficult because he built the internet for the public for them to fondle and have it grow. Unfortunately there are people who take advantage of the system and use it against the public’s interest.
Cloud collaboration is important because it allows people to get data from the cloud meaning they can have access to saved data anywhere just by accessing the cloud.
Vint Cerf did not take into account that mobiles can access networks from different location because they are physically being moved from places to places. On the contrast, big computers and servers are kept in data centers where they are not being moved. So the problem with this is that nodes’ I.P addresses had to be changed depending on where they were physically accessing the network.
Vint Cerf states that they did a terrible job on broadcasting and would like to see more of it because broadcasting has the potential to send out many packets at a fast rate in a satellite type system. This issue is that computers and networks are straight-jacketed by p2p and TCPs so there are limits or traffic. Broadcasting would be able to solve that problem.
Strong authentication is where someone is able to identify which routers or network devices they are communicating with. The lack of this is an issue because important things can be lost when someone trusts an unsafe network. Money, intellectual property, personal information all can be compromised without strong authentication.
In an Internet context, the overrun problem is when electronic devices, networks, software etc. are overran by “bad guys” but claim that they are still the good guys and use those resources against people.
When it comes to the Internet and copyright, Vint Cerf cites that it is hard to govern a non-tangible entity such as the network. He describes the internet as a giant copy machine because copyrighted things can easily be obtained and distributed at an alarming rate.
In terms of rotten bits, Vint Cerf states that applications, files, pictures, etc we have now in our current operating systems may not be compatible with future operating systems. So centuries or even decades from now people there will not know about our time now because they may not have a way to convert those applications into their current operating systems.
InterPlanetary Internet is a network made up of x number of devices already in space that is used to communicate with other devices at great distances, up to hundreds of millions of miles. This solves the InterPlanetary communications problem because it allows us to use a relay system that can shorten the time of data being transferred.
In an Internet context, common carriage is when everyone falls under the same rules and conditions of the Internet service; that there is no favoritism. For Internet billing this may imply that people should get what they asked for so those who overuse should be billed appropriately. So that they do not take away or hinder service to the rest of the population.
What Vint Cerf meant when he said that he internet will disappear is that the internet will become so involved in our lives that it will eventually be part of the environment we live in. In other words we will not notice that it is there. We will always be interacting with it, we expect it to always be there, just like how we rely on electricity and water to always be there.
Internet Resources Assignment
- What is the Internet Society?
- Who is Vint Cerf?
- Who is Bob Khan?
- As articulated by Lynn St. Amour, what is ISOC's hope for the future?
The Internet Society is a society of people who are actively trying to advance the evolution of the Internet. They research and develop communications and information infrastructures. They provide resources, support, and collaborate with other organizations who have the same goals as the Internet Society.
Vint Cerf is the founding President of the Internet Society.
Bob Khan founded the Internet Society
Lynn St. Amour hopes that anyone, no matter where they are in the world have equal access to reliable and open internet.
