Bob Braden - 6/17/04
ISI

Overthrowing the Tyranny of Layers

Since the early ARPAnet days, layering has been a fundamental design principle for computer communication protocols. However, the layering of the Internet protocols has become increasingly complex and problematic. This talk will consider what it might mean to overthrow layering as a principle, replacing it with a "role-based architecture" (RBA). Roles are modular units of communication functionality, and RBA packet headers form a protocol heap instead of a protocol stack. Rethinking packet communication without protocol layers may twist our heads a bit, but it will hopefully also shed new light on general architectural principles.

This talk will be based upon the paper: "From Protocol Stack to Protocol Heap -- Role-Based Architecture", R. Braden, T. Faber, and M. Handley, Proc. ACM Hotnets I, Princeton, NJ, October 2002.