Computer Science Department
School of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Segment based Internetworking to
Accommodate Diversity at the Edge
Fahad R. Dogar*, Peter Steenkiste**
February 2010
In this paper, we introduce Tapa, a network architecture that accommodates diversity at the network edge: different access networks, heterogeneous edge devices, and rich applications and network services. The core idea underlying Tapa is to have network segments replace IP links as the basis for inter-operability in the Internet. A segment spans a part of the end-to-end path that can be considered homogeneous (e.g., wired Internet or an access network) – network specific functions and optimizations, like congestion control, are implemented within a segment, allowing use of customized solutions. On top of segments is the new inter-operability layer, called the transfer layer, which manages end-to-end data transfer over multiple segments, supporting better source and path selection mechanisms than IP. Finally, on top of the transfer layer is an end-to-end transport layer that mainly deals with implementing a rich set of semantics to accommodate diverse applications and network services. We implemented Tapa and show how it supports diverse applications and optimizations.
29 pages
*Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
**Computer Science Department and Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University
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