ITR: The Bio-Networking Architecture: A Biologically Inspired Approach to the Design of Scalable, Adaptive, and Survivable/Available Network Applications

研究人员展望了未来，在那里，一个普遍的网络连接着每个人和大多数人造电子设备。通用网络覆盖了所有人类活动的地点，包括家庭、工作场所、交通工具、公共设施和空间设施。开放的计算能力、带宽和自然接口(如语音识别和脑-计算机接口)的广泛可用性将允许用户或组织与网络合并为统一的、无处不在的实体。为了实现这一愿景，研究人员认为，网络设计范式的根本转变是必要的。PI提出了一种新的网络架构，称为生物网络架构。生物网络体系结构的灵感来自于这样一个观察，即生物世界已经开发出必要的机制，以实现我们设想的通用网络所必需的自组织、可伸缩性、适应性和进化性、安全性和生存性等关键要求。在生物世界中，每个个体实体(例如，蜂群中的一只蜜蜂)遵循一组简单的行为规则(例如，迁移、复制、繁殖、信息素发射、能量交换、突变、死亡)，而一组实体(例如，蜂群)表现出复杂的、紧急的行为和特征(例如，自组织、可伸缩性、适应和进化、安全和可生存性)。研究人员认为，如果一个网络以生物学的概念和机制为模型，它可能能够实现自组织、可伸缩性、适应和进化、安全性和可生存性等理想特性。在生物网络体系结构中，网络服务和应用是由一个称为超级实体的分布式、自适应和自组织的集体实体来实现的，超级实体由大量称为网络实体的自治实体组成(类似于由多只蜜蜂组成的蜂群)。每个网络实体实现与整个服务或应用相关的功能组件，并遵循与生物实体类似的简单行为规则(例如，迁移、复制、繁殖、信息素发射、能量交换、突变、死亡)。有用的行为和特征产生于单个网络实体的行为和交互。生物网络体系结构的创新特征包括：1)生物概念的应用。提出的生物网络体系结构是首次尝试将紧急行为、适应、进化、多样性、社交网络和食物(能量)等生物学概念应用于网络体系结构的设计2)用户-网络统一。生物网络体系结构代表了用户或组织与网络之间关系的范式转变。它将网络和用户或组织合并为一个统一的实体，使用户或组织具有无处不在的存在。3)突发行为和演化。生物网络体系结构使构建具有自组织、可伸缩性、适应性、进化性、安全性和可生存性的复杂服务和应用成为可能。由于生物网络体系结构能够适应网络条件的短期和长期变化，因此系统设计人员、管理员和用户无需管理和调整网络应用程序。4)自组织。建议的生物网络体系结构是一种自组织、免管理和可扩展的网络体系结构，它从网络层向上垂直集成协议栈，消除了协议层之间的功能重复。

The researchers envision a future where a universal network connects every human being and most human-made electronic devices. The universal network spans locations engaged in every human endeavor, including the home, workplace, transportation vehicles, public facilities, and space facilities. The wide availability of open computing power, bandwidth, and natural interfaces such as speech recognition and brain-computer interfaces will allow the user or organization to merge with the network into a unified, ubiquitous entity. To realize this vision, the researchers believe a radical shift in network design paradigms is necessary. The PI proposes a new network architecture called the Bio-Networking Architecture. The Bio-NetworkingArchitecture is inspired by the observation that the biological world has already developed the mechanismsnecessary to achieve such key requirements as self-organization, scalability, adaptation and evolution,security, and survivability necessary for our envisioned universal network. In the biological world, eachindividual entity (e.g., a bee in a bee colony) follows a simple set of behavior rules (e.g., migration,replication, reproduction, pheromone emission, energy exchange, mutation, death), yet a group of entities(e.g., a bee colony) exhibits complex, emergent behavior and characteristics (e.g., self-organization,scalability, adaptation and evolution, security and survivability). The researchers believe if a network is modeled after biological concepts and mechanisms, it may be able to achieve the desirable properties of self-organization, scalability, adaptation and evolution, security, and survivability. In the Bio-Networking Architecture, network services and applications are implemented by adistributed, adaptive, and self-organizing collective entity called the super-entity, which consists of a largenumber of autonomous entities called cyber-entities (analogous to a bee colony consisting of multiplebees). Each cyber-entity implements a functional component related to the overall service or applicationand follows simple behavior rules (e.g., migration, replication, reproduction, pheromone emission, energyexchange, mutation, death) similar to biological entities. Useful behaviors and characteristics arise fromthe behavior and interaction of individual cyber-entities. The innovative features of the Bio-NetworkingArchitecture include:1)Application of Biological Concepts. The proposed Bio-Networking Architecture is the first attempt to apply the biological concepts of emergent behavior, adaptation, evolution, diversity, social networking, and food (energy) to the design of a network architecture.2)User-Network Unification. The Bio-Networking Architecture represents a paradigm shift in therelationship between a user or an organization and the network. It merges the network and the user ororganization into a unified entity, giving the user or organization a ubiquitous presence.3)Emergent Behavior and Evolution. The Bio-Networking Architecture enables the construction ofcomplex services and applications with the inherent properties of self-organization, scalability,adaptation, evolution, security, and survivability. Because the Bio-Networking Architecture adapts andevolves to accommodate short and long term changes in network conditions, system designers,administrators, and users are free from managing and tuning network applications.4)Self-Organization. The proposed Bio-Networking Architecture is a self-organizing, administration-free,and scalable networking architecture which vertically integrates the protocol stack from thenetwork layer upward, eliminating duplication of functionality among protocol layers.