NeTS-NR: Generalizing the Network Layer

本研究计画的目的是开发一个整合的网路层，能够在一个给定的拓扑结构上，以单一的机制来支援单点传送、多点传送以及多点订阅服务。 这种服务将取代目前提出和使用的许多专用方法（例如覆盖），并将以更直接、统一的方式支持新的应用和移动性。该方法是基于使用的谓词携带在数据包中，以确认数据包的目的地。 换句话说，网络在终端系统上定义了一组谓词;每个数据包都携带来自该组的谓词，适当编码，网络的工作是将数据包（在尽力而为的基础上）传递到满足其目的地谓词的所有终端系统（以及尽可能少的其他终端系统）。 主要的挑战是设计服务的注册、路由和转发算法，使系统能够扩展到支持比当前互联网大得多的网络。我们的目标是实现这一目标，其总体性能、管理和运营开销与现有方法相当或更好。本研究计画将探讨拓扑结构、转发效率与谓词语言之间的基本关系与权衡。它将发展在表达能力和效率之间取得适当平衡的谓词结构。最后，该项目将设计，分析和评估有效的路由和转发算法和协议的基础上，这些谓词结构。研究结果有可能使新的网络能够支持更多种类的应用服务，同时避免广域路由管理的问题，阻碍了目前的系统。

This research project aims to develop an integrated network layer capable of supporting unicast, multicast, and publish-subscribe services on a given topol-ogy using a single mechanism. Such a service would subsume many of the special-purpose approaches (e.g. overlays) currently being proposed and used, and would support novel applications and mobility in a more direct, unified way. The approach is based on the use of predicates carried in packets to iden-tify packet destinations. In other words, the network defines a set of predicates over end systems; each packet carries a predicate from this set, suitably en-coded, and the job of the network is to deliver the packet (on a best-effort basis) to all end systems that satisfy its destination predicate (and to as few others as possible). The major challenge is to design the enrollment, routing, and for-warding algorithms of the service in such a way that the system can scale up to support networks much larger than the current Internet. The goal is to achieve this with overall performance, administrative, and operational overhead compa-rable to or better than existing approaches. This research project will explore the fundamental relationships and tradeoffs among topology, forwarding effi-ciency, and predicate language. It will develop predicate structures that strike a suitable balance between expressive power and efficiency. Finally, the project will design, analyze and evaluate efficient routing and forwarding algorithms and protocols based on those predicate structures. Results of the research have the potential to enable new networks capable of supporting a greater variety of application services while avoiding problems with wide-area routing administra-tion that hamper the current system.