Abstract :
A simple technique could eliminate choke points on the the Internet. TCP switching, which integrates circuit switching benefits in the packet-switched Internet, demonstrates the possibilities. The research presented focuses on how the existing IP infrastructure can incorporate fast, simple (and perhaps optical) circuit switches. Several approaches to this already exist, but we propose a technique called transmission control protocol (TCP) switching in which each application flow (usually an individual TCP connection) triggers its own end-to-end circuit creation across a circuit-switched core. Based on IP switching, TCP switching incorporates modified circuit switches that use existing IP routing protocols to establish circuits. Routing occurs hop by hop, and circuit maintenance uses soft state, that is, it is removed through an inactivity time-out
Keywords :
Internet; circuit switching; packet switching; transport protocols; IP infrastructure; IP routing protocols; IP switching; Internet choke points; TCP switching; circuit maintenance; circuit switching benefits; circuit-switched core; end-to-end circuit creation; hop by hop routing; inactivity time-out; individual TCP connection; modified circuit switches; optical circuit switches; packet-switched Internet; soft state; transmission control protocol; Internet; Optical switches; Packet switching; Physical layer; Robustness; Routing protocols; Switching circuits; Synchronous digital hierarchy; TCPIP; Wavelength division multiplexing;
