Florian Cramer on Sun, 24 Feb 2013 19:00:39 +0100 (CET)


[Date Prev] [Date Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Date Index] [Thread Index]

Re: <nettime> Olivier Auber: Network symetry and net neutrality


On Sat, Feb 23, 2013 at 4:06 AM, Patrice Riemens <patrice@xs4all.nl> wrote:



> Networks symmetry and Net Neutrality
> by OlivierAuber
>
>
[...]


> However, there are also symmetrical protocols on the Internet.
> One may think about peer-to-peer protocols such as the ones used
> over mesh networks, but more fundamentally, the general model
> of it is called "Multicast", defined as a part of IPv6, which
> allows "all-to-all" relationships without the intervention of any
> particular center, if it is the Internet in its entirety.


To my knowledge, the opposite is correct. Multicast
one-to-many transmission of network packets, effectively the
same as broadcasting. It's the opposite of peer-to-peer.
(Here is a technical paper on that difference:
http://www.cs.rutgers.edu/~rmartin/teaching/fall08/cs552/position-pape
rs/004-01.pdf )

> themselves so far. We understand why: the multicast protocol greatly
> saves bandwidth by allowing a transmitter who wants to send a video
> to a million receivers simultaneously, to emit it only once,


Indeed. But this only works for classical broadcast-style streaming
of audio, video or other real-time data. It fails for anything that
is on-demand, and any media player with pause/forward/backward
buttons (except when those streams get buffered/pre-downloaded on the
receiver's end).


> This is usualy how, we, simple users, receive the bullshits of the
> TV channels at home,


To my knowledge, IP multicast doesn't technically work yet because
most Internet routers don't support it. If there's only one router
between sender and receiver who blocks multicast packets, transmission
will fail.


> but you may have noticed that you can't emit anything that way,
> because for us, the net is artificially made asymetric!


I think that the author is confused.


> Remember what Van Jacobson, another internet guru, asserted in
> 1995 : "How to kill the internet? Easy! Just invent the web !"
> Unfortunately, this is more and more relevant! By not making these
> symmetrical protocols available, many network players are condemned
> to play a game where they lose every time (and users too).


I am completely losing it here. IP multicast didn't exist when the web
was invented - so what exactly was the web supposed to kill?

> be dry today outside from dominant silos, would revive! Finally the
> Peer-to-peer spirit developed by the pioneers of the Internet could
> finally reach adulthood and show its full utility. Thank you.
>

I think that the author is utterly confused.

Florian




#  distributed via <nettime>: no commercial use without permission
#  <nettime>  is a moderated mailing list for net criticism,
#  collaborative text filtering and cultural politics of the nets
#  more info: http://mx.kein.org/mailman/listinfo/nettime-l
#  archive: http://www.nettime.org contact: nettime@kein.org