[e2e] Jon Crowcroft's thought questions...

[Dave Crocker]

Simon,

SS>   The counterfactual question: how would protocol design have
SS> been differed if bandwidth had not been underpriced?  Would SOAP exist in
SS> its current form?

 The merit of this question should not, itself, be underpriced.

 Network-based protocols that operate well in resource-constrained
 environments will usually do pretty well in resource-rich ones.  It is
 essentially impossible to go the opposite direction.

 Much of the net is still very constrained in bandwidth and delay, and
 that condition is going to hold for a very long time. Those doubting
 this assertion should study the current "delay toleratant networking"
 effort affiliated with the IRTF. At any rate -- and, no, that was not
 intended to be a pun, but I'll take them where they occur -- chatty,
 inefficient protocols do not do well in such environments.

 The fact that most net developers work in environments with very high
 bandwidth and very low delay means that we have essentially raised a
 generation of techies who are entirely insensitive to vast portions of
 the operational world.


d/
--
 Dave Crocker <mailto:dcrocker at brandenburg.com>
 Brandenburg InternetWorking <http://www.brandenburg.com>
 Sunnyvale, CA  USA <tel:+1.408.246.8253>, <fax:+1.866.358.5301>