[e2e] E2E Research Group is shutting down

[Craig Partridge]

Dear Friends and Colleagues:

After 26 years, the End-to-End Research Group has decided to cease existence
as of January 1st, 2010.  While there is certainly still end-to-end research
to be done, the group had ceased to effectively serve as a forum for those
discussions.

The E2E group had a great run, serving as a place where many researchers
could bring their ideas for initial, informal, airing.  The meetings could be
bruising.  (At one meeting, a member tried to encourage a speaker by saying
"We're all friends here" only to pause and say, "No, I'm sorry, actually we
eat our young, but proceed anyway").  But the meetings usually also brought
insights.

Ideas that were tested in E2E meetings include slow start and improved
round-trip time estimation, Random Early Drop, Integrated and Differentiated
Services, Weighted Fair Queuing, PAWS, and Transaction TCP.

We'd like to single out Bob Braden's leadership in E2E's successes.  Bob
was chair of E2E from its inception until a few years ago.

To support continued discussion of end-to-end research issues, the
end2end-interest list will continue operation.  We're grateful to Joe Touch
for offering to keep the list alive.  Joe will circulate a note soon about
how the list will be managed going forward, after its Research Group home
goes away.

Thank you!

Karen Sollins and Craig Partridge
co-chairs, End-to-End Research Group