[e2e] Historical question: Link layer flow control / silent discard

[Joe Touch]

FWIW, history questions may be more usefully discussed here:

	internet-history at postel.org

Joe

On 5/24/2013 8:34 AM, Detlef Bosau wrote:
> O.k., perhaps this is for all readers with grey hair (if there is still
> hair at all....) and grey beards ;-)
>
>
> When I read the original catenet work by Cerf, the Catenet employed link
> layer flow control.
>
> To my understanding, this was abandoned when the ARPAnet turned into the
> Internet (in 1981?). After this change, the link layer flow control was
> replaced by a "silent discard" of packets which cannot be accepted for
> delivery.
>
> Is this correct?
>
> What was the reason for this decision and have there been any
> alternative approaches?
>