Network Transparency: The plaNET Approach

Abstract

Fast packet-switching has been chosen as the ba- sis for future high speed, “universal” networks. The successful deployment of such networks will clearly depend on a wide range of factors such as cost and technology, but we believe that foremost among all is how well they will support existing and future applications. Emphasizing an application oriented perspective is one of the main motivation of this paper. We denote by “itransparency” the ability of a network to transport application information while altering or manipulating it as little as possible, and we believe it will be key to the acceptance of high-speed networks. While the concept is clearly not new, we articulate the need for it and illustrate its feasibility and the advantages it affords through the example of the plaNET network. In particular, we argue that a “transparent” data transfer mechanism can be provided that is both compatible with current standard proposals such as ATM and Frame Relay, and offers applications the choice of the data transfer mode that best meet their needs. A number of examples are used to illustrate these claims. © 1994 IEEE