Exposed Buffer Architecture for Continuum Convergence (2008.00989v2)

Abstract: Exposed Buffer Architecture addresses the problem of creating a programmable service platform for the digital continuum by reexamining the particular form of virtualization that is inherent to the Internet architecture. In the Internet stack below the Network Layer, the Link layer models services that are local to network nodes, or that connect them in local area networks. Aggregating these low level resources in the implementation of IP to create wide area services serves two different purposes: 1) It virtualizes local services, enabling interoperability through the adoption of a common model, and 2) It hides the topology of local infrastructure. The main premise of ExposedBuffer Architecture is that we can separate these two tasks, addressing the first with an invariant system model that provides a highly general, programmable platform for transcontinuum services, enabling a variety of approach to address the second.