Separating Abstraction from Implementation in Communication Network Design

Datagrams and visual circuits are not disjoint conceptual models for data communication, but rather inhabitants of a wide design space containing many other viable networking solutions. Many design choices often closely associated with these two communication styles can be decoupled from the datagram and virtual circuit abstractions, and combined to form new and effective network implementations. This paper examines several key elements of network architecture. For each element, it shows how certain characteristics often thought to differentiate datagrams and virtual circuits are independent of these two concepts and form a multi-valued spectrum of design choices. This discussion is motivated by the current drive to design a new generation of high-speed wide-area networks, and the observation that this effort would benefit from a more systematic evaluation of existing and future network design alternatives.

ICSI Technical Report TR-89-026

Technical Report