NNSquad - Network Neutrality Squad
[ NNSquad ] UDP Wars
Gang, I'm calling an end to the UDP Wars (at least here on this list!) for the time being, except for postings that contain significant new information really relevant to the arguments. Whether we're talking about TCP or UDP, it's possible to design applications that behave well -- or not. ISP-based and backbone-based congestion control mechanisms will by definition be of varying effectiveness in the face of changing network topologies and operational challenges over time. Perhaps the key question we should be asking here in this context is how can we help to assure that the overall system represented by applications and the networks that they run on can be managed in a manner that helps assure fairness for everyone concerned. I personally do not believe that the current largely ad hoc and unregulated landscape in this sphere can yield appropriate long-term solutions, especially from the standpoint of helping to assure reasonable operational parity for customers in different locations and using different ISPs (which are making independent and often proprietary decisions regarding their network management policies). It's time that we stop looking at the Internet only as a patchwork of independent, typically unregulated networks, and more in terms of an overall interconnected system that may need some level and forms of oversight similar to those long considered appropriate for other critical utility-related functions. --Lauren-- NNSquad Moderator