CertiGuide to Network+  9  Chapter 0101:  TCP/IP

XII  Network Monitoring Protocols 1 Pop Quiz 0101.01

The concept of TCP/IP is statically speaking, older then the average reader of this book. It was designed to continue to transport data in a fault-tolerant manner, with the assumption that routes would fail and alternate routes would need to be found. Historical data has proven this design criterion to be successful, even remarkable, beyond belief. In the latter half of the ‘1990’s in a number of columns written for InfoWorld, the lead engineer Bob Metcalfe (inventor of Ethernet, way back when) called for the collapse of the Internet due to the sheer volume of the data.

As Dr. Metcalfe continued to study this challenge, he was so sure of his data that he proclaimed in a latter piece if this didn’t happen by a certain date, Bob said he would eat his column. That date came and went, and there is a picture of Dr. Metcalfe dropping the article in a blender, mixing it with water to make it easier to literally eat his own words.

And with all the design work that went into TCP/IP, other design criteria have become a crippling issue. Coming from DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Project Agency) TCP/IP was meant to serve the United States Military. While this is a large organization, it is not as large as the entire planet. And the Internet has become a part of daily communication for much of the planet and beyond (thanks to NASA). Simply put, TCP/IP was not designed for use by a whole planet full of people and equipment. Yet, today that is exactly what we are doing. This is possible because the very design of TCP/IP allowed for changes to be made, much as human changes at we grow. So while you may be the same person you were when you were born, it does not mean you can wear the same clothes from decades past. Let’s look at some of the changes that have been given to TCP/IP that have allowed it to ‘grow up.’

XII  Network Monitoring Protocols 1 Pop Quiz 0101.01