Adapting to new environments: rethinking the TCP/IP Stack

Abstract

Existing TCP/IP protocol stacks contain many assumptions about the underlying network that are embedded as control policies within the stack. This fact creates problems when the TCP/IP suite is used in non-traditional network environments, such as mobile networks. Attempts to adapt existing TCP/IP stacks to suit mobile networking are typically partial solutions limited to addressing one specific issue. In this paper, we argue that a holistic approach to supporting the needs of new networking environments is only feasible given a rigorous separation of policy from mechanism, a separation that current stack implementations lack. We introduce a modified stack model, the "Embedded Inverted Stack", which is an instantiation of the generic Compliant Systems Architecture [1]. This provides a general framework within which a stack implementation can comply with the particular needs of different networking environments whilst maintaining complete compatibility with existing TCP/IP applications. We focus particularly on how such an architecture can support mobile networking.