Unveiling the Secrets of Cooperative Edge-to-Edge Routing

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. The Importance of the Internet
3. The Limitations of the Internet
4. VPNs: Privacy vs. Performance
5. Network as a Service: A Solution with Limitations
6. Servers: The Sneaky Alternative
7. The Challenges of Internet Routing
   • Gateway and Path Diversity
   • Accurate Measurements
   • Trustworthy Measurements
   • Real-time Control
8. Introducing Tango: A Collaborative Solution
9. Achieving Path Diversity with Tango
10. Accurate and Trustworthy Measurements with Tango
11. Real-time Control with Tango
12. Results and Future Directions
13. The Potential of Tango
14. Conclusion

Introduction

In today's digital age, the internet has become an essential part of our everyday lives. We rely on it for communication, information, entertainment, and more. However, the internet is not without its limitations. Issues of privacy, security, and performance have become increasingly important, and traditional solutions have fallen short.

This article explores the challenges and limitations of the internet and introduces Tango, a collaborative solution that addresses these issues. Tango offers path diversity, accurate and trustworthy measurements, and real-time control, providing a more efficient and secure internet experience.

The Importance of the Internet

Before delving into Tango, it is crucial to understand the role and significance of the internet in our lives. From live streaming and video conferencing to online shopping and access to banking services, the internet is deeply intertwined with our everyday activities. We rely on it for information, communication, work, and leisure. The internet has become the backbone of critical infrastructure, and its performance and security are essential for a seamless user experience.

The Limitations of the Internet

Despite its ubiquitous presence, the internet has its limitations and shortcomings. The design decisions behind the internet's infrastructure did not prioritize privacy, security, or performance. The traditional internet routing protocol, BGP, exposes a single path for every source to every destination. This limitation hampers path diversity and prevents optimal routing decisions. Accurate and trustworthy measurements are also challenging due to noise and adversary interference. Additionally, the lack of real-time control hinders the ability to adapt and optimize routing decisions on the fly.

VPNs: Privacy vs. Performance

To address privacy concerns, many users turn to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs). VPNs provide encryption, shielding user traffic from prying eyes. However, while VPNs enhance privacy, they often compromise performance. Routing all traffic through a central point results in higher latency and reduced throughput. Furthermore, reliance on a single provider leads to centralization and potential privacy risks.

Network as a Service: A Solution with Limitations

Another solution that has gained popularity is Network as a Service (NaaS). NaaS allows users to outsource network infrastructure management to third-party providers. This approach offers performance optimization, security features, and potentially VPN services. However, it requires trusting a single provider with control over the network infrastructure, leading to further centralization and potential privacy risks.

Servers: The Sneaky Alternative

A less obvious alternative is leveraging servers hosted by Hyper-Scale providers such as Google, Facebook, and Microsoft. These companies deploy servers within Internet Service Providers (ISPs), ensuring proximity to users, high performance, and reliability. While this approach provides excellent performance, it exacerbates centralization, limiting opportunities for smaller enterprises and regions. Users also pass control of their data and privacy to these providers.

The Challenges of Internet Routing

Tackling the limitations of internet routing is a complex task. Several challenges hinder the creation of a more efficient and secure internet experience. These challenges include gateway and path diversity, accurate and trustworthy measurements, real-time control, and privacy concerns.

Gateway and Path Diversity

The default internet routing protocol, BGP, exposes a single path for every source to every destination. This restricts the availability of diverse paths and limits routing optimization possibilities. Overcoming this challenge requires a collaborative approach between two network entities.

Accurate Measurements

Accurately measuring network performance is crucial for making informed routing decisions. However, noise and adversary interference make accurate measurements a daunting task. Achieving accurate measurements requires clever techniques, such as one-way measurements, leveraging the border gateway location, and using programmable data planes.

Trustworthy Measurements

Ensuring the trustworthiness of measurements is essential, especially in the presence of adversaries. Adversaries can manipulate measurements to mislead routing decisions or compromise privacy. Maintaining the authenticity and integrity of measurements is a significant concern that requires secure techniques and robust protocols.

Real-time Control

Real-time control of internet routing is paramount for adapting to changing network conditions, optimizing performance, and ensuring stability. Timely decision-making and rapid response to network events are challenging due to the limitations of existing routing protocols. Implementing real-time control mechanisms is crucial for achieving an efficient and flexible internet infrastructure.

Introducing Tango: A Collaborative Solution

To address the challenges of internet routing, Tango proposes a collaborative solution that leverages a two-end approach. By collaboratively designing paths, two network entities can expose multiple paths between them, enabling path diversity and better routing decisions. Tango offers several benefits, including more accurate and trustworthy measurements, real-time control, and the potential for privacy enhancements.

Achieving Path Diversity with Tango

Tango enables the exposure of multiple paths between network entities, leading to improved routing decisions. By strategically designing advertisements, network entities can independently route traffic, allowing for diversified paths. This approach avoids the need for complex routing protocols and mitigates the issues caused by single paths.

Accurate and Trustworthy Measurements with Tango

Tango overcomes the challenges of measuring network performance accurately and trustworthily. Leveraging one-way measurements, programmable data planes, and the use of secure techniques, Tango provides precise information for routing decisions. Trustworthy measurements prevent adversaries from manipulating routing decisions or compromising privacy.

Real-time Control with Tango

Real-time control is a critical aspect of an efficient and adaptable internet infrastructure. Tango offers real-time control mechanisms that allow for rapid decision-making and response to network events. By exchanging routing information, network entities can make informed decisions about routing paths, ensuring performance optimization and stability.

Results and Future Directions

Initial results from implementing Tango Show promising improvements in latency and performance compared to traditional routing methods. However, there is still much to explore and enhance with Tango. Ongoing research includes incorporating privacy measures, integrating multiple objectives into routing decisions, and expanding Tango to become an overlay network accessible to various applications.

The Potential of Tango

Tango holds tremendous potential for revolutionizing internet routing. Its collaborative approach, path diversity, accurate measurements, real-time control, and potential for privacy enhancements make it an attractive solution. As Tango continues to evolve, it has the potential to provide users with a seamless, secure, and efficient online experience.

Conclusion

The internet is an integral part of our lives, but it has limitations that impede privacy, security, and performance. Traditional solutions have fallen short, leading to centralization and compromising user experiences. Tango offers a collaborative solution that addresses these limitations, providing path diversity, accurate and trustworthy measurements, and real-time control. With Tango, the internet can become more efficient, secure, and adaptable, ensuring a seamless user experience and fostering innovation in digital ecosystems.