Active networks and security
Vijayaraghavan Varadharajan, Rajan Shankaran, Michael Hitchens · 1999
The main ingredient of an active network is that packets in these networks contain code that can be executed when they arrive at a node. That is, active networks introduce the idea of user controlled computing functionality in packets which when executed can modify and extend the behaviour of the network infrastructure and software. An important main objective of an active network is to use such a mechanism to increase exibility and customizability of the network. Such networks are referred to as active in the sense that nodes can perform computations on, and modify, the packet contents. In addition, this processing can be customized on a per-user or per-application basis. In contrast, in traditional networks such as the Internet, although the routers may modify a packet's header, they pass the user data opaquely without examination or modi cation. Furthermore, the header computation and associated router actions are speci ed independent of the user process or application that generates the packet.