Evolving the End-to-End Transport Layer in Times of Emerging Computing In The Network (COIN)
Ike Kunze, Dirk Trossen, Klaus Wehrle · 2022
The possibility of richer computing capabilities within Internet network elements, often captured as Computing in the Network (COIN), promises performance and flexibility gains to the wider Internet, akin to those seen in recent data center advances. At the same time, moving computation into the network is seemingly at odds with the fundamental end-to-end principle underlying the development of key technologies in the Internet. In this paper, we do not only argue that the latter is not the case, but we also shed light on what ‘in the network’ may or may not entail, aiming to sharpen a possible research agenda for COIN. Taking the transport layer as an example due to its typical end-to-end realization in and importance for today's Internet, we outline key design considerations for evolving towards a COIN-enabled transport capability. By further creating linkages to existing efforts and concepts, we provide possible future directions for the design of protocols for the future Internet.