MIT Panel Warns of Challenges of Hyper-Networked World

by Jon Gold, Network World 

The Internet is facing challenges due to the proliferation of devices and data, as well as a lack of security, according to experts at a Massachusetts Institute of Technology forum held this week.

Most of the challenges stem from the rapid multiplication of demand, both in terms of user devices and data, according to IDC analyst Rohit Mehra, who moderated the MIT Forum discussion entitled “Can the networks deliver?” Mehra was joined on the panel by Boston University professor Mark Crovella, Akamai chief strategist Kristofer Alexander and Veniam Works principal Roy Russell

As the concept of an Internet of Things becomes a reality, the number of network devices installed globally could reach 30 billion by 2020, with connected devices continuing to outpace Internet-connected people, says IDC analyst Rohit Mehra.

“We’re now starting to talk about not millions any more, when we talk about user devices that are in play, but billions,” said Mehra. “Of late, in the industry, we’ve started talking about how many devices versus how many human beings on the planet.”

From 2010 to 2015, the number of Internet users will increase from 1.8 billion to 2.9 billion, but over the same period the number of connected devices will mushroom from 5 billion to 15 billion, Mehra predicts.

Challenges arising from hyper-connectivity include a shortage of Internet Protocol addresses, and the fact that transport control protocol does not work well with wireless network packet loss, says Boston University professor Mark Crovella.

For instance, according to Crovella, MIT itself was given 16 million IP addresses. “They don’t need 16 million addresses to run the university,” he said. Fundamentally, however, the problem is a simple shortage of possible addresses under the IPv4 standard. The newer IPv6 standard ups the number of possible addresses from a little less than 4.3 billion to 3.4 x 10^38 – more than enough to meet even the wildest growth scenarios – but it’s not backwards compatible with the earlier system, making the transition a headache.

The second problem, Crovella said, is transport control protocol, or TCP. This system, designed to address network congestion problems and improve reliability, has a seemingly minor issue that nonetheless complicates its use with wireless connections, which are increasingly prevalent. TCP monitors connections for packet loss – when it encounters them, it assumes this means the network is congested and throttles traffic accordingly.

“The problem is, as we’ve seen, we’re moving to a world in which most data is sourced or synched on a wireless network,” said Crovella. “And wireless networks have different properties, and they lose packets for different reasons. A wireless network can lose a packet for reasons that have nothing to do with congestion.”

What this means is that wireless packet loss due to, in Crovella’s example, a microwave oven turning on, could prompt the TCP to assume the network is congested and act accordingly.

In addition, he says there is a lack of top-level security for the border gateway protocol that controls large ISPs’ traffic. Crovella also notes that the wireless spectrum available for large-scale network projects is insufficient, so frequencies may have to be repurposed and new auctions held.  Full report

DCL: These people seem to have done a good job of foreseeing headaches in modern global holistic event  processing applications. Pity they didn’t talk about some technology solutions! Perhaps another panel?