Soon, internet without servers!
Scientists
have designed a revolutionary architecture that aims to make the
internet more "social" by eliminating the need to connect to servers and
enablingcontent to be accessed on a peer-to-peer basis.
The
prototype, which has been developed as part of an EU-funded project
called "Pursuit," is being put forward as a proof-of concept model for
overhauling the existing structure of the internet's IP layer, through
which isolated networks are connected, or "internetworked."
The
Pursuit Internet would enable a more socially-minded and intelligent
system, in which users would be able to obtain information without
needing direct access to the serverscontent is initially stored.
Instead,
individual computers would be able to copy and republish content on
receipt, providing other users with the option to access data, or
fragments of data,a wide range of locations rather than the source
itself.
Essentially, the model would
enableonline content to be shared in a manner emulating the
"peer-to-peer" approach taken by some file-sharing sites, but on an
unprecedented, internet-wide scale.
That would
potentially make the internet faster, more efficient, and more capable
of withstanding rapidly escalating levels of global user demand.
It
would also make information delivery almost immune to server crashes,
and significantly enhance the ability of users to control access to
their private information online.
While this
would lead to an even wider dispersal of online materials than we
experience now, however, the researchers behind the project also argue
that by focusing on information rather than the web addresses (URLs)it
is stored, digital content would become more secure.
They
envisage that by making individual bits of data recognisable, that data
could be "fingerprinted" to show that it comesan authorised source.
Technically,
online searches would stop looking for URLs (the Uniform Resource
Locator) and start looking for URIs (Uniform Resource Identifiers),
explained Dr Dirk Trossen, a senior researcher at the University of
Cambridge Computer Lab, and the technical manager for Pursuit.
In
simple terms, these would be highly specific identifiers which enable
the system to work out what the information or content is.
This has the potential to revolutionise the way in which information is routed and forwarded online.
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