| The 'choking'
of input procedure has been simulated in the network and no signs of instability
under overload noted. It was found that most of the advantage of store-and-forward
transmission can be provided in a system having relatively little memory capacity.
The network 'guarantees' very rapid delivery of all traffic that it has accepted
from a user... -
Paul Baran, On
Distributed Communications, Volume I, 1964. |
The Internet is the most robust communications network ever designed, able
to adapt itself almost instantaneously to damage or outages to individual
sections.
The Internet
has no irreplaceable central control, administration, or authority. It can't
be bought, hijacked, or monopolized. The loss of individual computers and
networks does not affect
its overall reliability. The Internet perfectly realizes its original intent
-- it is actively robust, and cannot be completely deactivated without bringing
down every
single connection.
The Internet is robust over time, too. Many people alive today
were born before the Internet was invented. If we mark its birth from 1969, we can
safely assume that it is now effectively immortal, and will continue to exist
in some form for the rest of human history.
Additional information about the robustness of the Internet can be found in the TCP/IP,
packet switching and routing
sections.
