Some Comments on Hourglasses Rui L Aguiar Universidade de Aveiro Instituto de Telecomunicações 3810-193 Aveiro Portugal ruilaa@ua.pt This article is an editorial note submitted to CCR. It has NOT been peer reviewed. Authors take full responsibility for this article s technical content. Comments can be posted through CCR Online. ABSTRACT The hourglass concept has been undisputable ruler of networking visions on the last years. As network evolution is now a hot topic, this article aims to reflect on this concept, highlighting its current shortcomings, and suggesting its evolution. Unfortunately, this type of comment suits itself to misuse which we should be careful to avoid when considering any evolution of the network. The following tries to present some potentially ideas on the reality of this hourglass argument, and its usefulness for the ongoing development of the network. Categories and Subject Descriptors C.2.0 [Computer Systems Organization]: ComputerCommunications networks: General General Terms Design, Theory Keywords Network design, Network architecture 1. INTRODUCTION1 Currently IP networks have taken the center stage on all communication networks. From a past where IP was a niche technology for specific environments, with islands communicating through links relying on completely different technologies, IP-based technologies have gradually imposed
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