PPT Slide
- The minimalistic IP design leads to the definition of multiple protocols to provide additional functionality (ARP, TCP, DNS, ICMP, Routing).
- The best-effort model means that new adaptive applications must be written to exploit the new infrastructure.
- Similarly, special features of lower layers cannot be exploited because of the minimal interface. The performance characteristics of the end-to-end virtual link can vary wildly.
IP solution vs Bridges:
- Bridges provide only a single level of forwarding and depend upon flat addresses. This means that their forwarding tables are large and require more updating as the size of the network grows. Moreover, when the bridge does not find an entry, it will flood the network whereas a router sends it on a default route. The table setup is also based upon a rudimentary learning algorithm compared to the sophisticated routing algorithms used at the network layer.