Interactive protocols for extensible networking, 2000--2005

We propose and investigate a new networking paradigm: Interactive Transparent Networking (InTraN). The InTraN paradigm calls for meta-engineering of existing network protocols to add interactivity. Protocol end-point components are meta-engineered to create an interactive version of a protocol with added handles and extended API that facilitates event passing and controlled access to its internal state information. The scheme provides a framework for researchers to deploy protocol modifications without embedding custom codes within the network layer itself. Instead, InTraN provides the necessary infrastructure for such modifications to be implemented at the application layer. We have realized a FreeBSD implementation of the scheme and designed a solution for two disciplines: adaptive video transmission on interactive TCP, and loss-free rapid handoff for mobile networking. Performance evaluations from the real experimentation have revealed substantial improvements in performance (e.g., video frame delay and handoff latency). In this dissertation we show that InTraN can pave the way for a new generation of network solutions that are more dynamic, efficient, and most importantly, practically deployable.