Phil's suggestion about link measurements

[maximo!mo%uunet.UU.NET@Sdsc.BITnet (Mike O'Dell)]

The scheme is used in the DARPA SURAN system.
Quite a cute idea.  SURAN also implements
virtual acknowledgements. The ideas is that if
a packet is going off from A to C, being forwarded
by B, A sends the packet out, but then listens
for it to be repeated by B.  When A hears it,
A knows it got there.  If if doesn't hear it
after a while, it resends it. If A hears it
repeated, I now knows the round-trip queueing
delay through B, and uses that information
for a congestion control "pacing" scheme.
SURAN also does automatic connectivity acquisition
and dynamic routing.  The scheme works quite
well for moderate-sized networks.  For larger
networks like the new DARPA packet radio system,
the basic SURAN ideas are overlaid with a
clustering algorithm, providing for cluster routing.
Good stuff that.  We should steal more of it
and invent less.....
     
        -Mike O'Dell