All power to the network

Stuart Corner
Saturday, 12 April 2008 02:52

Opinion and Analysis

Right now it is not real easy to see exactly what Kisch means and why this function that should reside in the network rather than in the systems and devices connected to it. But look at it this way. At some level the network as the potential to be all-knowing: every time anyone does a google search, watches a video on YouTube or uploads a video to YouTube that traffic goes through the network.

Just imagine a really intelligent network with ASR1000 devices or similar at its perimeter: a network that constantly gathers vast amounts of information about the packets travelling across it; what applications do they belong to; what content is being carried; a network that is able to be programmed to exploit that knowledge in the form of services to end users or for the network operator.

Such a network would be able to reroute a video stream from the home TV to the in-car TV screen on demand from the viewer. Such a network would very quickly be able to identify new malware being pumped into it, to know exactly where it was coming from and choke it off at source. Such a network would be able to apply differential tariffs to any service that the operator cared to name.

More importantly nothing would have to be 'set in concrete' when the network was designed and installed: as needs changed, new programs could be created and loaded to support new services or apply new tariffs. Like, perhaps, making access to Google a chargeable service, either to Google or the end user. Scary stuff.