The Political Nature of TCP_IP

8/19/2019 The Political Nature of TCP_IP

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e Political Nature of TCP/IP

Abstract

Despite the importance of the Internet in the modern world, many users and even policy makers don’t have a

necessary historical or technical grasp of the technology behind it. In the spirit of addressing this issue, thisthesis aempts to shed light on the historical, political, and technical context of TCP/IP. TCP/IP is theInternet Protocol Suite, a primary piece of Internet architecture with a well-documented history. Aer attechnical overview, detailing the main function of TCP/IP, I examine aspects of the social and developmentalrecord of this technology using STS theoretical approaches such as Hughesian systems theory, SocialConstruction of Technology (SCOT), and Langdon Winner’s brand of technological determinism. Key points in TCP/IP evolution, when viewed from an STS perspective, illuminate the varied reasons behinddecisions and development of the technology. For example, as detailed in this paper, both technical andpolitical motivations were behind the architectural politics built into TCP/IP in the 1970s, and similarmotivations spurred the rejection of OSI protocols by Internet developers two decades later. Armed withresultant contextual understanding of previous TCP/IP developments, a few possible directions (bothpolitical and technical) in contemporary and future Internet development are then explored, such as the slow migration to IPv6 and the meaning of network neutrality.

Keywords

artifacts, politics, technological systems, technological politics, Hughes, Winner, Wiebe

is thesis or dissertation is available in Momentum: hp://repository.upenn.edu/momentum/vol1/iss1/20

http://repository.upenn.edu/momentum/vol1/iss1/20http://repository.upenn.edu/momentum/vol1/iss1/20


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he Political Nature of CP/IP

Honors hesis for Science, echnology, and Society

December 20

!ni"ersity of Pennsyl"ania

#ebe$ah %arsen

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Larsen: The Political Nature of TCP/IP

Published by ScholarlyCommons, 2012


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Momentum, Vol. 1 [2012], Iss. 1, Art. 20

http://repository.upenn.edu/momentum/vol1/iss1/20


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Since this @roAect Bas inherently disci@linary and I am more a student of social science thancom@uter science, I must than$ the generous and $noBledgeable @eo@le Bho too$ time out of theirbusy schedules to e@lain conce@ts, @ut me on ne"er


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&S #&C

Des@ite the im@ortance of the Internet in the modern Borld, many users and e"en @olicy ma$ersdonEt ha"e a necessary historical or technical gras@ of the technology behind it( In the s@irit ofaddressing this issue, this thesis attem@ts to shed light on the historical, @olitical, and technicalcontet of TCP/IP( TCP/IP is the Internet Protocol Suite, a @rimary @iece of Internet architecture

Bith a Bell


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P#+%+)!-

This semesterEs @roAect began as a rather aimless search for ansBers to some of my much

larger uestions about technical e@ertise and @olitics, es@ecially Bhen it comes to Internet and

com@uter technologies( -"entually, as large and ambitious an aim as it sounds, I ho@e to someday

ha"e some glimmer of an idea of hoB literal code becomes laBFI Bant more understanding of

hoB the Internet sha@es 8and is sha@ed by: its inhabitants, Bho are tailored to a @hysical Borld

Bith all of its constraints and more recogniable barriers(

I decided to study the bones of the Internet, TCP/IP, Bith the mindset described in the oft<

re@eated Bords of com@uter scientist .itch *a@or' &rchitecture is @oliticsJ 8*a@or 2006:(

ItEs easier to understand eactly hoB @oBerful this idea is Bhen a@@lying it to a s@ace such as the

InternetFan architecture born out of a military contet and being used by billions in innumerable

Bays, yet @ossibly dee@ly sha@ed by Aust a feB at its beginning and at crucial times 8.iniBatts

.ar$eting )rou@ 20:( I Banted to $noB more about technical e@ertsE direct and indirect

influences and e"entually, hoB their @ersonal @olitical "ieBs 8if @olitics refers to organiations of

@oBer and the Bay collecti"e decisions are made: manifest in their Bor$( ut I needed to start at

the beginning( This @a@er is the result my trying to familiarie myself Bith a com@licated

technology, both in technical, social, and organiational terms( This historical and general research

is @resented in such a Bay to su@@ort the someBhat broad thesis that @rotocols are @olitical, and in

more Bays than one(

I

N #+D!C I+N

1eB @eo@le today, es@ecially those li"ing in industrialied societies, ha"e not heard of the

InternetFand most li$ely, Aust about e"ery human being on the @lanet has in some Bay been

affected by this giant interconnection of com@uter netBor$s( The Internet is a booming @lace of

global commerce, a @ortal to Borlds of entertainment, art, communities, and $noBledge( It has

become such an integral @art of life for billions around the globe that uotes such as this one

8attributed to com@uter scientist )uy &lmes across the Beb: isnEt so far off the mar$' There

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construction of the InternetL Can one find @olitics in the construction and ado@tion choices of

"arious grou@s, and then see those @olitics in the actual Bor$ings of the Internet todayL

1ortunately, there is a Bay to trace @olitics in netBor$ de"elo@ment' through the technical

standards that arise and com@ete Bith each other( &fter all, in most cases, standardiation is a

means by Bhich "arious social grou@s realie their interestsJ 8*im et( al, 242:( Com@uter

@rotocols are li$e any other $ind of @rotocolFthey are standardiations of certain actions, meant to

unify actors and create a functional understanding of a @rocess( +ne can thin$ of the standards for

mailing a letter 8senderEs formatted information in the to@ left corner, recei"erEs in the center,

stam@ in the to@ right corner: or other communication @rotocols in "arious cultures 8$isses on the

chee$, @erha@s a firm handsha$e, a boB: as eam@les( These @rotocols ha"e groBn from contets

that can be @olitical( 1or eam@le, @rotocols can maintain @oBer by sheer demonstrationFthe

ancient Chinese etiuette of mandatory $oBtoBing before the em@eror for an audience is one such

eam@le(2 ut technical standards, Bhich ma$e the Internet @ossible, also ha"e great @olitical

@otential because of the Bay they sha@e en"ironments li$e the Internet( &s 5ale scholar %aura

Denardis @uts it, ProtocolsO control the global floB of information and ma$e decisions that

influence access to $noBledge, ci"il liberties online, inno"ation @olicy, national economic

com@etiti"eness, national security, and Bhich technology com@anies Bill succeed J 86:(

In other Bords, control of @rotocols can lead to a dee@ influence Bithin the listed areas

@ro"ided by Denardis( y that same to$en, @rotocols 8and the arguments and @eo@le behind them:

can be used to gain insight into current @oBer structures( They are, after all, still established by

humansFand there must be a consensus for a @rotocol to function( Though these are @ostulations

much too broad and lost in the infinite realities of history to s@ecifically define 8i(e( eactly hoB

and to Bhat degree @rotocols ha"e sha@ed users and "ice "ersa:, it is to be ho@ed that this @a@er

22 *oBtoBing is a series of standardied boBs and $neels reuired before ancient Chinese em@erors( Pro@er $oBtoBingBas recognition of the em@erorEs 8and ChinaEs: su@eriority, and many South -ast &sian countries obser"ed such@rotocols to trade Bith the em@ire( This is Aust one eam@le of hoB @rotocols are @olitical standards, e"en incommunication betBeen humans 8!rban 20:(

*




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Bill shed some light on hoB @rotocols can re"eal @olitics as Bell as maintain and embody them(

Thus, the rest of this @a@er is organied as a technical then historical o"er"ieB of TCP/IP,

folloBing a thread of eam@les that hint at and e"en illuminate @olitics in the TCP/IP system(

There are many actors, architectures, and organiationsM I ha"e com@iled a brief list of acronyms

for reference at the end( !nderstanding the basis of the internetBor$ BeE"e come to recognie as

cybers@ace reuires some in


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inefficient as Bell as "ulnerable, as Bill be described later in this @a@er( +ne solution Bas @ac$et

sBitching( In a netBor$ o@erating on this @rinci@le, the data is @ac$aged into se@arate @ieces and

sent out o"er a non


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four @rotocol layers that ma$e u@ the IPS but I Bill go into a bit of functional detail Bhen it comes

to the actual Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol(

The fi"e layers of abstraction in TCP/IP, from the most abstract layer to the least, are

generally $noBn as the a@@lication layer, the trans@ort layer, the Internet 8or netBor$: layer, the

data lin$ layer, and finally the @hysical 8or access, for the @ur@oses of this @a@er: layer 85oo 20,


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TCP( &s @ut by #utgers researcher Charles Hedric$, TCP is res@onsible for brea$ing u@ the

message into datagramEs sicO 8those @ieces used for @ac$et


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There are a "ariety of technologies that are @ossible on this layer, seeing as hoB there are a "ariety

of Bays to mo"e data and maintain netBor$s( ut since this is beyond the sco@e of this @a@er,

Bhich focuses on the layers that ma$e mo"ement betBeen the netBor$s @ossible, any uestions are

deferred to Cha@ter 2 of the @o@ular engineering tet Interconnections by softBare engineer #adia

Perlman(

&s stated before, the tBo layers of most im@ortance in this @a@er are the Trans@ort layer

and the Internet layer, and TCP/IP are the @rotocols 8for the most @art: that connect the multi@le

netBor$s that ma$e u@ todayEs Internet( TCP is in"ol"ed in @re@@ing and controlling @ac$ets and

IP @ro"ides the means to tra"el( I Bill Bal$ through their functions in a little more detail, using

sim@le tet gra@hics slightly modified from those used by researcher Charles Hedric$ in a 944

summary of TCP/IP for students( His illustrations demonstrate hoB the @ac$ets are segmented, sent,

recei"ed, and chec$ed through @rotocol, and the basic functions of TCP/IP he e@lains are much

the same today as they Bere in 944(

1irst, imagine a data stream, some information a com@uter Bants to send to another, as this'

( The TCP Bill first cho@ the data into @ieces, as large as @ossible after

considering the ca@abilities of the netBor$s that are in"ol"ed( So noB the stream loo$s something

li$e this' ( Net, the TCP Bill @ut its oBn little message at the head of

each of these @ieces' T T T T T T( This header contains the information that

alloBs TCP to reassemble the @ac$ets in order at the recei"ing end, as Bell as chec$ for missing or

damaged @ac$ets( Pac$ets in this format are sent bac$ and forth betBeen the communicating

machines, and through them the machines tell each other if messages Bere recei"ed, the correct

ordering of @ac$ets, and the @arts of the actual communication( +f course, there are a lot of nitty<

gritty details Bhen it comes to this @rocess 8such as the other @ieces of the header, the @orts@ecifications for ma$ing "irtual circuits, and some of the s@ecial functions for s@eed of transfer:,

but in a nutshell, this is Bhat TCP does 8Comer 993, 92 < 94:(

Imagine these @ac$ets at the time of de@loyment from TCP' T T T T T

T( They are then handed off to the Internet Protocol layer, and the IP Bill only concern itself

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Bith the destination address in the TCP header, and so after ta$ing a loo$, it adds its oBn header'

IT IT IT IT IT IT( This header has bits of information li$e the source and

destination addresses, the ty@e of @rotocol that handed the @ac$et off 8remember, IP can su@@ort

"arious other @rotocols as a loBer


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1igure ' &n illustration of the fi"e layers of the Internet Protocol Suite, and the direction that layerscommunicate Bhen mo"ing data from host to host( The routers in the middle donEt use thea@@lication or trans@ort @rotocolsFthey only deli"er the message using IP on the netBor$ layer(Colorado State !ni"ersity, CS 33' Com@uter and NetBor$ Protocols(J 200( &ccessed +ctober20(R htt@'//BBB(cs(colostate(edu/Ucs33/CourseNotes/Communication/NetBor$Prots(html

hen each of the @rotocol layers com@letes its tas$s, the message 8and BhatEs left of the

added header: is handed u@ to the net layer, until the message is assembled and fully

communicated( ut Bhere does all of the handing bac$ and forth ta$e @laceL 1igure , in addition

to the folloBing @aragra@h, illustrate hoB the middle of the netBor$ is a sim@le trans@orter, running

Aust the loBer layers of the Internet Protocol Suite, Bhile the ends of the netBor$ e@erience more

res@onsibility and more di"ersity(

1or the @ur@ose of this @a@er, hosts could be called basically anything that is hoo$ed u@ to

the netBor$ and has its oBn IP address( Hosts gets a little more com@licated than thatFfor

eam@le, there are com@uters maintaining netBor$s that are called IP hosts, Bhich manage

addresses for distribution among @ossibly many com@uters on their netBor$ 8Padli@s$y 942:( ut

in this contet, one could thin$ of hosts as com@uters that are reuesting/recei"ing information from

another host, and the routers are the middlemen, the com@uters in the center of the system that

con"ey messages( hen it comes to the layered @rotocols, the routers run the bottom


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function to a minimum, a number of a@@lications as Bell as netBor$ technologies can use this

transfer system to communicate( TCP 8and @rotocols li$e !DP, !ser Datagram Protocol: o@erate on

the layer that @ro"ides netBor$ command and control, ta$ing the ser"ice out of the middle( The

hosts, running these u@@er layer @rotocols, ha"e to reassemble @ac$ets as Bell as do damage control

Fdetermining as best they can from the fringes Bhat Bent Brong if a @ac$et doesnEt arri"e, and

resend or adAust their ueries for congestion(

1igure 3' &n abstract "isualiation of the inno"ation/di"ersity that is alloBed at theends of the netBor$ because of the sim@licity of its middle( Ta$en from Gonathan =ittrainEsThe 1uture of the Internet( Searls, Doc( !nderstanding Infrastructure(J %inu Gournal( 9 &@ril2004( Rhtt@'//BBB(linuAournal(com/content/understanding


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historical stand


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though I do not intend on focusing on one theory, I Bill attem@t to shoB the "ariety of Bays

@olitics are a @art of @rotocol systems through se"eral a@@roachesFBhether through the

arrangement of the technology itself or through the @olitics surrounding its go"ernance and

de"elo@ment( This is meant to shoB the "ariety of Bays that technologies and @olitics can interact(

There are three main theories I Bill allude to throughout the u@coming section of TCP/IP history'

Social Construction of Technology 8SC+T:, %angdon innerKs artifact @olitics, and Thomas

HughesE systems theory(

SC+T in the history and sociology of technology Bas @o@ularied in the 940s, in @art by

Tre"or G( Pinch and iebe -( iA$er, both sociologists in science and technology 8iA$er 94;, :(

In their 94; Aoint essay on social constructi"ism, The Social Construction of 1acts and

&rtifactsJ, they detailed a multidirectionalJ model for technology selection and de"elo@ment,

shoBing hoB artifacts are contingent on social factors, and hoB the successful stages in

de"elo@ment are not the only @ossible onesJ 824:( Thus, SC+T dismisses the notion of fied

linear de"elo@ment of technology, and instead @osits stages of de"elo@ment and research as Bell'

inter@reti"e fleibility, closure, and relating the content of a technological artifact to the Bider

socio@olitical milieuE 80:( These Bill be e@lored later in this @a@er, Bith TCP/IP as the

technology in uestion(

+n the o@@osite end of the theoretical s@ectrum is technological determinism, Bhich @oints

to the @ossibility of technology sha@ing society( In 946, %angdon inner @ublished an influential

article read by e"ery subseuent history of science and technology student( Do &rtifacts Ha"e

PoliticsLJ as$ed inner, and according to him the ansBer Bas yes( He claimed, systems of

modern material culture can embody s@ecific forms of @oBer and authorityJ in tBo maAor Bays'

through arrangement/ado@tion or through inherent com@atibilities Bith certain @olitical relationshi@s(1or the first, he gi"es a com@elling eam@le of the discriminatory @olitics constructed into the "ery

loB o"er@asses of NeB 5or$Es %ong IslandM those loBer on the socioeconomic ladder 8many of

them non


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more contro"ersial because of its deterministic natureM he argued that some technologies are

strongly com@atible Bith and e"en demand a certain set of social conditionsJ 8inner 946,

0:( +ne @oBerful eam@le is the nuclear @oBerFif a society is going to maintain this $ind of

system, its "ery dangerousness reuires a centralied, rigidly hierarchical chain of commandJ

o"er the technologyFsomething Bith Bhich democratic societies might struggle 8:(

Thomas HughesE systems theory is an attem@t to reconcile these o@@osing ideas of social

"s( technological determinism by incor@orating both at different times during technological

de"elo@ment( In The -"olution of %arge Technical SystemsJ 894;:, Hughes details hoB

technology is alBays embedded a system, and a young system is dee@ly sha@ed by its surroundings,

often inauguratedJ by radical in"entionsJ 8iA$er 94;, 62:( Hughes argues that these

systems 8Bhich are often embedded in larger and larger systems as Bell: folloB a loose @attern that

changes the direction of influence in the system as it matures 836


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HIS +#5' H- -7+%! I+N +1 CP/IP&ND I S &SS+CI& -D P+%I ICS

.uch about TCP/IP has remained remar$ably the same in the @ast 0 years 8Huston :( 5et

this doesnEt mean that anything about the Internet is staticFon the contrary, the relati"ely stable

eistence of TCP/IP is something of an anomaly Bhen com@ared to other Internet com@onents, and

has both engineers and @olicy ma$ers continue to argue in big forums and to big audiences Bhether

this is a good or bad thing(3 The folloBing uotes, though neither gi"ing a com@rehensi"e @icture of

Internet de"elo@ment culture or @roAection, still illustrate some relati"ely constant themes in TCP/IP

Fand o"erall InternetFe"olution(

S@ea$ing from a telecommunications @oint of "ieB, netBor$ consultant Thomas Noelle

articulated one side of a recurring tension that @o@s u@ o"er and o"er in recent netBor$ing history(

The Internet is an im@ortant cultural @henomenon, but that doesnKt ecuse its failure to com@ly

Bith basic economic laBs( The @roblem is that it Bas de"ised by a bunch of hi@@ie anarchistsJ

8Nolle 200:( Netheads "s( ellheads, TCP/IP "s( +SI, ?(23 "s( "endor netBor$sFall Bere

contets for dis@utes about control and management of netBor$s, and Bill be addressed in later

@ortions of this @a@er( These dis@utes Bere also dee@ly tied to the technical standards of the

Internet, and the Bay information is routed( This tension, Bhich is about @oBer at its heart, is

dee@ly @olitical in nature, and has led to some interesting characteriations of technologies and

grou@s in"ol"ed in the TCP/IP e"olution( This uote also touches on some of the @ercei"ed

embedded @rinci@les of TCP/IP, Bhich could be eamined using innerEs ideas of arranged

@olitics(

S@ea$ing from the hi@@ieE side, com@uter scientist Da"id Clar$ coined this mantra of

the Internet builders in 992' e reAect $ings, @residents, and "oting( e belie"e in rough

consensus and running codeJ 8Hoffman 20:( It has characteried much of the subseuent

discussion that dominates the Internet history, @ainting it Bith ideas of uto@ian de"elo@ment( ut

5 Columbia %aB @rofessor Tim u coined the term net neutralityE in 200, describing one side of current debatesabout the Bay information floB should be controlled on the Internet( Net neutrality ad"ocates generally argue that thego"ernment mandate ISPs 8internet ser"ice @ro"iders: to treat all e"ery $ind of @ac$et eually, not discriminating basedon the user or ty@e of transmissionFthereby su@@osedly @reser"ing a @latform for inno"ation( Those against suchmeasures cite lac$ of mar$et freedom and the @ossible bac$lash to consumers if fleible @ricing is banned 8NeB 5or$Times 200:(

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Bas it really all about the @erfect en"ironmentL ThereEs little doubt the Internet origins ha"e

gained this re@utation, such as hoB it Bas ultimate meritocracy from the beginning, Bhere nerds

Bere born and thri"ed, Bhere no one $neB if you Bere a dogJ 6 and if a user ga"e a suggestion,

it Bould only be ta$en for its intrinsic "alue and not its source( ut li$e any other technology,

TCP/IP Bas constructed and maintained Bith @olitical aims, and itself embodied @olitics that

BerenEt necessarily egalitarian( &fter all, loo$ing closely at the Da"id Clar$ uote, itEs e"ident

that engineers reAected that mechanism of democracy and "oting, @robably for the @artisan

com@romisesJ and bureaucratic structure they im@ly 8#ussell 32 > 3:(

%aB @rofessor Christo@her 5oo @ointed out in 1ebruary 20 that the Internet arose from

an e@erimental contet' The InternetEsO layered model e"ol"ed during the design @rocess

through e@erimentation and com@romise rather than a @recommitment sicO to a @articular set of

@rinci@les( This @rocessO of im@lementation and e@erimentation is res@onsible for much of its

successJ 85oo 20, 23


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ca@abilities ha"e stayed consistent, but the uses of the Internet, the @eo@le Bho are in"ol"ed Bith it,

and the organiations behind its design ha"e been in flu( This net section Bill attem@t to eamine

both maAor technical and contetual e"olutions of TCP/IP from its roots to the @resent day(

The history and @roAection of TCP/IP here Bill roughly be di"ided into fi"e sections' the

setting and @recursors, the in"ention and formation of basic TCP/IP, its com@etition and

@o@ulariation, TCP/IP during the commercialiation of the Internet, and a loo$ at some current

@olitical and technical de"elo@ments around TCP/IP( -ach section, though o"erla@@ing in terms of

chronology, Bill attem@t to historically eamine some of the $ey @layers sha@ing TCP/IP, and the

Bay TCP/IP has sha@ed them( 8)oldstein 2;4:

BEGINNING BACKGROUND (1960S)

Paul aran, as a young engineer, Bent to Bor$ for the #and 8#esearch &ND De"elo@ment:

Cor@oration, a non


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H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

nodes, com@uters rather than tele@hone sBitches, that could store the @ac$ets and forBard them at

a@@ro@riate times, in the right direction( There Bould be a cost on the system' brea$ u@ and

reassembly of the messages Bould be time


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first o@erational @ac$et


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H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

orthodo beliefs of enca@sulation, the TCP header of each @ac$et shouldnEt be touched as it

mo"es through routers running IP( In this Bay, the actual nodes in the netBor$ are blind to

congestion and/or failuresFthe smart ends of the netBor$ ta$e res@onsibility, and the dumbE

middle can do its Aob sim@ly and efficiently 8Clar$ 944, 04:(

ith NCP and the first incarnation of the P&N-T, there Bas no dumb middleFthe

I.Ps as minicom@uters $e@t co@ies of @ac$ets until recei"ing confirmation that the @ac$ets had

successfully been sent to the net node on their Aourney to the destination host 8&bbate 6;:( This

Bas a netBor$ that, in contrast to those characteried by TCP/IP, @laced much more em@hasis on

reliability and control of the netBor$ in the middle( Scientists Bere the ones using and creating the

netBor$ in an effort to share resources, and these tBo reliability and control Bere @riorities(

The year Bas 9;0, and the NetBor$ or$ing )rou@ Bas the name for some indi"iduals

informally outlining the NCP @rotocols and discussing netBor$ architecture( %oosely brought

together in 964 by "arious DP& @roAect leaders such as 7int Cerf, the grou@ began to guide

the @rocess of creating the P&N-T( They built a system for de"elo@ing and @ublishing their

consensuses 8still in eistence today, $noBn as #euests for Comment:, and the organiation has

ser"ed as a tem@late for current Internet @rotocol setters such as the Internet &d"isory oard, IS+C,

and es@ecially the Internet -ngineering Tas$ 1orce 80 5earsQJ:( Interestingly enough, this

Bas an organiation that almost didnEt ma$e it @ast adolescence( -arly on in P&N-T

de"elo@ment, %aBrence #oberts considered turning the N) o"er to a @rofessional research grou@(

ut e"en at this stage, it Bas a@@arent that the sense of community and the users


27/56

1or CommentFdoes not denote authority or control( These are electronic archi"es documenting

Internet technical de"elo@ment, from @rotocols to technical @rocedures to curious Ao$es inside the

large community that has constituted Internet e@ansion since 969 8Denardis 2009, 26:(

The researchers and graduate students Bho first began to flesh out P&N-T 8both in

terms of @ur@ose and technical s@ecifications: Brote informal memos to each other, sending out

@hotoco@ies until the memos migrated to digital format on the "ery netBor$ they Bere constructing(

ut today, these memos are seen as the official, formal documentation of Internet @rotocol

standards( TCP/IP s@ecification and tutorials reside in many #1Cs, from some initial descri@tions of

TCP 8#1C ;6: to tutorials 8#1C 40: to congestion control modifications 8#1C 364:( &nother

familiar name, Gon Postel, Bas the archi"ist of the #1Cs until his death, and the thousands of

documents 8some "ery technical, some dreams of Internet future, some consisting of meeting

minutes, and some Aust for &@ril 1oolEs Day:0 are noB a"ailable online for anyone to @eruse(

Ste@hen Croc$er, another big name in Internet culture, Bas the first Briter of #1Cs and the

one Bho tentati"ely entitled them as such, afraid of @ossibly u@setting the military funders( In a

fairly recent o@inion @iece for the NeB 5or$ Times, he @ut into Bords the idea of Internet culture

that the #1Cs ha"e hel@ed @er@etuate and e"en idealie( This Bas the ultimate in o@enness in

technical design and that culture of o@en @rocess Bas essential in enabling the Internet to groB and

e"ol"e as s@ectacularly as it hasJ 8Croc$er 2009:( ith such descri@ti"e rhetoric of its @ast as

Bell as its history of anonymity and su@@osedly loB barriers to entry for start


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H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

systems nestle hierarchically li$e a #ussian -aster egg into a @attern of systems and

subsystemsJ 8Hughes 3:(

The @olitical nature of these tBo en"elo@ing and o"erla@@ing systems, e"en if Aust from

their "irtue as cultural artifacts, Bould ha"e an effect on the burgeoning P&N-T( 1or eam@le,

there has long been debate about the distortional effects of the Cold ar and &merican military

in"ol"ement in the direction of science( 8See footnote 9(: This military distortion can of course be

"ieBed as a @ush for Bea@ons


29/56

o@erational( 1unding Bas in large su@@ly, and researchers as users floc$ed to assist in de"elo@ment

of standards and @rotocols 8Comer 993, 6:( The first incarnation of TCP/IP came Bith a @a@er by

7int Cerf in 9;, @re"iously uoted in the technical o"er"ieB( & Partial S@ecification for an

International Transmission ProtocolJ first @ro@osed that host com@uters do the Bor$ of brea$ing

messages into chun$s and reassembling them, rather than each com@uter 8SI)C+.. 999:(

The ideas in that @a@er that Bould soon become TCP/IP Bere refined and @ublished by

Cerf and felloB researcher #obert *ahn, and in it they established a basic system for gateBays and

uniform @rotocols betBeen netBor$s 85oo 20, 2;:( The idea of netBor$ing Bas s@reading, but for

the most @art, these netBor$s Bere se@arate entities, running on their oBn @rotocols and/or medium(

hat $ind of @rotocol could run on all netBor$s, Bhether they used radio transmission or solid

Bires or e"en satellite broadcastingL &nd hoB Bould such di"erse netBor$s communicateL It Bas

also in the early 9;0s that Cerf brought together a grou@ of researchers in"ol"ed Bith the netBor$

to attac$ such uestions 8&bbate 2000, 2;:( This grou@ ultimately came to a consensus on some

im@ortant netBor$ @rinci@lesFnamely, that P&N-T Bas to become a dumb netBor$ Bith

TCP/IP(

ut this consensus Bas someBhat tailored( In her ecellent footnotes for In"enting the

Internet , historian Ganet &bbate describes hoB N 8the manufacturer of the I.Ps, the middle

com@uters of the smart P&N-T: Bas ecluded from this first grou@ of Internet builders, greatly

in @art because they Bould ha"e most li$ely argued for a continuation of the smart netBor$, one

that @ro"ided reliability in the middle( ecause of its history in constructing much of early

P&N-T, other netBor$ contributors felt N had too much @oBer o"er Internet architecture(

Thus, a neB netBor$ architecture may ha"e been seen as a chance to re


30/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

could change maAor architectural @rinci@les years into its o@eration, though Bith ideas of both

technical im@ro"ements and @olitical @oBer( It suggests a $ind of consensus, one that didnEt gi"e

eual "oice to e"ery "ieB but created a maAority mo"ement through rough consensus(

These Bere the early days of TCP/IP, and consensus and e@erimentation Bere easier to

establish because the @eo@le in"ol"ed Bere relati"ely feB( The malleability of the system by human

actors at this @oint coincides Bith the rough @attern of technological de"elo@ment Hughes @ut forth

Fsocial construction is more e"ident Bhen the system is relati"ely young, and these changes in the

direction of the netBor$ could be s@urred by @olitical re"erse salients( The eclusion of a grou@

Bith differing goals also Ai"es Bith a general SC+T analysisFdesign fleibility led to the choice of

one design 8and thus a certain set of goals: o"er the other( +ne can also thin$ of this as a moment

Bhen a choice Bas made about the @olitics of a system, and then the system Bas arranged to

embody themFone eam@le is #obert .osesE bridges as described by inner( ut @artici@ation

and technologies Bere groBing and e"ol"ingM the system Bas maturing(

The year 9;3 Bas a busy one for netBor$ing( Telenet, touted as the first @ac$et


31/56

into a giant internetBor$( In other Bords, the military Bished to ha"e distance from those

researchers constantly e@erimenting on a netBor$ 8&bbate 2000, 2


32/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

directi"e Bhen TCP/IP became a mandate 8*im 2002, 24:( .any hail Ganuary , 94 as the true

birthday of the Internet Bith the Bides@read mo"ement of all go"ernment


33/56

COMPETITION, POPUARI!ATION, AND POITICS (1983 " 199#)

&round 9;3, Bhen netBor$s Bere barely becoming commercial "entures, "arious

telecommunication com@anies 8telcos: decided to create a number of @ublic data netBor$s

8PDNs:2( ecause com@arable struggles o"er the @olitical @oBer of @rotocols Bould soon reach

TCP/IP and the groBing Internet, a non


34/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

through rough consensus and running codeE as Bell( The net @art of this section illustrates that

@rotocol choice, e"en Bhen technical and design differences arenEt @articularly different, can still

be used to maintain or create certain @oBer structures( This is a good set u@ for the initial history

of +SI "s( TCP/IP, a story that could be more about control than about technical as@ects of the

@rotocols(

+SI stands for +@en Systems Interconnection, and it is a reference model for netBor$

@rotocols( -ssentially, it is a techniue for classifying netBor$ acti"ity into se"en layers 8rather than

TCP/IPEs fi"e:, adding tBo layers 8@resentation and session: to the trans@ort layer of TCP/IP(

De"elo@ed through an international standards


35/56

standards 8as e"idenced by ?(23:, IS+ began Bor$ on its oBn standards(

1igure 3' ShoBing the similarity in layering betBeen +SI and the IPS( The host


36/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

!S federal agenciesM netBor$ administrators Bere mandated to @rocure com@liant @roducts by 990(

HoBe"er, @rocure did not mean eclusi"ely use, and li$e many TCP/IP netBor$ administrators

throughout the !S, e"en go"ernment em@loyees continued to use the original Internet @rotocols(

)+SIP Bas abandoned in 99, and the action Bas indicati"e of the state of the +SI mo"ement

8#ussell 2006, 3


37/56

once it is connected to another machine, it becomes useful( So it is Bith all communication

netBor$s, and the TCP/IP Internet is no ece@tion 8SundararaAan 2006:(

The @resence of such contingent moti"ations for ado@ting TCP/IP 8rather than Aust for its

technological su@eriority: has led some historians and economists to s@eculate if TCP/IP Bon out

because of some sort of loc$


38/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

I-T1 @artici@ants at their 2th meeting in 99, entitled & Cloudy Crystal allJ, that roused

and assured the Internet community that the @ro@osal Bould be BithdraBn and the grassroots nature

of Internet construction Bould continue 8Denardis 2009,


39/56

TCP/IP DURING T$E INTERNET E%POSION AND COMMERCIAI!ATION (199# "

#000S)

+ne of the moti"es for attem@ting to bring a @iece of +SI into the Internet @rotocols came

about in 990, Bhen netBor$ engineers began to realie that the Internet could literally run out of

room 8Denardis 2009, 0:( &s e@lained in the technical @ortion on TCP/IP, each IP address

8running on the fourth "ersion of IP: must be uniue, and early designers allocated 2 bits 8units of

re@resentation: for these addresses( This means that there are 22 @ossible addresses, or about (

billion, on the current instantiation of IP( 8.ost @eo@le on the Internet today use IP", or IP

"ersion (:

1igure 6' The ra@id groBth of the Internet, reaching o"er a billion by 2009( &shant Chalasani(-uroblae +?ID e


40/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

30 million to 2 billion( It surely is a testament to the scalability of TCP/IP that it Bas able to

handle such an increase(

#1C ; @ro@osed that TCP and !DP could be run o"er C%NP Bith bigger addresses in

Gune 992 to combat looming shortages 8Callon 992:( The reAection of C%NP Bas the setting for

the sith "ersion of IP, a neB @rotocol design that Bas de"elo@ed by the I-T1 in the 990s( ut

yet again, as Denardis documents in Protocol Politics , @rotocol selection became @oBer

selectionJ 823:( The beginning of the search for a neB @rotocol Bith more addressing ca@ability

Bas @ointed firmly in the direction of IP, at least in name( &fter the C%NP Bas roundly reAected by

the I-T1 for its association Bith an international to@


41/56

technologyJ 8Dion 99:( This Bay of o@erating hear$ens bac$ to the idea of rough consensus

and running codeE, Bhere uic$ o@erability might be @ried o"er long


42/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

fundamental architecture of the Internet( &t the heart of the &T. debate is really an older

argument,V said com@uter scientist and softBare de"elo@er rian #eid at the time( VIt is the debate

betBeen @ac$et


43/56

sometimes halt a system entirely, and set the stage for the e"olution of a neB system( -ach of the

eam@les that folloBFde"elo@mental @rocesses, disregard for technical gentlemenEs agreements,

and @rotocol limitationsFcould be seen as @otential re"erse salients, and @ossibly leading to

changes in Internet functions(

The Internet de"elo@ment community has seen a lot of groBth in the @ast decade or so(

1ocusing Aust on the I-T1, its membershi@ saB a ten


44/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

such as 7oice o"er IP and streaming "ideo 8#oss 2000:(3 The @roblem Bith uses such as 7oIP and

streaming "ideo is the amount of bandBidth6 they consume, creating large costs on the netBor$

because of the most @rolific users that im@act all other users( Such Bas the thin$ing behind scaling

bac$ techniues that brought the term netBor$ neutralityE into @ublic consciousness(

+ne conseuence of the InternetEs academic origins is the number of gentlemanEs

agreements embedded in the actual functions of @rotocolsFand the fact that certain users are ta$ing

ad"antage of them( +ne of the easiest to understand is the anonymous and thus eualE nature

of users online that alloBed the @roliferation of s@am( S@am 8unsolicited, usually commercial

electronic messages deli"ered "ia email: got its start in 9;4( & mar$eting re@resentati"e for D-C

8Digital -ui@ment Cor@oration: sent out a mass message on P&N-T to se"eral hundred

reci@ients about a neB D-C system 8*leiner 2004:( #eaction Bas sBift and negati"eFusers sent

multi@le com@laints to netBor$ administrators( The P&N-T Bas under the Defense

Communications &gencyEs @ur"ieB at this time, and so this mar$eting re@resentati"e recei"ed

some strongly Borded re@rimands( &ll of his reci@ients recei"ed the message as BellFthis netBor$

Bas 1+# +11ICI&% !(S( )+7-#N.-NT !SIN-SS +N%5J and &PP#+P#I&T-

&CTI+N IS -IN) T&*-N T+ P#-C%!D- ITS +CC!##-NC- &)&INJ 8Tem@leton n(d(:(

hat a change from the current state of s@am on the Internet todayX y 2009, o"er 90Y of

all email had become s@am of one form or another( Congress @assed the C&N


45/56


46/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

to say, this recommendation is routinely unheeded( &ccording to 5oo, first Netsca@e 8a @o@ular

Beb broBser in the 990s: began o@ening eight connections @er host, then other Beb broBsers

folloBed suit( The Beb broBser a@@lication .oilla 1irefo @ermits hosts to o@en 3 connections,

as Bell as other Internet a@@lications 85oo 20, 2:(

The congestion created by economically rational actors on the netBor$ 8and the resulting

uneualE distribution of bandBidth: is one of the reasons that centralied control of the netBor$

is still a@@ealing to netBor$ managers and @ro"iders( In 2004, Comcast 8a consumer


47/56

the Internet could not eist Bith differential treatment of traffic( ut others, including some netBor$

managers say such treatment is Aust im@ractical and maybe e"en untenableFnot to mention

@otentially unfair for users Bhose loB le"els of traffic are sloBed doBn by file sharing or other

such bandBidth


48/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

1ebruary 20M most of the Internet still uses IP", though efforts to u@date are intensifying 8"an

eiAnum 20:( Some softBare and com@uter manufacturing com@anies, such as )oogle, .icrosoft,

and 1aceboo$ ha"e been ma$ing @roducts com@atible Bith both "ersions of IP 81lynn:( ut the

sBitcho"er has been in @rogress for o"er a decade, and has still largely not ha@@ened(

+ne reason for the sloB migration is technical difficultyFIP"6 is not bac$Bards com@atible

Bith IP" 8IP"6 canEt Bor$ Bith the out@ut of IP": and a large


49/56

create some interesting @arallels Bith older TCP/IP e"ents, i(e( Bhen P& mandated a TCP/IP

sBitcho"er in 94 and the refusal of the IS+ to acce@t TCP as a trans@ort @rotocol(

The centralied nature of Internet go"ernance in the K40s, Bhen it Bas a military


50/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

Bho use it through its arranged @olitics(

1or the conclusion of this research @a@er, IEd li$e to recall an o@ening uote from %aura

Denardis, Bhich noB has content in the @re"ious @ages to illuminate her insight' ProtocolsO

control the global floB of information and ma$e decisions that influence access to $noBledge, ci"il

liberties online, inno"ation @olicy, national economic com@etiti"eness, national security, and Bhich

technology com@anies Bill succeed J 86:(

)

%+SS

< &T.' &synchronous Transfer .ode< N' olt, erane$, and NeBman< )+SIP' )o"ernment +@en Systems Interconnection Profile< I&' Internet &d"isory/&cti"ities/&rchitecture oard< ICC' Internet Control Configuration oard< I-T1' Internet -ngineering Tas$ 1orce

4+




51/56

< IPS' Internet Protocol Suite< IS+' International +rganiation for Standardiation< IS+C' Internet Society< NCP' NetBor$ Control Program< N)' NetBor$ or$ing )rou@< +SI' +@en Systems Interconnection

< PDN' Public Data NetBor$< #1C' #euest for Comment< STS' Science, Technology, and Society< TCP/IP' Transfer Control Protocol/Internet Protocol< !DP' !niform Data Protocol

I%I+)#&PH5

&bbate, Ganet( In"enting the Internet( Cambridge' The .IT Press, 2000(

&n$er, Peter( 7irtual Circuit SBitching( 2003( htt@'//BBB(telecomabc(com/"/"irtual


52/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

Tas$ 1orce( &@ril ;, 999( htt@'//tools(ietf(org/html/rfc2333 8accessed N/& N/&, 20:(

Callon, #oss( VTCP and !DP Bith igger &ddresses 8T!&:(V I-T1(org( Gune 992(htt@'//tools(ietf(org/html/rfc; 8accessed +ctober 20:(

Cerf, 7int, inter"ieB by Gudy +KNeill( -cer@ts from an +ral History 8&@ril 2, 990:(

Cerf, 7inton( VHoB the Internet Came To be(V In The +nline !serKs -ncyclo@edia , by ernard&boba( oston' &ddison


53/56

)uerin, #och( IP"6 &do@tion .onitor( htt@'//mnlab


54/56

H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

and Inno"ation in Information Technology( Delft, The Netherlands' I---, 200( 6


55/56

SI)C+..( V&C. SI)C+.. Tutorial' & Technical History of the Internet(V !ni"ersity ofTeas( &ugust , 999( htt@'//BBB(faceboo$(com/&maon(comoo$s 8accessedSe@tember 4, 20:(

Simcoe, Timothy( VDelay and de Aure standardiation' e@loring the sloBdoBn in Internet

standards de"elo@ment(V In Standards and Public Policy , by Shane .( and 7ictor Stango)reenstein, 260


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H- P+%I IC&% N& !#- +1 CP/IP

20(

=ittrain, Gonathan( The 1uture of the Internet( NeB Ha"en' 5ale !ni"ersity Press, 2004(

54


Documents

The Political Nature of TCP_IP