i2CAT coordinates the first European project on RINA, the network architecture of the future

RINA, a general theory of network architecture developed by Internet pioneer John Day, would provide the infrastructure necessary to support distributed computing.

The Foundation i2CAT will coordinate the European IRATI project, of the 7th Framework Program, which for two years will work on the development of an efficient implementation of RINA, a general theory of network architecture developed by Internet pioneer John Day. The Foundation is leading this project thanks to the results obtained after two years of research with Boston University (Where is Professor John Day from?), the Irish research center TSSG and the American start-up TRIA Network Systems, conforming to the Pouzin Society (PSOC), a forum for developing viable alternative solutions to the current network architecture.

The RINA architecture offers a solid theory with enough elements to provide the necessary infrastructure to support distributed computing.. This new infrastructure, developed by the PSOC and successfully implemented in two prototypes, will allow the creation of a much simpler computer network than the current one and, therefore, cheaper to build and operate, while providing multi-homing, mobility, multicast and quality of service in users, as well as greater reliability and security of communications. In fact, One of the consequences of using RINA is that the number of protocols necessary to replicate the functionality of TCP/IP is much smaller and, only in the security area, a reduction in one factor is estimated 10 (for more information on the main obstacles of the TCP/IP architecture and the differences with RINA, see attached document).

The IRATI project provides a step forward in the evolution of this technology, since it allows you to dispense with the TCP/IP architecture and get rid of all the limitations offered by solutions developed on top of this large number of protocols.. The project will implement John Day's theory of Ethernet for Linux and FreeBSD operating systems.. The developed code will be open to be used for teaching purposes, for academic research but also as a basis for developing future RINA-based products.

Interoute Use Cases

With a budget of 1.126.000 euros (of which 870.000 They are subsidized by European funds), The European IRATI project will have the participation, in addition to i2CAT as project coordinator and technical director, of the Italian SME Nextworks, from the Belgian group iMinds and of Interoute, whose collaboration will allow providing solutions to realistic use cases provided by this telecommunications multinational.

As a project partner, Interoute will provide information on the problems they experience on a daily basis when providing their network operator and cloud services due to the limitations provided by current technology based on TCP/IP protocols.. This information will serve the rest of the project members to decide which RINA components are the most relevant and priority to develop..

To carry out experimentation and validation of prototypes, IRATI will use the services of the OFELIA experimental platform, project also funded by the European Commission and in which i2CAT also participates, in which it is possible to join different testbeds in various places in Europe (Barcelona, Ghent, Bristol, Berlin, Trento and Zurich, inter alia).

For Eduard Fat, responsible for the RINA research line of the i2CAT Foundation and technical responsible for the IRATI project, “although it is operating on an impressive scale, The success and adoption of TCP/IP is not because it is a technological marvel but has more to do with the large amount of money that the US government. contributed over the years 80 and principles of 90 to develop this technology and subsidize its operating costs, facilitating its use”.

“The problem with IPV6 is that it has the same errors as its predecessor, It's a patch on a patch, but resources could be optimized much better with another type of network architecture, like the one proposed by John Day”, secures fat and adds: “using a simile with the construction, The project we are starting now represents a new way of doing things; that is to say, We are not building a new building but it is a change in technology, tools and construction style, through which new, much more efficient buildings can be made, sustainable and with many more possibilities to add new functionalities”.

Access to John Day's full paper on RINA.