Internet2 working to improve bandwidth
Posted in Tech/Sci News by Alex Sydell on February 16th, 2008
Internet2, a nonprofit advanced networking consortium in the United States, is designing a new network that can open up paths with large amounts of dedicated bandwidth when they’re needed.
Currently, the Internet Protocol (IP) that’s in use breaks data into packets that are sent through fiber-optic cables to their destination. However, the packets don’t have to take the same path. Routers examine each packet individually and send it off on its way. The problem with this system is that large data transfers can clog the routers with many packets asking where to go next. This can result, for example, in skips in streaming video if the packets arrive out of order or at different times. Read more »