DARPA wants to build a better Internet

DARPA sure doesn't seem to be lacking in ambition these days, funding invisible shields, bionic arms, and not one, but two different robot races. Now, it looks to be turning to its past for ideas, with it attempting to revisit its Arpanet glory days by issuing a call for "revolutionary ideas" to rework the current Internet, The Register reports. From the looks of it, DARPA thinks there's plenty of room for improvement, stating the goal of the program as nothing less than to "improve transfer speeds, network routing efficiency, reliability, simplify network configuration, and reduce cost," adding that it's also interested in new addressing schemes to supplement the current IP scheme. Those interested in taking a shot at it can hit up the link below for all the necessary information.

[Via The Register]

[AKBlade13 @ Jun 29th 2007 1:35AM]

If you want to build a better interent...let's work on everyone having 100 MB upload and download per second.

Everything else can come second.

AKBlade13

[Aaron @ Jun 29th 2007 1:51AM]

I agree. Crazy-fast speeds are step one. It's not even out of reach; take a look at the high speed connections in Asia, for example. Puts the American ISPs to shame. Making old technology seem new needs to stop (i.e. making slow-ish connections sound cutting edge to the average consumer), as does severely throttling upload speeds. I wonder how long it'll be before that stuff really happens.

[Big @ Jun 29th 2007 1:51AM]

I got one word for you Darpa....WIRELESS

Make all internet connections WIRELESS and you'll have your better internet.

I'm talking City Wide, State Wide WiFi.

I'm Talking cellular modems built into computers waiting to be activated.

I'm talking country side signal REPEATERS hooked to data-Satellite dish transmitters.

complete wireless is the way to go.

Wires aint never helped nobudy!

[Bob @ Jun 29th 2007 1:54AM]

Well since we all know that Al Gore invented the first internet, why not give him a call? It seems that he has a hankering for fixing the worlds problems these days.

[boe @ Jun 29th 2007 1:57AM]

Some suggestions -
1.EVERYTHING porn should be at XXX instead of www - makes it easier than using adult verification like net nanny - turning off xxx web pages would be easier for parents and employers - I'm not saying stop porn - just make it easier to prevent people who don't have administrator rights on your PC from going there. Is it art or is it porn - pretty sure if a girl is taking two guys at the same time it isn't art - impressive but not art.
2. Block any web page that uses the house fly flash animation for advertising.
3. Find a way to block any SMTP transmissions originating from Nigeria as an option
4. Make it easier to track all e-mail origination so that spammers can be hung by their appendages.
5. Take the RIAA out back and put them out of our misery.

[T.H. @ Jun 29th 2007 2:26AM]

To build the better internet...get rid of spam.

Really, a lowly 1Mbps connection downstream 256k upstream is more than enough for the average user. Others will of course go for faster connections such as those offered by some DSL providers that are in the area of 5-8Mbps downstream 1Mbps upstream. Coming soon are higher speed Cable as well as FIOS services for the power hungry. Basically for the majority of folks who want and can afford it, they will get their higher speeds.

But let's get back to Let's make it harder to successfully spam email. Let's make Internet 2.0 require a new authenticated form of email that also addresses DDOS attacks. Most phishing and other scams are sent through email. What we call spam. Get rid of that and the internet world will be a much more improved place. I'm not hoping for 100% removal of spam but if we can reduce it to sporadic attacks or about only 25% of legitimate email then I will have considered the battle won.

[Rob @ Jun 29th 2007 6:33AM]

Umm... IPv6 solves all of those listed problems.

[gurudatt @ Jun 29th 2007 7:18AM]

I work for a company called NetAlter Software in India. We are developing a P2P/IPv6 enabled browser which will be offer users an alternative network to the present internet. The Browser will be far advanced compared to present browsers and will prevent virus and hackers for executing code within its framework. Besides this, the browser will also offer a search engine that will be far more powerful compared to existing search engines. NetAlter Software plans to launch the beta version of this browser within a year.

[Virtual_Ron @ Jun 29th 2007 8:00AM]

Two words... "MORE PORN"

[a @ Jun 29th 2007 2:10PM]

they don't really care about your download and upload speed, this is about network centric warfare. the land warrior system is buggy and lags too much, creating enhanced situational awareness of one minute ago (lame). they are trying to get better real time feed across the internet. Yes, in the process most of you will be pacified with better uplink and downlink, but that isn't really the point.

[Philip @ Jun 29th 2007 6:44PM]

shurwly you just need more/bigger tubes ;)

[Randomness @ Jun 29th 2007 8:25PM]

There are a few more initiatives that are researching another internet architecture in addition to DARPA. This research is going to the lowest levels, including protocols like TCP/IP and how we can build it all better. When the internet was first designed, it was a bunch of scientists who all trusted each other that linked up to a few connections. They never had to take into account all we have today: security, media streaming, giant files, multiple types of access including satellite/phone/wireless, etc. They didn't even have EMAIL when it all started. It just wasn't designed to work from the lowest levels with all we keep adding on to it ad-hoc, really. Redesigning routing/protocols/everything, can solve lots of problems we are having with security, speeds, and connecting myriad of different devices to the networks.

How would we implement this ground up overhaul to the internet you ask?

That is a tough question that still needs to be addressed. It will depend somewhat on the architecture/protocol changes that are recommended by these groups studying and testing their theories. How will it connect to other countries? Who will be responsible for adopting these changes? All questions that don't have answers yet.

(I did a paper on this topic)

[Kaminix @ Jun 30th 2007 6:02AM]

Am I the second only one thinking "too late, IPv6 bet you too it"?

[Mike G. @ Jul 20th 2007 12:28PM]

I completely agree that faster speeds are essential. Some users only need text-speeds, but many of us need to share large .pdf files with coworkers, or connect real-time via teleconferencing programs/skype/vent, or keep up to date on second-by-second changes in the stock market via streaming.

I also agree that certain categories of websites should be placed in specific domains to ease access control and confusion. All porn should be under the .xxx domain, all governmental websites should be .gov, and corporate or commercial websites should be under .com, etc. Conversely, no site or server should be allowed into a domain whose category it does not fit. No government agencies with .org or .net sites, for instance.

Third, the new network *MUST* include a system to protect privacy and anonymity. And not an honor system thing like network neutrality, I'm talking something hard-coded into the firmware/drivers. That way, incompetent politicians and greedy corporations can't muck up the system.

Fourth, a new system should be multi-language compatible. Obvious, I know, but any program which makes use of the system should either have an internal language translator or a character-database so that even if the words aren't translated, the original text is displayed (as opposed to a series of empty boxes or question-marks).

Fifth, an addendum to the fourth suggestion, any browser making use of the new network should use its translator/character database to implement spell-checking. I really enjoy the fact that Firefox catches my occasional mistakes, but the blatant gibberish some imbeciles post online becomes frustrating.

Sixth, the new network should support Full-Duplex communication at all times, being able to send and receive transmissions simultaneously. A lot of people multi-task, and having to wait for multiple programs/windows/tabs/users can become frustrating. This, I believe, would be key to increasing overall access speeds.

Lastly, a specific set of laws/guidelines/protocols should be put in place to locate and punish virus writers/spy ware writers/spammers and those who utilize their services. Again, privacy and anonymity are essential the success of a project like this.

[MrAbhijeet @ Dec 18th 2008 6:26AM]

What?.."Better" Internet? What better internet do we need than what we have now? Just chill man.I THANK YOU LORD FOR THE PRESENT INTERNET YOU HAVE GIVEN TO ALL.The present internet is the BEST ...except for a date with virus or a worm.But they say u know...Stay away from the bad guys-TROJANS.Let me guess.let us try "Offline Internet" for a "Better Internet".Because i get really freaked out when after having filled a long web form ..i click submit and get "webpage cannot be displayed"message.