[e2e] end of interest

[Micah Beck]

> * Re-examining the middle of the network -- the best example here is what
>  if the router has a 100 GB hard drive in it -- and we view the contents
>  of the hard drive as entirely "soft" (can be lost in an instant).
>  Can we do nifty things?  [cf. DTN (which views the drive as reliable,
>  but similar vein), Van's talk @ Google, etc.]

<self promotion on>

A technology which is exactly as described is Logistical Networking, which 
augments the network with intermediate nodes that are heavy with disk 
resources (we call them "depots") and then makes them available on a "best 
effort" basis using the Internet Backplane Protocol (IBP).  There is a 
deployment project funded by NSF, based at Vanderbilt Advanced Computing 
Center for Research & Eduction and led by Paul Sheldon called Research and 
Education Data Depot Network (REDDnet, pronounced "ready net").  REDDnet has 
deployed 160TB so far using IBP, and is available as a platform for 
experimentation (see http://www.reddnet.org).  Interested parties could 
contact me.

<self promotion off>

Micah Beck
Associate Professor, EECS
University of Tennessee, Knoxville