Namespaces, security, and network addresses

Abstract

This paper examines ways in which future Internet routing and addressing can improve the support for the microservices framework in ways that are evolutionary from it. Three areas are proposed as areas to be studied and developed. First, bringing the application compiler/runtime environment and the distribution orchestrator closer together such that they can share information of namespaces and mapping to lower level addressing. This would allow greater flexibility in application development and much greater optimisation of the distribution at runtime. Second, developing semantic routing as a layered framework based on information understood within a layer and information transparent to a layer. This allows semantic routing to be introduced in an evolutionary fashion. Third, embracing private networking as a primary construct of future Internet routing and addressing. This meets many practical requirements including security. The second and third also give a framework where the current widespread use of L4 and L7 switching in microservices frameworks can be clearly understood and the role they play fully incorporated for in future Internet routing and addressing.