A Discussion with David Farber: Bandwith, Cyber Security, and the Obsolesence of the Internet

David Farber, a veteran of Internet technology and politics, dropped by Cambridge, Mass. today and was gracious enough to grant me some time in between his numerous meetings. On leave from Carnegie Mellon, Dave still intervenes in numerous policy discussions related to the Internet and "plays in Washington," as well as hosting the popular Interesting People mailing list. This list delves into dizzying levels of detail about technological issues, but I wanted to pump him for big ideas about where the Internet is headed, topics that don't make it to the list.

How long can the Internet last?

I'll start with the most far-reaching prediction: that Internet protocols simply aren't adequate for the changes in hardware and network use that will come up in a decade or so. Dave predicts that computers will be equipped with optical connections instead of pins for networking, and the volume of data transmitted will overwhelm routers, which at best have mixed optical/electrical switching. Sensor networks, smart electrical grids, and medical applications with genetic information could all increase network loads to terabits per second.