Fw: Where is the edge of the Internet?

Wed Nov 6 04:15:26 UTC 2002

> Where is the edge of the Internet?

here's what i came up with while trying to explain "the edge" elsewhere.

   1 - Connection Taxonomy

   1.1. The Internet is a "network of networks", where the component
   networks are called Autonomous Systems (AS), each having a unique AS
   Number (ASN).

   1.2. Connections inside an AS are called "Interior" (or sometimes
   "backbone"), and their security policies are set according to local
   needs, usually based on business or technical requirements.

   1.3. Connections between ASs are called "Border" (or sometimes
   "peering"), and their security policies are set bilaterally according to
   the joint needs of the interconnecting parties.

   1.4. Connections between an AS and its traffic sources (generators) and
   traffic sinks (consumers) are called "Edge" (or sometimes "customer"),
   and their security policies are generally, by long standing tradition,
   nonexistent.
-- 
Paul Vixie