Interconnections: Bridges, Routers, Switches and Internetworking Protocols, Second Edition

Chapter 18. Protocol Design Folklore

In this chapter I attempt to capture the tricks and "gotchas" in protocol design learned from years of layer 2 and layer 3 protocols. Interspersed among the text are boxes containing "real-world bad protocols." They share with you the warped way I look at the world, which is to notice and be distracted by suboptimal protocols in everyday life. Sometimes the boxed stories pertain to the subject of the section they are in; sometimes there was no logical place to put them, so they are placed wherever they fit.

This chapter also serves as a review of the rest of the book.

Simplicity versus Flexibility versus Optimality

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, ...