The resource pooling principle

Abstract

Since the ARPAnet, network designers have built localized mechanisms for statistical multiplexing, load balancing, and failure resilience, often without understanding the broader implications. These mechanisms are all types of resource pooling, whichmeans making a collection of resources behave like a single pooled resource. We believe that the natural evolution of the Internet is that it should achieve resource pooling by harnessing the responsiveness of multipath-capable end systems. We argue that this approach will solve the problems and limitations of the current piecemeal approaches.