I still don't really know what active networks are. Wiki says:
"The active network architecture is composed of execution environments (similar to a unix shell that can execute active packets), a node operating system capable of supporting one or more execution environments. It also consists of active hardware, capable of routing or switching as well as executing code within active packets. This differs from the traditional network architecture which seeks robustness and stability by attempting to remove complexity and the ability to change its fundamental operation from underlying network components. Network processors are one means of implementing active networking concepts. Active networks have also been implemented as overlay networks."
That didn't help too much. I suppose it's reasonable that the applications should be allowed to reform the network. However, as my previous post said, this isn't going to optimize throughput, and thus won't be of huge value.
Is this a formative work for overlay networks?
Rambling aside, the paper itself was a survey of the lessons learned in implementing such a system. Not terribly valuable, in my own view.
Lastly, I am intrigued by the idea, at least for the DTN case. DTN's are highly mobile, with the network shifting around all the time. It may be valuable to modify the network architecture in this case. Then again, I barely understand this to begin with. I'll muse more after lecture.
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I don't know what DTNs are, but in a small network run under a single administration you can quickly deploy new mechanisms with traditional means, so I don't see the need for Active Networks then.
DTN=Delay Tolerant Network
Active networks are about being able to extend the packet handling semantics of routers. The ANTS work was "way out in the extreme" at the time, proposing an aggressive programming approach. In retrospect, it did not influence the development of networks very much, but there is certainly a lot of extended functionality in modern networks beyond traditional forwarding. So in this more restricted sense, active networks (or programmable or extensible) networks) are real.
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