The Challenges of Building Reliable Net - works and Networked Application Services

In the decades since the ARPANET interconnected four research labs in 1969 [1], computer networking has become a critical infrastructure supporting our information-based society. The transformation brought about by computer networking includes the global public Internet, as well as private and virtual private networks that support businesses, government and academic institutions. This transformation is still underway, as computer communications penetrate more of the global economy and as an increasing number of networks and devices are integrated into the communications infrastructure. Our dependence on this infrastructure is similar to our dependence on other basic infrastructures such as the world's power grids and the global transportation systems. Failures of the network infrastructure or major applications running on top of it can have an enormous financial and social cost with serious consequences to the organizations and consumers that depend on these services.