The Unpublicized Sea Change in the Internet

The Internet is widely (and rightly) recognized as a key enabler of new applications and services. But it´s always surprising how much a substantial fraction of the computer science community ignores some of the fundamental changes in the nature of the Internet itself. The Internet´s success can largely be credited to the simple yet powerful service abstraction offered by IP networks. The article summarizes some of the important changes the Internet has experienced, focusing primarily on changes below the IP layer. It also highlights how networks participating in the Internet actually interconnect.