Design and Benefits of a Hidden-Identifier Network Architecture

All currently-implemented and proposed future architectures assume a layered design wherein the identifiers used by a particular layer are propagated up the stack and exposed to higher layers. We argue that these higher-layer exposures and bindings are the root of a large number of problems today, and present significant roadblocks to the evolution and deployment of future network architectures tomorrow. We address these problems by proposing a novel network architecture based around identifier indirection and translation between layers of the stack, and show how such an architecture (1) provides an attractive solution to problems today such as mobility and multi-homing by injecting additional flexibility into the existing network stack, (2) can be used to support the goals of future internet architecture (i.e. service-or information-centricity) within the existing network stack, and (3) relieves the ossification of the network stack and enables the incremental deployment of new protocols and layers.