Every bullet will be an IP node
Shock revelations from Telcordia
THERE ARE some US generals in the Pentagon who'd like to see every bullet, missile, tank and trooper act as an IP node, according to Telcordia's Maneck Master.
His Advanced Technology Solutions division works closely with the US government and DARPA – the Internet's creator – in particular.
Master explained that the US now accepts that wars are 'Net-centric' and is taking appropriate steps by hiring Telcordia to sort certain things out.
One of those steps is to help make the internet secure enough to be utilised
for all kinds of government applications.
What's more, there were dark hints that Telcordia might have certain patents in
this area and that government suppliers might have to pay licence fees to use
the technology. Shades of Qualcomm here.
There's also work underway to help identify how IP based networks can be prioritised in the event of war – or more likely – natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.
Telcordia is currently attempting to change its image since – as Bellcore – it was heavily associated with wireline and not wireless. Nor was it known for its networking consultancy skills.
The INQ was particularly amused by its confession that it loves winning number portability contracts. A function of such work is that it has to talk to all the country's operators associated with such projects.
So then it can start cross selling at the same time. Nice one. µ
L'INQ
Telcordia
Comments
Uh oh.
Bullets are deterministic, Internet Protocol is not. They should use a deterministic protocol like MIL-STD-1553 - although the cabling might be a bit inconvenient.Packet Loss
I can see it now "Would you guys stop shooting the insurgents, every time you shoot I get huge packet loss"Call of Duty on an ICBM
Would be nice to play a quick round before the server blows up in an insurgent tank (in real life, I mean).Re: Uh oh.
This "non-determinism" argument was also levelled against Ethernet back in the 1980s, when Token-Ring was still considered a serious contender and certain large manufacturing companies were trying to push something called "Manufacturing Automation Protocol" (MAP) for use in real-time situations on factory floors.All that is forgotten history now. Supposedly "non-deterministic" protocols like Ethernet and TCP/IP won out through sheer cost-effectiveness.
And don't forget, those were the days of the Cold War, when the military-industrial complex had access to even more taxpayer money than they do now. So the pressure on the purse-strings is even tighter. So the only option left for many projects is either heavy use of COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) technology, or complete cancellation.