RINA is a Simple, Common, but Highly Customizable Network Architecture
It is a return to the basics of the general principles in computer networking with the objective to be applicable to every usage, while solving all the inherited issues of the legacy technologies
RINA is based on the fundamental principle that networking is Inter-Process Communication (IPC)
Preliminary Information
How Does IPC Apply to RINA?
In the usual case, 2 processes in a single host use IPC to cooperate
If the processes are in 2 different hosts linked together by a wire (e.g. an Ethernet cable), they should still be able to use IPC to communicate.
The same applies if the processes are in several distinct hosts linked by a router in the middle over a wire (Ethernet) or a wireless medium (WiFi).
The only difference is that in the last 2 cases you could experience loss or delay, so you would need to put in place mechanisms such as error control or flow control, to check what you receive.
If the processes are in 2 different hosts linked together by a wire (e.g. an Ethernet cable), they should still be able to use IPC to communicate.
The same applies if the processes are in several distinct hosts linked by a router in the middle over a wire (Ethernet) or a wireless medium (WiFi).
The only difference is that in the last 2 cases you could experience loss or delay, so you would need to put in place mechanisms such as error control or flow control, to check what you receive.
Icon Left Rounded
What is the Network?
- Provides IPC services
- Executes in computers running operating systems (PCs, laptops, routers, sensors, smartphones, switches…)
- Has instances distributed through many machines, exchanging information and collaborating
- Just like distributed applications, such as the Web, Skype or email: they are programs running on more than one computer and communicating through a network
The network can in turn be described as a particular class of distributed applications, specialized to provide IPC services to other distributed applications.
In RINA, we call this application a Distributed IPC Facility or a DIF
Frequently Asked Questions
Two application processes residing on different systems communicate and share state information by utilizing the services of a DIF.
The DIF (as it is a distributed application), in turn, can use the services of another DIF. This constitutes the recursivity in RINA.
The number of DIFs is determined by the number of scopes: a direct link, a network, an internetwork… There is a need to isolate scopes both for security, performance and scalability reasons.
The processes of the DIF are called IPC Processes (IPCP).
It is not the machines who communicate but the applications, and even more specifically the processes, inside them.
An application can request communication services to another application by specifying the destination application name and the characteristics required for the service (such as loss, delay, in-order delivery…), without having to know the internal details of the network (DIF) that is providing this communication service, and without having to know where the destination application is executing. Not knowing where the application is executing makes security in RINA more robust.
What are RINA's characteristics?
Common structure
A single repeating layer: the Distributed IPC Facility (DIF).
Common API
The IPC services are defined by the DIF API.
Variable number of scopes
The number of DIFs is decided by the network designer, depending on the number of scopes (link, network, internetwork…).
Common structure
A single repeating layer: the Distributed IPC Facility (DIF).
QoS model
Applications - including other DIFs - can request IPC flows with certain characteristics (such as loss, delay, in-order delivery) via the API.
Recursivity
Each DIF provides IPC services to applications (which can be other DIFs) on top.
Customized functions
All DIFs have the same basic functions, but they can be customized to the operating environment for which they have been designed.