Dual-Meta Network Architecture Driven by Content and Address

Abstract

Internet is the main infrastructure of cyberspace, and the content-centric mainstream application paradigm of the cyberspace has deviated from Internet's original design intention of an address-centric data communication network. Hence the cyberspace has become an open-air dump of content big data. The emerging content big data characterized by chaos, disorder, and difficulty in governance brings severe challenges to the sustainable development of the Internet. Inspired by the idea of commensalism, a dual-meta network architecture driven by content and address is proposed in this paper which combines the primary structure of address-driven Internet with a secondary structure of content-driven broadcast-storage network. Specifically, the address-driven features and challenges of Internet architecture are analyzed, and some representative content-centric networking schemes and their limitations are discussed. Then, the design principles for dual-meta network architecture and the content-driven metadata of uniform content label are introduced. Eventually, a reference model of the dual-meta network architecture is given, and its differences compared with a single address-driven Internet architecture are analyzed. As an innovative network architecture characterized by security, trustworthiness, pervasiveness, guarantee of sovereignty, and easy governance, the dual-meta network architecture driven by content and address provides a feasible new way to solve the development dilemma faced by the single address-driven Internet architecture.