Why doesn't the IP protocol require new hardware if it's a lower layer?

tus88 · on Jan 14, 2020

It is about the same. It is called TCP/IP for a reason. Although there are more devices that deal with TCP/IP together than just IP alone. Either way it ain't going to happen.

watersb · on Jan 13, 2020

IP doesn't require new hardware because it's a lower layer.

Transmission Control Protocol - TCP - is baked into the firmware of every client network interface card, and I would suppose in almost all of the switches and routers of business infrastructure.

I have no idea what data centers use. Infiniband and similar things aren't TCP, I think.

lizknope · on Jan 13, 2020

Infiniband is a lower level than TCP. Infiniband is often used as a replacement for ethernet in a supercomputing cluster.

If you wish you can run IP over Infiniband (IPoIB) but I think most people using Infiniband are running a lower latency protocol like RDMA

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/InfiniBand#TCP/IP_(IPoI...

manigandham · on Jan 14, 2020

Is IP not handled by network devices and firmware? If it's just software then why don't we have IPv6 everywhere already?

watersb · on Jan 14, 2020

Jiggawatts' comment [0] reminds me that transit routers don't do transmission control.

[0]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22040780

I enjoy discovering my misconceptions on this topic, as I am no longer building computer networks. Mostly harmless.