The coding blog of Alastair Smith, a software developer based in Cambridge, UK. Interested in DevOps, Azure, Kubernetes, .NET Core, and VueJS.
| [img_assist | nid=8 | link=node | align=left | width=190 | height=200]…or Pigeon Transport Protocol/Internet Protocol. RFC 1149 defines a standard for the transmission of IP datagrams on avian carriers. That is, computer networks run by carrier pigeon. |
From the overview,
Avian carriers can provide high delay, low throughput, and low altitude service. … The carriers have an intrinsic collision avoidance system, which increases availability.
The RFC goes on to describe the frame format, which consists of hexadecimal printed in octets, “separated by whitestuff and blackstuff”, on a small scroll of paper which is then wrapped around one leg of the avian carrier. Unfortunately, the bandwidth of the protocol is limited by the length of the carrier’s leg, but as IP is best-effort only the loss of a carrier is tolerable.
Whilst security is not generally a problem (with the exception of military implementations), the respected security expert Bruce Schneier appears to have found the first vulnerability in the protocol.
Many thanks to David Waitzman for this bit of silliness, who has even gone so far as to amend the original RFC to include QoS. And yes, RFC 1149 was an April Fool.