Networking is IPC: a guiding principle to a better internet

This position paper outlines a new network architecture that is based on the fundamental principle that networking is interprocess communication (IPC). In this model, application processes (APes) communicate via an IPC facility. The IPC processes that make up this facility provide a protocol that implements an IPC mechanism, and a protocol for managing distributed IPC (routing, security and other management tasks). Our architecture is recursive in that the IPC processes can themselves be APes requesting services from lower IPC facilities. We present the repeating patterns and structures in our architecture, and show how the proposed model would cope with the challenges faced by today's Internet (and that of the future).