16th November 2005, 1:28 PM
All very interesting... Now, I must say that my understanding of the nature of the internet led me to believe there was no "central directory" of IP addresses, just a central housing for domain names assigned to said IP addresses. I was basically informed that IP addresses are assigned by individual IP providers. These, in turn, are traded with other IP providers around the globe VERY quickly to have an up to date index that is copied from major company to major company, which in turn have an agreement with each other in which it is seen as mutually beneficial to do just that without charging any additional fees. The IP addresses of each of these major players, the "backbone" of the internet, is decided by concensus among them, which to go back where we came from determines the starting sets of digits in our own personal IP addresses. It was explained with pretty much that level of detail, as well as the nature of how routers work to manage all these IP addresses without data collisions.
To find out that in reality there really IS a central computer somewhere managing all the IP addresses of the world, that's a surprise and doesn't really seem entirely accurate...
At any rate, you can find out most of what I was told by checking out howthingswork.com .
If I am wrong, then no matter. If I am correct, it makes me wonder why domain names too aren't handled by the private sector. Surely an agreement of "first come first serve" would work between the major companies so that one simply need call an IP provider to buy an address and, assuming it isn't already taken, they assing it, pass this along to the other companies, and they mark it off their own lists due to said agreement. Then again, unlike an IP address where no one will ever really have a particular attachment to one random number over another, with domain names there may be some corporate shenanigans over the whole thing... Yeah, it's possible that may be best left to a single all consuming computer box.
It is also interesting to note that the US is setting up a group mostly independant of the US, to appease others in the world, to decide on things like naming conventions for domain names. I certainly hope the majority of the decisions made are on technical merits derived from heavy consulting of experts in the field. A lot less pure politics and a lot more technical know-how being in control of such standardizing decisions would be very much a critical thing. Further, no censorship. I'm pretty sure that won't happen anyway, with their limited control, but you know, just have to say it.
Anyway, with additional character support in address naming conventions, it will be tough browsing Japanese video game sites... At least, I won't be able to just type in nintendo.co.jp any more... (or was that .jp.co?) At least I have trusty copy-paste.
To find out that in reality there really IS a central computer somewhere managing all the IP addresses of the world, that's a surprise and doesn't really seem entirely accurate...
At any rate, you can find out most of what I was told by checking out howthingswork.com .
If I am wrong, then no matter. If I am correct, it makes me wonder why domain names too aren't handled by the private sector. Surely an agreement of "first come first serve" would work between the major companies so that one simply need call an IP provider to buy an address and, assuming it isn't already taken, they assing it, pass this along to the other companies, and they mark it off their own lists due to said agreement. Then again, unlike an IP address where no one will ever really have a particular attachment to one random number over another, with domain names there may be some corporate shenanigans over the whole thing... Yeah, it's possible that may be best left to a single all consuming computer box.
It is also interesting to note that the US is setting up a group mostly independant of the US, to appease others in the world, to decide on things like naming conventions for domain names. I certainly hope the majority of the decisions made are on technical merits derived from heavy consulting of experts in the field. A lot less pure politics and a lot more technical know-how being in control of such standardizing decisions would be very much a critical thing. Further, no censorship. I'm pretty sure that won't happen anyway, with their limited control, but you know, just have to say it.
Anyway, with additional character support in address naming conventions, it will be tough browsing Japanese video game sites... At least, I won't be able to just type in nintendo.co.jp any more... (or was that .jp.co?) At least I have trusty copy-paste.
"On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." ~ Charles Babbage (1791-1871)