Question

How does the TCP/IP protocol promote decentralisation of internet?

Answer 1

To set the context, the Internet protocol suite is a set of communication protocols which govern how network devices communicate over the internet. It consists of 4 different layers. Though TCP and IP are actually 2 distinct protocols running on the Transport
layer and the Internet layer respectively, the term ‘TCP/IP’ generally refers to the entire internet protocol suite.

TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) defines how applications create communication channels across a network, and manages how messages are fragmented and reassembled during transmission and reception. IP (Internet Protocol) dictates how packets are addressed and routed in order
to make sure that they reach the correct destination. In tandem, TCP and IP are the foundational protocols of the entire suite of internet protocols.

The other 2 layers are the Data Link layer and the Application layer – the former manages the transmission of data bits through the hardware components of the network, and the latter defines the communication
protocols and interface methods used by the network host.

The ubiquitous TCP/IP Protocol

TCP/IP based internet communication has been the norm for over four decades now, but as new technologies are coming to the forefront, kinks are being observed in its armour. For example, IP addresses are often tied to physical addresses, and once hackers gain access to an individual’s identity, various means of social engineering can be employed to commit fraudulent acts. Even HTTP, the most abundantly used protocol for data transmission in the application layer, is unencrypted and extremely vulnerable to hacking. Moreover, when a network running TCP becomes
congested, the three-way handshake, acknowledgement and congestion control mechanisms (which are all integral to TCP) only lead to bandwidth wastage and further congestion.

Tachyon’s Architecture

Tachyon's architecture models aims at completely overhauling the existing TCP/IP model, and providing addition security and privacy features.

Tachyon's Architecture Overview

Tachyon Booster UDP (TBU)

In the Tachyon environment, TBU is the bottom layer protocol which
will replace the Internet, Transport and Application layers of the TCP/IP
model.

Tachyon claims that when used in conjunction with real-time Optimal routing, TBU can increase transmission speed by 2x to 10x in a centralized network, and achieve over 90% connection success rate in a complex network environment.

Internet Layer – Tachyon Protocol uses a combination of Point-to-Point
Protocol (PPP) and blockchain technology to facilitate the large-scale collaboration of Peer-to-Peer (P2P) networks. This eliminates the need of a central server, and offers anti-censorship through decentralization. To ensure robustness of the P2P networks, a Tachyon DHT based on Kademlia routing protocol is implemented.

Transport Layer – Tachyon uses UDP instead of TCP in the transport layer. UDP offers superior throughput and has less overhead compared to TCP, which improves transmission efficiency.

Application Layer – The application layer is redesigned to support the UDP in the transport layer. The optimizations include Forward Error Correction (FEC) to reduce packet loss, and bandwidth auto-scaling techniques to maximize the throughput efficiency.

Tachyon Security Protocol (TSP)

TSP is the security component of Tachyon’s ecosystem. Network
sniffing and Man-in-the-middle attack are arguably the biggest threats to P2P networks today.

And as an investor, for the first time, it is possible to buy a portion of these networks, which will power the future infrastructure of the internet. Investing directly in TCP/IP (packets), SMTP (email), HTTPS (encryption) or another low-level internet protocol in the early 1990s would be extremely valuable today.

If this sounds complicated, it’s because it is. To be sure, the blockchain space is still mostly in a phase of experimentation, but the first breakout apps will be explosive because they financially incentivize users to participate in the network. Imagine being able to actually make money when you contribute on social media.