Applying the update to Information Axioms to routing protocols led to some interesting assertions. The following are some that I found interesting.
- Axiom 3: Information Acquisition Requires Time: Routers cannot instantaneously know the entire network's state; information acquisition inherently takes time due to propagation delays.
- Axiom 16: Event Information Horizon: A router's knowledge is limited to events that have had time to propagate to it.
- Axiom 20: Intrinsic Information Asymmetry: Generating routing updates (e.g., LSAs, BGP updates) is generally easier than processing and integrating them into routing tables.
- Axiom 24: Information Scarcity and Heuristic Reliance: Routing protocols often use heuristics to simplify decision-making due to incomplete information or computational limitations.
- Axiom 40: Information Quality-Acquisition Trade-off: Obtaining more accurate and complete routing information often requires more frequent updates, consuming more bandwidth and processing power. Axiom 72: Information Richness vs. Processing Efficiency Trade-off: A fundamental trade-off exists between detailed information (leading to better decisions) and the processing overhead it requires. Axiom 55: Attention Scarcity and Selective Information Processing: Routers and controllers have limited processing capacity and must prioritize information, potentially focusing on important prefixes or trusted peers.
- Axiom 91: Information Value is Context-Dependent: The value of a routing update (e.g., an LSA indicating a failed link) depends on the current network state and operational goals.
- Axiom 52: Information and Surprise: Unexpected network events (link failures, sudden route changes) are more informative than routine updates.
- Axiom 26: Framing Dependence on Information Presentation: How routing information is presented to administrators (CLI, visualizations) significantly impacts understanding and troubleshooting.
- Axiom 29: Loss Aversion Amplified by Information Uncertainty: Uncertainty about the consequences of changes can make network administrators averse to making even beneficial modifications. Axiom 49: Status Quo Bias and Information Inertia: Administrators may resist changing working configurations due to cognitive effort and perceived risk, even if better alternatives exist.
- Axiom 32: Intrinsic Motivation and Purpose-Driven Cognition for Self-Directed Learning: The skill and expertise of network engineers are driven by intrinsic motivation and continuous learning.
- Axiom 57: Cultural Schemas as Information Compression and Shared Understanding: Organizations develop shared conventions and understandings (e.g., standard OSPF configurations) that act as "information compression" for efficient communication. Axiom 84: Cultural "Code" and High-Context Communication Efficiency: Shared understanding among engineers within an organization allows efficient troubleshooting.
- Axiom 43: Meta-Cognitive Self-Improvement for Enhanced Certainty: Currently, network protocols generally lack meta-cognitive abilities (self-analysis and adaptation). This is a potential area for future development.
- Axiom 94: Emergent Information Structures: The global routing table (especially in BGP) is an emergent property of decentralized interactions, not a centrally designed structure.
- Axiom 97: Evolutionary Optimization of Information Processing: Network protocols have evolved over time through a process resembling evolutionary optimization, driven by operator needs and technological constraints. Axiom 124: Evolutionary Stability and Informational Adaptation: Protocols in widespread use have achieved a level of "evolutionary stability" because they are, at minimum, functional.
- Axiom 100: Learning as Information Structure Refinement under Axiomatic Pressure: Current network protocols have very limited learning capabilities.
- Axiom 28: Adaptive and Generalizable Reasoning: An aspiration for future protocols; present protocols have very limited adaptability.
- Axiom 74: Principle of Inherent Information Processing & Economic Trade-offs: Trade-offs (speed vs. reliability, complexity vs. efficiency) are fundamental to network design, especially in inter-domain routing.
- Axiom 10: Information Incentive Axiom: ISPs using BGP have economic incentives that can lead to routing manipulation.
- Axiom 104: Non-Cooperative Information Games: BGP interactions between autonomous systems can be modeled as non-cooperative games.
- Axiom 105: Strategic Information Processing: ISPs using BGP make strategic decisions about route announcements and preferences, anticipating the actions of others.
- Axiom 116: Information Asymmetry: Each AS possesses private information about its internal topology, traffic, and business relationships.
- Axiom 106: Informational Nash Equilibrium: While theoretically possible, a true Nash Equilibrium is rarely achieved in the Internet due network complexity and dynamic changes.
- Axiom 107: Existence of Informational Equilibria: Despite constant changes, internet routing usually achieves a functional, if suboptimal, configuration.
- Axiom 111: Payoffs as Information Utility: The "payoff" for a router or AS is achieving its desired routing outcome.
- Axiom 112: Strategic Interdependence: An ISP's routing choices depend on the policies and announcements of other ISPs.
- Axiom 120: Repeated Games and Reputational Information: Long-term peering relationships in BGP are influenced by reputations built on past routing behavior.
- Axiom 22: Filter Bubbles and Epistemic Fragmentation: BGP policies can lead to fragmented views of the Internet, where certain routes are hidden from specific routers.
- Axiom 71: Misinformation Amplification through Information Cascades and Summarization Bias: BGP is highly vulnerable to the propagation of incorrect routing information, potentially amplified by summarization.
