Chapter 1019 Big and Fast
Gao Zhendong summarized it in his mind, and then spoke to his comrades in anticipation: "This is a set of network protocols that are separate from the transmission network and can be used on any transmission network in theory. It has the capabilities of automatic networking, automatic routing, automatic maintenance, and automatic switching. On its upper layer, it can carry any other higher-level application protocols and data. A typical example of the higher-level application protocols and data here is the Tactical Communication Protocol that has been prepared earlier, as well as things like mail protocols and file transfer protocols."

Can these “four automatics” be achieved?
The comrades simply couldn't believe their ears, especially those from the Military Communications Institute.

They know all too well how difficult this is to achieve.

"Teacher Gao...Teacher Gao, isn't this gap too big..." The comrades from the Military Communications Institute found it difficult to accept.

Unexpectedly, Gao Zhendong admitted with a smile: "Yes, the gap is very large. But don't worry, I have finished it, you can just use it, hehe."

Yes, the gap is huge, but why are you worried? It's not a big deal. I've already taken care of it, so you don't have to worry about it.

What you need to worry about now is whether you can master and implement it as soon as possible. After all, there is still a process from protocol to equipment. This thing has a really big span, and it still takes a lot of thought to truly realize it.

Gao Zhendong's words brought the comrades at the Institute of Military Communications out of their shock and confusion. Yes, Teacher Gao had already completed his research, so why couldn't they learn from him?
They also know that there is still some distance between the protocol and the equipment, but if they can't even get this right, they might as well buy some ramen and hang themselves.

Not to mention the comrades from the Military Communications Institute who had rich inner thoughts, the comrades in the army were directly led into reverie by the four "automatics" mentioned by Gao Zhendong.

Does this mean that in the future, all tanks, planes, artillery, and infantry will be able to automatically join this network and receive unified command and dispatch?

If the front line needs firepower, all they have to do is write down the coordinates, clearly state what type of firepower they need, and send it to the network. Then the command system will automatically mobilize firepower and launch a strike based on existing conditions?
Once a target is discovered and sent to the network, the commanders of the command system can find the most appropriate response plan and execute it based on the existing troop situation?

They also know that computers cannot replace human brains, but at least they can process many intermediate links at the fastest speed, greatly saving time and making full use of the value of intelligence.

All of this would be quite difficult to achieve without the "four automations" mentioned by Comrade Gao Zhendong. It might be okay at the level of a front-line position, but if it is expanded to a battle, a battlefield, or a campaign, without this network, everything would seem so difficult.

But the leaders of the Defense Work Committee thought further.

"Comrade Zhendong, the significance of this network is more than just this, right?"

Gao Zhendong smiled. The leader still saw it clearly: "The ultimate goal is to make data and information flow and serve the people's life and production. However, the price of this thing cannot be low at the beginning, and it cannot be popularized. It can only be used in the army and some important departments first. When the scale is increased and the price is reduced, it will be popularized to the general public."

In fact, the ARPANet of the Citigroup, the predecessor of the InterNet, was developed in this way. At first, it was a military network, but later it was found to be useful and was expanded to civilian use. The TCP/IP protocol suite is one of the achievements of the ARPANet.

However, the construction of ARPANet began in 69, and here, Gao Zhendong was ready to accept TCP/IP first.

"Well, your consideration is correct. This thing is of great significance. This matter must be done well." Although the future cannot be seen, the leader of the Defense Work Committee vaguely feels that this thing seems to be very important.

Apart from anything else, the finished form of this thing is at least big enough!
Many times, being big is a manifestation of being strong. As long as it is big enough, it doesn’t matter if you have weird numbers. People who play games know that you don’t need skills to have weird numbers. A few decades later, some people who put forward the view that “Todai’s industry is big but not strong” had good intentions, but most of them were just deliberately talking nonsense and using Internet rhetoric to discredit and weaken people’s confidence, not to mention that we are actually big, strong, tall and tough in most areas!
At least in the minds of the leaders of the National Defense Work Committee, as long as it is big enough, many things will change from quantitative change to qualitative change. So he raised a question of his own, or rather a concern.

"How many terminals can be placed on your network?"

This involves the question of whether it is enough.

Oh, the leader is really sharp. But Gao Zhendong still planned to use IPv4. First, it was enough at the beginning, and second, the cost of IPv6 was too high and it was not applicable at this time.

In fact, with the addition of subnet division, mask, NAT and other technologies, IPv4 was sufficient until Gao Zhendong's time, and IPv6 has always been in a lukewarm state.

"About 42 billion units." Gao Zhendong gave the number immediately without even having to do the math.

The whole audience was shocked. This number was too big.

“How much…more???” the leader of the Defense Work Committee asked again.

At this time, all comrades had similar feelings to Bill Gates about the 640KB memory in his personal computer.

It can't be used up, it can't be used up at all.

This is not to say that the comrades are not smart, but no one could have imagined that this thing would eventually develop to the point where one person would need to use many IP addresses, which would not be enough without some technical means. "About 42 billion," Gao Zhendong answered again.

"You mean, this network has the ability to allow 42 billion terminals to form a large network, and any two terminals can communicate freely with each other?" The chief engineer of the Defense Work Committee couldn't sit still, mainly because the number 42 billion was too huge for the current communication capabilities and was simply unimaginable.

Moreover, any two terminals here can communicate freely with each other. What kind of protocol and network system can support such an application?

If Gao Zhendong's "four freedoms" just now only made the comrades feel the advanced functionality, then adding this number made the comrades truly understand what Gao Zhendong had come up with.

This is a monster!!!

This thought has arisen in the minds of all comrades: this "monster" does not only refer to the Internet.

However, things are not as simple as they imagined.

"If it develops to the end, it will be like this. Moreover, the communication delay between any two terminals will not exceed... 1 second."

Gao Zhendong paused for a moment before choosing a number that his comrades would be more easily accepting.

"How much? How much?"

The comrades looked at Gao Zhendong with an expression that said, "Don't brag."

Perhaps because he felt that the shock was a bit too great, and there were too many shocks today, Gao Zhendong explained: "One second. Of course, this is the complete version, which requires more technical support and costs a greater price. What can be made now is not that fast."

If the current C6108 and C6132 can barely handle the routing and switching work at all levels on a small scale, then the bandwidth of the transmission line is still a big problem for the time being. The speed of the current modem is not enough anyway. But Gao Zhendong is not in a hurry. Work must be done bit by bit, and things must be done step by step.

But his words had a different meaning when heard by his comrades.

Not that fast? You still feel unsatisfied, right? Not to mention 1 second, even 10 seconds is already a very impressive number.

"No, I have to slow down. This thing is very powerful." The expression on the Defense Work Committee leader's face looked very exciting. Similarly, the other comrades were not much better.

The network is incredibly large and fast.

Gao Zhendong smiled and said, "This protocol has such organizational and management capabilities, but the latency still depends on the capacity of the transmission network. However, this protocol is relatively large and complex, and the Military Communications Institute cannot complete it in a short period of time. My suggestion is to work with the Communications Institute of the Postal and Communications Commission and Beijing University of Technology. The Communications Institute has experience in researching and manufacturing communications technology and equipment, and Beijing University of Technology has enough code... coding personnel."

The data exchange part is still centered on software, but in addition to the terminals, the intermediate routing and switching nodes always require hardware devices to execute, which is also a heavy task.

It can be said that Gao Zhendong's arrangement is very appropriate. In fact, the main role played by the Military Communications Institute is still coordination and organization, and their staff cannot support so much work.

"But Mr. Gao, we haven't learned or understood the network model you just mentioned yet. Will there be any problems if we just start like this?"

Gao Zhendong shook his head. "That's theory, and this is application. The two can be temporarily disconnected. There are many examples of application without mastering the theory, right? You can learn these two things simultaneously, and do them at the same time. Regarding the network theory part, I plan to open a course at Beijing University of Technology. The original course has been taught almost, and it's time to hand it over to other comrades. When the time comes, you can select some people to come and listen together."

Beijing University of Technology is a university affiliated to the Defense Work Committee. The Defense Work Committee wholeheartedly agrees with Gao Zhendong's decision. That's right. Offer more courses. Other comrades have already learned it roughly, so you don't need to waste time repeating it.

——Focus your energy on the new courses.

"Okay, Teacher Gao." The comrades from the Military Communications Institute nodded repeatedly. If calling Teacher Gao before was a respectful title and there was no strict teacher-student relationship, then now the matter was settled.

"That's it for the Internet matter. You guys continue. I've finished what I wanted to say. Haha." Gao Zhendong ended the topic. This matter was quite huge, and it was not just about the Internet.

(End of this chapter)