Session Date/Time: 06 Nov 2023 08:30

dinrg

Summary

The Decentralizing the Internet Infrastructure Research Group (DINRG) meeting focused on technical discussions related to internet centralization and decentralization. Key topics included measurements of centralization, approaches towards decentralization, local first software, and a proposed taxonomy for understanding internet consolidation. The meeting featured presentations on AS59645, IPFS decentralization, and local-first software architectures, sparking discussions about economic factors, network engineering challenges, and potential solutions.

Key Discussion Points

AS59645: Discussion around running an autonomous system (AS) and its implications for learning, independence, and contributing to the wider internet community.
IPFS Decentralization: An investigation into the decentralization of IPFS, revealing a reliance on cloud infrastructure and traffic centralization. The discussion covered methodological differences in measuring decentralization and the trade-offs between decentralization, performance, and security.
Local First Software: Presentation on local-first software architecture, emphasizing local data storage, offline functionality, simplified programming models, and end-to-end encryption.
Taxonomy of Consolidation: A proposed taxonomy breaking down internet consolidation into economic, traffic/infrastructure, architectural, and service/application categories. Feedback was sought on the granularity and completeness of the taxonomy.
Moore's Law: Discussion on whether the slowdown or end of Moore's Law is affecting or will affect centralization.

Decisions and Action Items

DINRG Wiki: Participants were encouraged to contribute relevant materials related to centralization and decentralization to the DINRG Wiki.
Follow-up on IPref Technology: Interested parties to follow-up on the IPref (IP addressing with references) technology mentioned for traversing NATs via the mailing list.
Offline Discussion: Participants to provide additional feedback to Mark McFadden on the taxonomy of consolidation draft via the mailing list.

Next Steps

Brisbane, Australia Meeting: The next meeting is planned for Brisbane, Australia, focusing on economics and policies related to decentralization.
Mailing List Discussions: Continue discussions on IPFS, local-first software, and consolidation via the DINRG mailing list to further explore technical challenges and potential solutions.
Explore State Synchronization Working Group: Explore the state synchronization working group mentioned in the dispatch session.
Consider integrating jurisdictional issues: Considers integrating jurisdiction and the legal issues related to consolidation in a future revision of the taxonomy draft.