Re: What to call that direction/redirection/routing thing

[Barron Housel <housel@cisco.com>]

Mark,
    I share your dilemma.  From a comfort standpoint I like "redirection" also;
the problem is that it's not accurate -- as was amply pointed out in the
meeting.  Somehow, "directing" sounds like it conveys a more intelligent (i.e.,
complex activity) mechanism than "routing."  At L3/4 we think of "routing" as a
simple table lookup whereas the activity of request routing in a content
peering context is more involved.  I don't get it confused with movie directing
but I share your point about it sounding a bit awkward at times.  Would
"request navigation" help?  That sounds like there's intelligence in the
request itself as it wanders from point to point -- as a ship navigates toward
its destination port.  I still conclude that "directing" is the better of the
alternatives but I'm open to new proposals as well.
Regards,
    Barron

Mark Day wrote:

> Central to our overall efforts, and to CDNs in general, is an activity that
> currently doesn't really have a very good name.
>
> Here are the terms that we've tried so far, in identical contexts, and the
> problems I have with them.
>
> 1. "request routing"
> a. "the system routes the request to the surrogate"
> b. "a router decides which surrogate to use"
> c. "routing is different from distribution"
> Problem: confusion with IP routing, especially for "router"
>
> 2. "redirection"
> a. "the system redirects the request to the surrogate"
> b. "a redirector decides which surrogate to use"
> c. "redirection is different from distribution"
> Problem: objection at Oct.3 meeting (implies interception or change of
> direction)
>
> 3. "direction"
> a. "the system directs the request to the surrogate"
> b. "a director decides which surrogate to use"
> c. "direction is different from distribution"
> Problem: confusion with the more common usage of "direction" (e.g., "what
> direction does content move in the system?")
>
> 4. "directing"
> a. "the system directs the request to the surrogate"
> b. "a director decides which surrogate to use"
> c. "directing is different from distribution"
> Problem: makes us sound like we're making movies?  Also just seems awkward
> every time I use it.
>
> 5. "steering"
> a. "the system steers the request to the surrogate"
> b. "a steerer decides which surrogate to use"
> c. "steering is different from distribution"
> Problem: "steerer" is ridiculous to try to say. Also gives us the goofy
> rhyme of "steering peering"
>
> Personally, I'd like to go back to "redirection," but that's partly because
> I don't think I understand the nature of the objections very well. Can
> someone elaborate on why they think that's a bad term?
>
> I'd also welcome suggestions for other terms that we might use instead.
>
> Thanks,
>
> --Mark