How it works

From one machine to two

Why is data movement a different kind of problem from anything inside one machine?

Transport patterns

Which four questions characterize any transport, and where do eight real patterns sit on the three decoupling switches?

Flow control

When arrival rate exceeds service rate, what are the only four responses, and what does each sacrifice?

Routing and distribution

Which four properties does every routing choice trade, and why is routing the hardest decision to reverse?

Network-level mechanisms

Which network mechanisms change what your system means, and which only change how fast and how cheaply bytes move?

Delivery across a pipeline

At a crossing, where do loss, duplicates and reordering come from, and which of them should you choose?

Data movement, stepped back

How do the four groups of decisions compose, and what kind of domain is data movement as a whole?