Silence on the Wire

Food for Thought

The issue discussed here is not unique to Ethernet or network design. These problems almost always arise when an otherwise detailed implementation guideline omits or only vaguely discusses a single necessary step, causing numerous developers to simply overlook the problem while implementing the standard. Had they been given more vague overall instructions, developers would probably be forced to think through the problem. Instead, they implement step-by-step instructions and are far more vulnerable to committing errors. “Foolproof” instructions that tell how to perform certain tasks, as opposed to what to achieve, often backfire.

We will return to the problems of protocol leak scenarios, albeit in a slightly different context, in ...