RPC as the Core of Networking Protocols

Consider the statement that packet headers of a modern protocol should not have a version number field. Today, it is not immediately clear whether this is a good advice or a problematic guideline. In this technical report we argue that remote procedure calls (RPC) –usually classified as a higher level service– can operate anywhere in the protocol stack and replaces protocol version numbers. We observe an (often incomplete) RPC interaction pattern entangled in packet header formats today, which extends to issues of parameter representation with RPC. Moreover, a historical reconsideration of Internet protocols reveals an evolutionary shift towards RPC, at many places and occasions. We experiment with an RPC-style dialect for handling two ICN transports (CCNx and NDN) at the same time –as well as itself– inside the same communication channel, without resorting to lower-level protocol demultiplexing support. Thereby we identify RPC as a vantage point in the design of new communication protocols and as a reference mechanism for embracing different information centric networking protocols.