Computer Networking › Section D · The network layer: data plane › Topic D.7
Middleboxes
Between your laptop and a web server there are not only routers. NATs, firewalls, caches and load balancers sit on the path too, reading and sometimes rewriting your packets. These middleboxes are everywhere, and they quietly reshape how the internet can change.
In this topic
- What a middlebox is
- Three families of service
- Which layers they touch
- Worked example: one request, four boxes
- The end-to-end argument
- The narrow waist and ossification
- Network functions virtualisation
- Worked example: sizing a virtual firewall
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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