[ih] Speaking of layering and gateways

[Brian E Carpenter]

On 16-Apr-24 15:04, John Levine via Internet-history wrote:
> It appears that Jack Haverty via Internet-history <jack at 3kitty.org> said:
>> Today we have container terminals, where cranes lift containers between
>> rail cars and trucks.  We might call both of these "gateways"...
> 
> Containers are a standard size and shape and can be transported in
> many ways including ships, trains, and trucks, and moved from one to
> the other without looking inside. Seems a like like packets, no?
> 
> It is not my impression that there are a lot of loads suitable for
> containers but big enough to be be subject to fragmentation and
> reassembly.

Having shipped my household goods intercontinentally several times
since containerization was deployed, I can guarantee that fragmentation
and reassembly are highly undesirable enhancements.

I did move internationally two or three times before containerization,
and some degree of fragmentation and packet loss was unavoidable,
annoying, and costly.

Seriously, the analogies are good fun but cannot be taken too far.
Especially - bits can be duplicated and retransmitted at low cost;
furniture can't.

    Brian