Managing data storage in the network

The Internet backplane protocol, or IBP, supports logistical networking to allow applications to control the movement and storage of data between nodes. The protocol's name reflects its purpose: to enable applications to treat the Internet as if it were a processor backplane. IBP provides access to remote storage and standard Internet resources and directs communication between them with the IBP API. In short, the motivation behind IBP is to design, develop, implement, and deploy a layer of middleware that allows storage to be exploited as part of the Internet. IBP alpha versions have been in use since February 1999, and version 1.0 has been available since March 2001. The article describes the IBP API and presents some examples that show its strategic potential for builders of distributed applications. We also discuss a layered approach to functionality and deployment that uses IBP as a basic service and builds more useful services on top of it.