IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - January/February 2024 - 4

Column: Bits vs. Electrons
Forever URLs
Bob Frankston
IEEE CTSoc
Abstract-Consumer technology is about more than isolated systems. A smart bulb is not
very useful until it is part of a system. The Internet protocols have been key to enable use
to build systems by focusing on the relationships between endpoints rather than all the
complexities of each connection. But there is a problem-the DNS names to maintain
connectivity expire every year making failure the default because they use meaningful
words rather than abstract identifiers. When I first started working on home networking at
Microsoft in the 1990s the term conflated home control with other aspects of networking.
My first step was to enable packet-connectivity apart from any particular application.
I was also thinking about enabling technologies for home control and realized there was
no protocol for something as simple as maintaining a relationship between a controller
and a device. In those days we did not have smart phones and smart bulbs, so the goal was
to connect a light switch to a light fixture. I quickly discovered there was no standard
protocol for such relationships. The IP address was supplied by an ISP. The DNS names
were not much better since, by default, they expired every year! I finessed the problem by
using the network address translator (NAT) to give one stable address within the home but
that did not solve the problem of addresses beyond between homes and other local
communities. Rather than inventing an entirely new mechanism for stable relationships,
we can build on the existing DNS and provide DNS entries (and URLs) that never expire.
& THE UNIVERSE WILL end, not with a bang and
not with a whimper. It will simply melt into a sea
of 404s.
WE CAN HAVE FOREVER URLS
A Forever URL is one that never expires. You
own it and need not worry about forgetting to
renew it. The term itself is inspired by the US
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MCE.2023.3297925
Date ofcurrent version 13 October 2023.
Forever Stamps, which you can use even if the
postal rate goes up.
This article looks at the underlying mechanisms
for linking such information and is aimed
at a technical audience. The DNS is not just
about websites, it is fundamental to how we connect
endpoints be they websites, devices, documents,
etc.
As bit.ly and others have
shown, there is no technical reason
URLs need to be renewed
each year. (You can prepay for a
limited number of years but that
4
2162-2248 ß 2023 IEEE
Published by the IEEE Consumer Technology Society
IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine

IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - January/February 2024

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - January/February 2024

Contents
IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - January/February 2024 - Cover1
IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - January/February 2024 - Cover2
IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - January/February 2024 - Contents
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IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - January/February 2024 - Cover3
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