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Routing Management in the PSTN and the Internet: A Historical Perspective

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Abstract

Two highly visible public communication networks are the public-switched telephone network (PSTN) and the Internet. While they typically provide different services and the basic technologies underneath are different, both networks rely heavily on routing for communication between any two points. In this paper, we present a brief overview of routing mechanisms used in the PSTN and the Internet from a historical perspective. In particular, we discuss the role of management for the different routing mechanisms, where and how one is similar or different from the other, as well as where the management aspect is heading in an inter-networked environment of the PSTN and the Internet where voice over IP (VoIP) services are offered.

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Acknowledgements

This paper relies on the book [24] with regard to the general discussion about routing. The figures are reproduced from the book, which Karthikeyan Ramasamy drew. Jennifer Rexford and Cory Beard read a draft of the paper and provided valuable feedback. I also thank the anonymous reviewers for their instructive comments and Nan Lorenz for carefully proofreading the paper.

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Correspondence to Deep Medhi.

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Medhi, D. Routing Management in the PSTN and the Internet: A Historical Perspective. J Netw Syst Manage 15, 503–523 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10922-007-9085-6

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