Theoretical Framework for a Polymorphic Network Environment

Abstract

The question of whether an ideal network exists with global scalability in its full life cycle has always been a first-principles problem in the research of network systems and architectures. Thus far, it has not been possible to scientifically practice the design criteria of an ideal network in a unimorphic network system, making it difficult to adapt to known services with clear application scenarios while supporting the ever-growing future services with unexpected characteristics. Here, we theoretically prove that no unimorphic network system can simultaneously meet the scalability requirement in a full cycle in three dimensions—the service-level agreement (S), multiplexity (M), and variousness (V)—which we name as the “impossible SMV triangle” dilemma. It is only by transforming the current network development paradigm that the contradiction between global scalability and a unified network infrastructure can be resolved from the perspectives of thinking, methodology, and practice norms. In this paper, we propose a theoretical framework called the polymorphic network environment (PNE), the first principle of which is to separate or decouple application network systems from the infrastructure environment and, under the given resource conditions, use core technologies such as the elementization of network baselines, the dynamic aggregation of resources, and collaborative software and hardware arrangements to generate the capability of the “network of networks.” This makes it possible to construct an ideal network system that is designed for change and capable of symbiosis and coexistence with the generative network morpha in the spatiotemporal dimensions. An environment test for principle verification shows that the generated representative application network modalities can not only coexist without mutual influence but also independently match well-defined multimedia services or custom services under the constraints of technical and economic indicators.