the.com/bgp
The internet's postal service, but for routers arguing about whose path is fastest.
means Border Gateway Protocol: the system that lets internet service providers and large networks tell each other which routes exist and which paths carry data best, essentially gluing the whole internet together.
from Created in 1989 when the early internet realized routers needed a way to share route information across organizational boundaries without trusting each other. BGP4, the modern version (1994), handles the internet we have today.
gossip protocolrouters learn paths by hearing rumors from neighbors, not from maps
hijack vulnerabilitya misconfigured or malicious router can redirect massive traffic elsewhere
no speed metricbgp picks routes by policy preference, not ping times or bandwidth
slow convergencetakes minutes to reroute when networks fail, unlike internal protocols