Ouroboros

Ouroboros (O7s) is a prototype packet-switching technology designed as an alternative to TCP/IP. It aims to simplify the configuration and operation of packet-switched networks through a redesign of the Internet model, from the programming API to the wire. From an application's perspective, the network appears as a black box with a simple API for requesting communication services such as unicast flows, which are bidirectional channels delivering message or byte streams with requested operational parameters like maximum delay, bandwidth, packet-loss protection, peer authentication, and in-flight data encryption, as well as broadcast flows to sets of processes. Administrators interact with the network as a collection of daemons that act as software routers or hubs, connected through a simple management API.

The prototype is developed for POSIX operating systems, including Linux, *BSD, and OS X. It is not directly compatible with TCP/IP or POSIX sockets, but it provides interfaces and tools to run over Ethernet or UDP, and to create IP/Ethernet tunnels over Ouroboros by exposing tap or tun devices for injecting packets. The system uses service names bound to processes, rather than addresses, with certificates and a directory that stores service name certificates and their registered network locations.