Networks -- CS 125White Paper Fall 2018 |
White Paper Details
Introduction
Net Neurality (NN) has many views to it, for example:
Social (What is it?, How does it effect me?)
Political (Can/Should the government have more control over operation of the Internet?)
Technically (What features of the Internet structure support NN?
What features of the Internet Structure imped NN?)
The Paper
Questions You are to Answer! (in no particular order)
Audience
Your Goals are twofold:
to educate us about
Net Neutrality
and to persuade us
that a particular solution is appropriate (or inappropriate!)
For example, Geoff Huston's
Anatomy: A Look Inside Network Address Translators (2004)
both educates the reader about how NATs work and
persuades the reader
that NATs are a problematic,
short-term solution to both IPv4 address
depletion and operational security.
(Your WhitePaper should be somewhat
narrower, as I don't want you to write a
30-page paper.)
Note that white papers are typically not research in the sense of creating new knowledge. I don't expect you to invent new solutions (though it would be cool if you did!); rather, I expect you to clearly explain the state of the problem and take a well-reasoned position.
Take the following outline as a starting point.Title: Give some consideration to how the title will appeal to the audience. You may want to consider Gordon Graham's advice in How to Write a White Paper Title.
Introduction/Summary: You should have a thesis. Help the reader to quickly grasp the essence of the problem and your proposed solution.
Background/Problem:
Explain Net Neutrality with as much additional
background as is necessary to understand the problem and its
significance.
If you find the term ambigious in its assumed 'definition'
try to narrow the term and your focus.
Keep the technical background of the audience in mind,
and simplify or use analogies where it will help readers to grasp the
essential points.
You will probably have to leave many details out, so
be selective.
Solution: After a top level explanation of the problem, spend some time discussing how NN is affected by the protocols, assumptions, etc., at each level of the Internet stack. Argue for your preferred view of the reality of Net Neutrality. This is where your knowledge of Internet structure should come into play.
Conclusion: Reinforce what the reader has learned and the position you want them to take away.
Works cited: Beyond its
role in academic honesty, a well-selected list of works cited adds to
the credibility of a white paper.
In addition to your primary
source(s), you should cite other sources that helped you to understand
the problem and its context, the authors' proposed solution, or
alternative solutions.
Assumptions and Questions:
How long?
Long enough to support your argument.
I am interested in whether you can take what you had the opportunity to learn and apply it to the
public retoric.
Be sure to include the FCC pages on Net Neutrality in your research.
You might research examples of companies or others restricting NN.