End-to-End Principle
Updated 2026-08-02
INTRODUCTION
English translation pending.
CORE DEFINITION
Articulated by Jerome Saltzer, David Reed, and David Clark, the end-to-end principle argues that functionality should be placed at the communicating endpoints unless the network can implement it more efficiently. The internet's design follows this: IP forwards packets without guaranteeing delivery, while reliability, encryption, and application logic sit on the hosts. The result is a general infrastructure that can support uses its designers never anticipated.
SCAFFOLDING EFFECT
Reduce cognitive load
- Push logic to the edge: place complex decisions where the full context is available, not in the middle - Keep the core dumb: let the center do basic connection and transport only - Watch the bottleneck: treat a central layer that handles every special case as a scaling risk
Anchor fast decisions
Only the endpoints know what the application actually requires, so a middle layer that tries to serve every case must either guess or restrict. Keeping the core minimal lets new applications run without changing the infrastructure. Complexity at the edges also spreads the cost, whereas central processing concentrates load and becomes a ceiling on growth.
MINIMUM ACTION
In progress 0/1Practice this model in one real situation:
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Source support: Explicit
- zh.wikipedia.orghttps://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%AB%AF%E5%88%B0%E7%AB%AF%E5%8E%9F%E5%89%87verified
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