|
Abstract Bringing maps to users has been made much easier with the World Wide
Web. Millions of maps now make their way through a world-wide network of
computers. A major change occurred in 2005 in how those maps were delivered
when Google Maps implemented a tile-based mapping system based on AJAX that
facilitated interactive zooming and panning. The following year, an Application
Programmer Interface (API) was released that gave programmers access to the
underlying mapping functions. It was now possible to place data on top of the
Google base map and make this map available to anyone. This system was created
at tremendous expense. It is calculated that the number of tiles required at 20 zoom
levels is nearly 1.5 trillion. At 15 KB per tile, this equates to 20 Petabytes or 20,480
TB and a data storage cost of between US $2 million and US $2 billion per data
center. This expenditure indicates the level of importance that online companies
place on maps. It also represents a shift in how maps of all kinds are delivered to
users. Mobile devices are a further indication of this change in map delivery. |
|
|
 | | Network Routing: Algorithms, Protocols, and ArchitecturesIn the span of a quarter-century, network routing in communication networks has evolved tremendously. Just a quarter-century ago, the public switched telephone network (PSTN) was running hierarchical routing, ARPANET routing was operational, and the telecommunication infrastructure had fixed static transport routes. In the 1980s, we saw the first... | | |
|
