rminal devices, and a less intelligent but more autonomous network part in comparison with the circuit-mode networks. Among IP control functions are traffic supervision (ICMP, Internet control message protocol), routing (BGP, border gateway protocol, for routing to/from external domains; OSPF, open shortest path first, for internal routing; and IGMP, Internet group management protocol for multicast routing), QoS (different alternatives such as RSVP, resource reservation protocol), DiffServ and MPLS (multi-protocol label switching) and security (IP security). IP control functions are further dealt with in Sections 3.14 and 3.16 and in Chapters 6, 7 and 12. IP network nodes are able to learn the network topology by themselves and perform routing autonomously. This minimized network administration is in line with network robustness and reliability policies SO that the network might automatically recover from any intentional damage. The importance of control is related to business. Most markets are deregulated today. In the resulting competitive environment business models and charging possibilities become central questions. What we can charge for depends on the services and network control we have. Control means awareness. And awareness means charging possibilities. The awareness might concern duration, calling and called IP address, bandwidth, security and QoS requirements. The telecentric operators are used to a firm control of the traffic through their networks. The networks are fairly intelligent, often with sophisticated charging possibilities. David Isenberg in the USA wrote a famous article in 1997, called 'The rise of the stupid net- work', see http://www.rageboy.com/stupidnet.html contrasting the intelligent telecentric networks with a more advantageous future network where most intelligence was located at the terminals. The contemporary Internet was considered a rudimentary form of this future network. Service and QoS assistance from the network were however regarded as necessary. Another possible area for