Netscape Hack

Problem:
- Rendering a page requires meta-data of objects embedded in that page
Solution (according to Marc A.):
- Open N connections simultaneously (by default 4)
Result:
- Faster time to render
- Self congestion of nearly simultaneous opens
- “Unfair” use of bandwidth (problem of the “commons”)
Has made a bad problem much worse
Even with persistent connections, we will have fairness problems for clients that use multiple connections, versus “well behaved” clients using one. RED algorithm in routers may help.