Moving data in DTNs with HTTP and MIME

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) provide a simple way to describe the type of data sent and its use. Email and the web use MIME extensively to carry different files. The Hypertext Transfer protocol (HTTP) is universally recognized as a straightforward method to carry MIME objects as binary streams. Taking MIME and HTTP as a starting point, and adopting the well-understood need for different ‘convergence layers’ to carry HTTP in different challenged environments where TCP may not be suitable, this paper outlines work in progress to run HTTP over different transports, and how this can be used to create a simple, yet powerful, approach to relaying content in delay- and disruption-tolerant networks (DTNs).