Network Part 3 - The Evolution of HTTP and the Cost of Every Trade-off
Dayul Lee
Published: April 25, 2026 When the past answer becomes the present problem, we call it Path Dependency. TCP was designed in 1981. It solved the right problems for its time. By the time HTTP was carrying the modern web, that 40-year-old foundation was starting to show its age. Keep-Alive solved the contract problem. One connection, many requests. Cheaper by design. But the queue was still single-file. Fix the engine, and suddenly the road is the problem. That road was TCP. HTTP/1.1 — One Lane, No