[aprssig] New Digi Settings

[Andre PE1RDW]

AE5PL Lists schreef:

>What "limitations in the current Internet backbone" do you think flexnet
>would fix?  The problem with flexnet is that it is still source routing
>under a different name.  Let me ask you a simple question regarding your
>IGate example: can you, in today's telephone and Internet networks,
>force a connection to a remote speaker phone telephone or to a remote
>computer if those remote devices do not answer you request?  The answer
>is no.  Yet, you think it is perfectly all right to force that remote
>IGate operator to gate your packets to RF just because you say so in
>your path?  Again, this is source routing and should be eliminated
>_completely_ from the APRS network so that the APRS network can go to
>the next level and be a truly useful mode of communications instead of a
>just a toy for a few hams to play with.
>
>As I pointed out, the way you get there is to eliminate the need for any
>user to have to configure more than their callsign-SSID and how they get
>their position information into their software/hardware.  From there,
>the network should be able to distribute that information without
>further interference from the user.  The second you introduce any type
>of paths, including destination "areas", into the equation for a
>broadcast-type protocol, you will fail to achieve a stable and reliable
>network because it now depends on thousands of users getting it right
>(which won't happen nor has it ever happened).
>
>73,
>
>Pete Loveall AE5PL
>mailto:pete at ae5pl.net 
>
>  
>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Andre PE1RDW
>>Posted At: Thursday, June 09, 2005 9:08 AM
>>Subject: Re: [aprssig] New Digi Settings
>>
>>As long as we are talking about "new" routing options, why 
>>not throw in flexnet routing to overcome some limitations in 
>>the current internet backbone.
>>    
>>
that are two topics in one, I´ll start with the limitations of the 
current aprs-is.
The amount of trafic on the aprs-is has grown so much that servers had 
to add a filter because some client software could not handle it 
anymore, that is logical because you are dealing with a broadcast 
network so everyone sees everything.
Flexnet was designed as a bridging system from the start and works a lot 
like tcp/ip routing works, so trafic only goes where it has to go 
without the need for sysops to manualy adjust the settings, this brings 
me to the seccond topic of your reaction.
There are very few networks out there that do without some form of 
source routing, that includes tcp/ip and with that the internet.
Every computer is setup with an ip adress, a netmask and a gateway at 
the bare minimum, the netmask determens what computers can be reached 
directly and what the broadcast adress of the local network is, if a 
destination falls outside the local network it is send to the gateway 
that does the same check for all it´s ports, if it falls in the range of 
one of it´s ports it is send to that port, if not it is send to the 
gateway that has anounced that it knows where it has to go, etc etc.
this also works with remote broadcasts, I can send a ip packet to a 
broadcast adress of a distant network and it will be routed to that 
network.If a users tries to connect a system that doesn´t exist he will 
only harm himself as his packets are simply dropped.

that is very simular to my flexnet exsample.
If you want to eliminate user error from the system you can go the same 
route as tcp/ip has done and introduce a kind of dhcp server.
That can already be done with software digis, just set a path to be used 
if a user has no path set.
It is quick, easy and can be done right now, the effect is very simular 
to routing based on position.
My guess is that no path replacing is sooner accepted then position 
routing and can also be expanded to replacing all paths if not enough 
users get it right.
If you want you can get software writers to take the option away from 
users of setting the path and let the software handle it, much like 
flexnet drivers and agwpe set the ax25 settings based on the trafic on air.

73 de Andre PE1RDW