[aprssig] Paths - Solution proposal

[AC]

The Internet can get my packets going in the right direction to the
destination I want and yet I don't need to source route to do it.  I
tell the Internet where the packet should go and the Internet routers
decide how best to get the packet to my destination.

If I want to reach multiple people at once it does that, too, it's
called a broadcast packet (or a multicast packet for a finite list of
targets) and it knows how to route those, too, and much more
intelligently than I could on the fly.

If a digi in the middle of my routed path goes down, then a smart digi
network will be able to heal itself and route the packet around the dead
node without me having to know it's dead.  Source routing doesn't allow
that (even Internet source routing had the same problems  -- think about
all the UUCP mail that was lost because a node in the middle was dead
and you didn't or couldn't know)

I don't have to source route and I don't need to source route yet I have
an excellent grasp of how the network works and how to work within it to
do anything needed that might be remotely special.  There's a reason the
Internet ditched it as TCP/IP, BGP, RIP, OSPF and other protocols made
things much smoother both for the end user and the network maintainers.

The APRS network would benefit from the same.  If I want to reach an
IGate, then I should only need to specify a path of "IGATE" and let the
network handle it.  Likewise if I intend to send a message, then I
should only need to specify a path of the end user's call (much like I'm
specifying the email address of this list) and the system will get the
message there by its own determination.  I don't care how my email is
making it to the list, I just want it to get to the list.

For general area coverage it would just need to be some kind of standard
but specialized targets.  For example, perhaps I want everyone within 20
miles of my station.  Maybe the target would be "20MI".  Since my
position is known because it's in the packet and a digipeater already
knows its own location, a smart digipeater could decide to forward to
the next or not depending on its distance from me.

This could apply to a digipeater, too.  If I specify a digipeater's call
as the target then I'm stating "Please route my packet to this
digipeater for broadcast".  If I specify more than one digipeater or
more than one end user call, then that's a multicast.  I don't need a
path, I just need the destinations.

Maybe a slightly modified version of the "20MI" target for regions
without specifying a digipeater.  Perhaps something like 315-04520MI
means hop to anyone that lies between the bearings 315 degrees and 045
degrees (so everyone north of me no farther than NW or NE).  If the
receiving station is inside those bearings and within the 20 mile range
then repeat the packet otherwise drop it.

It would certainly be simpler for a drive cross country to program
"IGATE" once than to change over and over as I change regions.


On 2014-07-18 07:29, Robert Bruninga wrote:
> I use source routing frequently.  Rather than shotgunning my APRS packets
> in all directions, If I am doing something special (quite often actually) I
> will chose specific digipeaters by callsign to get my packte going in the
> right direction and then let it go out from there.
> 
> Or the opposite, do a generic 1 or 21 hops to cover the area where I am
> operating but then letting it go one more hop to a known intended area.
> 
> This is common when one is in the highest density of APRS traffic in the
> country, and it makes no sense to flood the greater mid-atlantic when a
> smart selection of an entry in the DIGI field can tailor the path to only
> the area of interest.
> 
> Some people can just plug-n-play, but some others like to understand the
> network and hone their skills to use it effectively..  - by choosing where
> their packets go --
> 
> Bob, WB4APR
> Bob, Wb4APR
> 
> 
> On Fri, Jul 18, 2014 at 4:45 AM, Jason KG4WSV <kg4wsv at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>>
>>> On Jul 18, 2014, at 1:58 AM, Robert Bruninga <bruninga at usna.edu> wrote:
>>>
>>> WHen was the last time you dialed 911?
>>> I assume zero.  Therefore we dont need it right?
>>
>> You are equating source routing with 911 service?
>>
>> I assume this response is to avoid admitting you have never used it, never
>> needed it, and you are holding back the entire APRS network infrastructure
>> to preserve a feature you think you might need one day.
>>
>> -j
>>
>>
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> 
> 
> 
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