[nos-bbs] Re: AXUDP and APRS

[maiko at pcs.mb.ca]

Andre wrote :

> Sounds like you want a kind of axtcp (ax25 ecapsaled in tcp/ip) that
> alows to set up a bidirectional link initiated from one side.

This is definitely something I've talked to people about in the past,
the ability for a client to negotiate an AX*P tunnel with a system that
is capable of handling this. I would still expect some type of security
on the server side though, for instance a callsign and security hash.

Again, not a difficult thing to do. It could be done using UDP for
that matter. It doesn't have to be that complicated.

But you see here is where things are philosophically different between
the APRS world and the Conventional packet world. APRS allows for blind
exchanges of data and links between systems, where as the conventional
packet systems tend to caution on the side of security (ie, AX*P tunnels
are pre-arranged and there are IP address checks in place, etc). Clients
do not negotiate for an AX*P tunnel out of the blue.

> the protocol that agwpe uses is not open tough so if someone wants to
> use that it will take some reverse enginering.

Why bother ! All we do then is engineer a new method, make sure it's
well documented and available for all to see, then implement it. The
nos guys have been doing stuff like that for years.

BUT wait, are we getting ahead of ourselves ?

What would we use this new AX*P system for ?

What's the plan Bill ?

Maiko Langelaar / VE4KLM