[Freedombox-discuss] We do need mesh networking

[Luca Dionisi]

On Sun, Feb 20, 2011 at 7:36 AM, Michael Blizek
<michi1 at michaelblizek.twilightparadox.com> wrote:
> Hi!
>
> On 23:42 Sat 19 Feb     , Luca Dionisi wrote:
>> On Sat, Feb 19, 2011 at 7:49 PM, Michael Blizek
>> <michi1 at michaelblizek.twilightparadox.com> wrote:
>> > I have not seen *any* ready-to-use of meshing so far that is very scaleable.
>> > In order to scale, you basically have to limit the depth of routes you
>> > discover and the length of routes you take. Otherwise in average, everybody
>> > needs to forward more data compared to the amount of data end nodes can
>> > send/receive.
>> >
>> > How do you intend to do this in netsukuku?
>>
>> Good question.
>> For a better explanation I invite you to read the docs on the site.
>>
>> Netsukuku uses a reactive protocol, and a path vector algorithm [1],
>> hence the data you need to "announce" and memorize for each
>> destination is even bigger. The key mechanism to reduce this data is
>> to use a hierarchical topology of the network. Nodes are grouped in a
>> so called g-node, g-nodes are grouped in g-g-nodes, and so on. In
>> analogy of IP classes of addresses.
>> So the real problem that netsukuku had to solve (we did it) is to
>> assign IP addresses that are consistent with this hierarchy and
>> dynamically react to changes in the topology.
>
> Sounds like an interesting approach. However, it there some kind of cut-off so
> that big networks are not discovered entirely and traffic is kept local?
> Anyway, how do you want to exchange not-so popular content? I am afraid, it is
> something like "small network ==> no content, big network ==> slow". Netsukuku
> is not connected to the internet, is it?

Netsukuku network can be connected to the Internet and provide access to it.
We felt it as a crucial feature, at least for an initial deploy.

I'm sure that big network does not necessarily imply slowness.
And I feel that this particularly will be proved true in a mesh
network. Best if it is dense.

--Luca