[isf-wifidog] ip allocation fantasies

[Alexandre Carmel-Veilleux]

On Wed, May 11, 2005 at 06:43:20PM +0100, Saul Albert wrote:
>
> The problem of routing to the outside world or between free networks can
> be solved by tunnelling to some extent - and I suppose that conflicts
> will have to be solved as and when networks want to interconnect on an
> ad-hoc basis. This seems like a PITA, but then communicating with one's
> neighbuors ought to be the point of free networks, surely ;)

	So ISF has been talking about a mesh on and off for a while now
and the only IP allocation scheme we could come up with was using tunnels
for routable IPs with the mesh providing little else then virtual circuits
between nodes. I don't think this was ever satisfactory but kind of way
to get that out of the way and concentrate on getting nodes transmitting
in the aether.

	Perhaps taking a semi decentralized schemes for allocation of
sub blocks of IPs could be used? Whereby high connectivity nodes get
larger IP blocks to subdivide between their peers and some sort of
central entity tracks the allocations and manages the issuing to IP
blocks to nodes. Nodes being able to allocate blocks to immediate peers?

	On the internet, IP blocks are allocated to AS numbers by a
central entity and then AS are routed. In a mesh, the logical version
of this is that mesh nodes have a unique ID which they register with a
central entity, obtaining an IP range in exchange. How could that be
made to work in an automated ad-hoc fashion? I'm just as puzzled as
you are on this I fear.

Alex