On Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:26:01 +0100, William Kenworthy <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> 169.254.0.0/16 is probably more appropriate because this range is >>>> assigned to link-local addresses. >>> Sure. And if we go that way, why not use the proper way of setting a >>> link-local address? >>> * Pick a random address >>> * check that it is free (arp, ping,...) >>> * take it. That would be reinventing some wheels. See below for standardized solutions. >>> That has a good chance of working, even for those who >>> routinely connect two phones to the same pc at the same time. >> This would make it way harder to communicate with the freerunner. >> For now you know you can reach it at 192.168.0.202 and most of the >> documentations builds on this. So figuring out the ip address FR has >> chosen is way harder, especially for newbies. > Not if its handled right. One possible way to handle it right would be: 1. Try DHCP first. If a DHCP server gives us an address, use it and skip to step 3. 2. Grab a link-local IP address via IPv4LL (RFC 3927). This is even supported by default by both Windows >= 98 and MacOS >= 8, as well as in many Linux distributions, so it's as simple as plugging the device in. 3. If we have a DNS address from step 1, use it and skip to step 5. 4. Try discovering a DNS server using DNS-SD and use one if discovered. 5. Advertise through mDNS a user-configurable name defaulting to something like openmoko.local. 6. Advertise relevant services through mDNS, such as ssh, sftp-ssh, clipboard (would be nice, eh?), sip/h323 (why not?). 7. If we have a router address from step 1, skip to step 9. 8. Try some router discovery protocol (UPnP, SSDP?). Most of this is fulfilled by using avahi <http://avahi.org>, so it seems like a good choice. From a user's point of view, the device will never cause routing problems and always be accessible at a fixed host name, even without a domain name server. Alternatively, the phone itself can run a DHCP server after step 1 and assign an IP address to the peer, as well as run a DNS server. That way, plugging the phone with GPRS enabled into a Windows machine will automatically provide it with Internet connectivity. -- Alexey Feldgendler <[email protected]> [ICQ: 115226275] http://feldgendler.livejournal.com _______________________________________________ Openmoko community mailing list [email protected] http://lists.openmoko.org/mailman/listinfo/community
