On Mar 10, 2010, at 3:37 PM, Nate Duehr wrote:
On 3/10/2010 1:04 PM, kb9khm wrote:
> This is where I think the Icom implementation added an unnecessary
> feature. D-STAR protocol has its own useable address space in the
> callsign fields of the header. In DV mode there is no reason to
> assign a callsign an IP address (nor in DD mode either, really).
I whole-heartedly, absolutely, 100% agree with this. Dump the IP
address junk from D-STAR.
Nah, just fix it so it behaves like a properly working private LAN
for the ID-1 Ethernet users.
What we are talking about is the mapping of all callsigns (terminals
in Icom speak) to an IP address. Those IP addresses are not needed to
route D-STAR packets, as they already have their own address/
namespace. The ID-1 DD mode encapsulates ethernet packets inside of D-
STAR packets, so for D-STAR routing it is unnecessary even for DD.
Once the D-STAR router figures out where to direct the D-STAR packet
(or data stream) it is merely the encapsulating Internet packets that
need to have any notion of IP address and/or domain name. When the
DD packet arrives at its destination D-STAR address, then the ethernet
packet can be extracted and dropped into a system or network (thinking
maybe the TAP interface to drop it onto the ethernet on a server, the
ID-1 does this automatically through its Ethernet port), then the
destination callsign can apply any and all assignment, discovery,
naming, routing, filtering, firewall, etc. as is appropriate, using
far better tools already in existence. The "gateway" or D-STAR router
need not be concerned directly with the contents of the payload
whether DV or DD.
ID-1 users would be supported at the D-STAR level by a D-STAR router.
The DD payload is supported at the networking level by simply dropping
the payload into the network stack and managing it at the network level.
I would avoid the complexity of domain names as you outline here.
The bandwidth of the D-STAR DD stream doesn't bode well for supporting
"server" applications at the "last mile" ID-1. Server based services
such as email, web, ftp, chat, etc. are better served from servers
reachable via ethernet/Internet from the D-STAR router. Domain names
are handy for that purpose and should be well known. It is also
fairly easy to create shorter, simpler, domain names - e.g
a.wy0x.dstar-relay.net and wy0x.dstar-relay.net to handle two
instances. Since the RP2D is not a repeater it will not relay
between two ID-1s on the same RF channel without first going through a
server process for retransmission, so the need for domain names for
individual ID-1s is greatly diminished.
As long as you are on a private address space, or one that we have
reasonable control over (like 44.0.0.0 AMPR-NET) reverse DNS lookups
to convert IP to domain name is pretty much broken in today's
Internet. Unless you have a large address space like NET-10 or NET-44
names will only be local anyway.
"Dropping the IP stuff" isn't really an option for the ID-1 users.
There needs to be a working system to replace it before ripping it
out of user-registration. But 100% agreed, it shouldn't be there.
It should be automated with DHCP and Dynamic DNS. The software to
do that is ALREADY THERE on the Gateway machine...
a) All D-STAR DD Gateways act as local DHCP servers and hand out an
IP address to whatever gets plugged into an ID-1.
b) Tunneling works perfectly between all DD users by IP, and knows
how to route automatically between sites if you were last heard on a
particular Gateway. (Does this already work? I don't think it does,
but don't know.)
c) DNS is handled dynamically and registered with a properly
configured local DHCP server and a properly synchronized private DNS
zone. The DNS server IP that would be handed out over the above-
mentioned DHCP would make it so you could reach ANY D-STAR ID-1's
Ethernet port connected IP device(s) by a standardized naming
convention...
"wy0x-00_0C_FF_FF_FF_FF.dstar-private.local" or whatever the heck
you want to call the zone.
(Bear with me here, I know a callsign+MAC address DNS address is
damn long, but you need it, because you need to make sure it's set
up to handle multiple machines connected to the Ethernet behind a
single ID-1.)
d) Users do NOT need to be registered to participate in this. DHCP
request = Done.
e) Users could log into the centralized webserver somewhere, and
request a CNAME record for a particular callsign-mac combo...
"coloradoareas.dstar-private.local" CNAME to
"wy0x-00_0C_FF_FF_FF_FF.dstar-private.local".
To me, this kinda looks like what they were TRYING to do, but
implemented it all wrong. What Icom did instead was turn the
callsign itself into a HASH that creates the IP address. That
forgets completely that you could plug three laptops into a hub/
switch and then plug that into the ID-1. You'd think the Icom
engineers would know how Ethernet works, by now...
Anyway... to the end users the above would look like this, from a
useage standpoint.
- Set your ID-1 properly to that funky Data mode setting.
- Plug in ANYTHING behind the ID-1.
- Device requests and IP and gets it.
- Want to route to your buddy's machine in another state? Ask him
for his callsign and MAC address of the machine you want to talk to.
- Want to make it easier? Request a CNAME (alias for those who don't
"speak DNS") that's something easy to remember to point to that
other more accurate technical DNS name. Tell your buddy, "I
registered wy0x-home.dstar-private.local" for you. You can just
connect to that.
Other things that probably need to be done...
All web and other traffic leaving/entering the Amateur network from
the Internet should have been put through a Squid or other proxy
server. Two reasons... performance (caching) and FILTERS.
Things to filter or at least give the admin the ability to filter:
Words that will get you fined by the FCC if you put them over the
Amateur band here in the U.S. for example), and the proxy should
also block all https:// connections in countries where encryption is
illegal, etc. Also the ability to block ports in/out (iptables),
perhaps even build static NATs for servers that "exist" both on D-
STAR and the public Net... etc.
Anyway... there's my wishlist Utopian design doc before an ID-1
would even be useful to me... and it would also make the ID-1 super-
simple for most folks who just want to "plug and play" to do it.
Maybe folks have better ideas... but that'd work for just about
everyone... in DD mode.
Nate WY0X
John D. Hays
Amateur Radio Station K7VE
PO Box 1223
Edmonds, WA 98020-1223 VOIP/SIP: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
