The OLPC will (as mentioned in the previous thread) have a mesh network at L1-3. And given the nature of these devices, many of the applications (roughly L4-7) will also be distributed by their nature. IM, chat and collaboration will have to be p2p, due to the questionable Internet connection/bandwidth.
Essentially, that will have a p2p system (with geographical awareness due to wireless signal, at L1-3) creating a 'flat' IPv4/6 network. On top of that we will have p2p systems (wiki, mDNS, IM) that form their own connections and structure.
With two p2p systems, one physically con trained and one logically constrained, sitting on top of the other, it is possible to have a very inefficient path to information, putting unneeded strain on the network, and leading to degraded service, at worst. To some extent, this is unavoidable (IM'ing to your friend who happens to be on the far end of the wireless network), however, is it reasonable/possible to try and put topology awareness in the applications to encourage them to structure in such a way as to maximize efficiency in terms of the wireless mesh?
Then again, I might be thinking too much into a problem that doesn't exist.
Michael Burns
Network Engineering
Oregon State University
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