On 6/7/07, Allen Briggs <briggs@netbsd.org> wrote:
> OK.  Thanks for that definition.  I would actually have divided it a
> little differently.  I tend to think of sort of four different types:
>
>         1) Devices with a network connection for control (perhaps
>            a weather station or similar)
>         2) Devices that want to move a lot of data (perhaps a
>            NAS device),
>         3) Devices that need to route / bridge networks (perhaps
>            a wireless access point), and
>         4) Infrastructure types of devices.
>
> Especially with #2 - #4, there are a bunch of different sizes of
> devices with a number of different protocol needs.  And the boundaries
> are certainly blurred in some cases--especially #2 & #3.  In general,
> I think there's probably a reasonable need for:
>
>         1) ARP/IP/ICMP/UDP/TCP (& maybe IPV6/ICMP6 soon?)
>         2) 1 + IPSec
>         3) 1 + filtering & routing
>         4) 1 + policy routing
>
> And various combinations.  Which is kind of what we have now with
> options, but with the options stripped, our stack is not really
> "tiny"--although perhaps better when routing is ripped out.
>

I agree. It's a matter of definition. I'm pretty sure the networking
guys can give more accurate estimations what can and can not be done.

> That's a LOT of stuff.  I think it would be best for folks who are
> more familiar with that space to suggest a path for which protocols
> make sense for various applications.  I don't see a need to be fully
> FLAC (Four-Letter Acronym Compliant).

I'm not suggesting to implement all of the above. This was more like a
reference. OSLD, AODV and may be several others should be enough for
most users.

> Again, are there existing designs for sensor / control that would
> make sense to implement or adopt?  Or is this a case where there's
> a void and you're suggesting that it be filled?  Do you have interest
> in looking into this?

From me, it's just a suggestion. I think this is still void area where
work can be done. I'm not aware of any implementations or standards.
However, such may exist. I'm currently working on a SoC project plus
several other projects of my own so i won't have time to research on
this for at least 2 more months.

> Thanks again for the informative reply,

It's always a pleasure to help if possible :)

> -allen
>

-- 
"UNIX is basically a simple operating system, but you have to be a
genius to understand the simplicity." Dennis Ritchie