[HamWAN PSDR] POLL: How do you feel about HamWAN network having shared control of the microwave modem @ your location?

[Rob Salsgiver]

I think you're likely to find this a moving target....  As you mentioned,
most ISPs do this in some fashion already.  Conversely, you can also opt to
buy your own cable or DSL modem, etc - but the onus is on you to deal with
any "incompatibilities" identified by the carrier.

For the most part, I would be perfectly fine with HamWAN doing the same
function - provided it doesn't hamper my ability to do what "I want".  Some
examples of this would be port forwarding, traffic prioritization settings
(from my internal stuff to the network, not network node to network node -
that's "the carrier's" responsibility).  Routing settings COULD be an issue,
if I wanted to setup my own preferred alternate routes vs letting the
backbone handle it (this is one of those "grey" areas).

For the most part, I look for the following basic list of features:

1) My normal path through the network to other HamWAN hosts and the Internet
is fast, short, and reliable
2) If anything in that path fails, my traffic re-routes without my knowing
it and all continues to work well.
3) Any inbound defined services, such as port forwarding (for Echolink, etc)
work under both #1 and #2.

There is one situation I can think of that may run into problems with HamWAN
managing remote endpoints.... that is the scenario where someone is
developing RF-link based functionality that may be affected by an
"auto-overwrite" by the network.... i.e. - someone is working on new
antennas or testing traffic management possibilities.  As an example - if I
decide to replace my antenna with something "home brew" and want to modify
the transmit or receive parameters for specific testing, there may be some
conflicts here.  Using other vendor radios or developing your own may be an
issue as well.  These can probably be handled using very few exceptions, and
likely is not worth making major "policy" changes to accommodate, other than
the potential for a few select devices to be excluded.

Part of the excitement of developing this beast is simply not knowing
everywhere it might take us.  We may find more potential conflicts down the
road that will have to be considered if/when they come up.

Cheers,
Rob Salsgiver - NR3O


-----Original Message-----
From: PSDR [mailto:psdr-bounces at hamwan.org] On Behalf Of Bart Kus
Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2013 4:17 PM
To: Puget Sound Data Ring
Subject: [HamWAN PSDR] POLL: How do you feel about HamWAN network having
shared control of the microwave modem @ your location?

Hello,

Keeping the network and all client devices correctly configured is no easy
feat.  These are complicated devices with 100s of settings, which will need
to change in coordinated ways over time.  To ensure correct operation, it
would make sense for the HamWAN network to push updates and change settings
on end-user modems.  Almost all ISPs run this way already.  The difference
is you can still login + control your device, but any setting changes you
make which make the device non-compliant in ways HamWAN cares about would be
automatically overridden with a config update from the network.  If the
network can't control and repair your device settings, you would lose
authorization onto the network until the settings are fixed.

I see this shared administration model as the only one that's feasible in
keeping a reliable network running.

Please let me know if you are OK with it, if you object to it, or if you
have a better idea.

Thanks,

--Bart


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