mesh network vs broadcast/multicast question

[Frank Ch. Eigler]

Hi -

On Tue, Jun 26, 2007 at 05:30:27PM -0400, Dan Williams wrote:

> > Is it obvious that this benefit (increased aggregate bandwidth) is
> > worth the cost [...]
>
> It depends, but packing 50 normal laptops onto a single radio channel
> _today_ with infrastructure APs doesn't really work well, especially
> when they all start to talk.  

OK, but perhaps normal laptops are not accurate enough analogues to a
bunch of XOs.  Has there been much measurement of simulated or actual
XO app traffic to see just how much yak is actually going on?

> We're likely to have that many laptops in a single classroom, and
> when you get a couple classrooms next each other...

But don't you get a factor of only 3 more with the multi-channel
scheme?  Any schools with more than three adjacent classrooms
(coarsely speaking)?

Could the system switch between the multi- vs. shared-channel schemes
considering its perceived traffic intensity?  For
away-from-schoolhouse stuff (which would probably also mean
away-from-internet), let the system use a fixed channel (or, say,
wherever it detects most nearby XO's are already squatting).  Let it
try to move elsewhere only if the local traffic is too loud.

- FChE