[OLPC Networking] Application awareness in the mesh network?

[MBurns]

Since I am in the asking questions mood...

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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