[Server-devel] Network address for activation - Fwd: [Techteam] Activating laptops from the school server

[C. Scott Ananian]

On Thu, Aug 28, 2008 at 3:52 AM, Martin Langhoff <martin at laptop.org> wrote:
> we're trying to get the XS to reply to the activation requests from
> the XO. The service is listening on 172.18.0.1:191 which is what the
> non-activated laptops are trying.
>
> The laptop, however, picks an address in the 172.18.16.x range. The
> server is seeing the request on its msh0 interface but not responding
> to it

The server used to bridge from 172.18.16.x to 172.18.0.1.  Services
which were visible from "all antennas" of the XS were bound to
172.18.0.1, and services which were specific to a particular
antenna/subnet bound to 172.18.16.1, etc.  I don't remember the
specific details; perhaps the XO should be using a 172.18.17.1 address
when it is on mesh channel 6, etc?  There was definitely a bug in the
past where I was trying to connect to 172.18.16.1 and it only worked
when the school server was on channel 1 (or something like that).  Wad
knows best.

> I've written a server that seems to do this (at least for IPv4), but

I recommend implementing IPv6 as well, as the IPv6 link-local address
assignment is *significantly* less likely to fail (ie, collide) than
the IPv4 assignment.  But I do remember that IPv6 binding was
"complicated".  Maybe Wad can dig out the code I wrote from his old XS
images to help.
 --scott

-- 
 ( http://cscott.net/ )