21 Mar
2014
21 Mar
'14
2:51 a.m.
Hey all,
First version of the network diagram for technical documentation. Hopefully
folks can use a derivative of this to create other graphic diagrams and
drawings for paper manuals, online instructions, etc.
The font is Anaheim, it's open source and online.
// Matt
21 Mar
21 Mar
10:27 a.m.
(resending to incl. mesh)
Excellent drawing, Matt.
I'm not sure how best to represent the VPN part. I thought it extended
from the 2.4GHz nodes all the way to the exit nodes; kind of like a wrapper
(or tunnel; based on perspective). Based on color and location, it looks
like the VPN only extends from relay nodes to the exit nodes.
Maybe that's the way it is and I've got it all wrong. Wouldn't be the
first time. ;)
--
Chris Jefferies
(510) 409-0003 - mobile
On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 2:51 AM, Matthew Senate <mattsenate(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote:
10:39 a.m.
I intended to make the lines thicker to denote that it's a "stronger" or
"bolder" connection since it is taking place through the internet,
(although unencrypted), but via a vpn tunnel. I've updated that part and
can post after more feedback changes. The nodes that do not have lines to
the relay nodes do not have internet connections, and demonstrate how only
some of the nodes on the network need internet connections. This doesn't
currently show traffic moving along the network, but I'll be making a
second diagram animation for that.
Did that accurately address your question?
// Matt
12:27 p.m.
Hey guys, I've been absent for this whole time, but I would be super
excited to sit and talk about graphics!
That said, I think you've handled it splendidly.
On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 11:05 AM, Chris Jefferies <chris(a)freeranger.com>wrote;wrote:
--
Ryan Lyle Evans <http://ryanlyleevans.com>
9:32 p.m.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA512
I like the graphic also! It's very nice.
I have one suggestion...
Some minutes later: I decided that instead of giving the suggestion on
words, I worked on the image instead. See what my suggestion is. :)
The part that is needed is the keys. That's how is it called?
Thanks!
On 3/21/14, 12:27 PM, Ryan Evans wrote:
9:37 p.m.
Ryan,
Excellent. It's just the beginning. I hope this encourages folks to spin
out more descriptive diagrams, ones that would demonstrate what Chris is
talking about (i.e. that the vpn connection extends from the node you're
connected through, which is then passed on to the next node with an
internet connection), but also ones that are simply more accessible, or
coupled with descriptions, documentation, etc.
Somebody,
Interesting suggestion. Thanks for hacking! I can see why you would want to
invert the graphic, but what value does it provide? I intentionally started
the diagram with the local network at the top. Why start with the internet?
// Matt
On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 9:32 PM, Somebody <somebody(a)riseup.net> wrote:
22 Mar
22 Mar
11:42 a.m.
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1
On Fri 21 Mar 2014 09:43:30 PM PDT, Somebody wrote:
<3 Gotta concur with somebody, here :)
from the bottom up!
Jenny
http://jennyryan.net
http://sudomesh.org
http://thevirtualcampfire.org
http://technomadic.tumblr.com
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
"Technology is the campfire around which we tell our stories."
- -Laurie Anderson
"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining
it."
-Hannah Arendt
"To define is to kill. To suggest is to create."
- -Stéphane Mallarmé
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
5:58 p.m.
That would be a simple top to bottom flip of the image, right?
Another way to imagine it would be that the home (the individual) is at the
top. Each individual personal connection is at the top and below it is all
the infrastructure.
The node near my house is in the sky, but as soon as it connects to the
internet it's going underground in fiber tubes buried next to the highways
that criss-cross the nation and the world.
I suppose that in a pure wifi-mesh system, unconnected to the internet, it
could be considered an air only, connected from above, system.
However we look at it, I think it is important that we find a way to impart
a meaningful, shared conceptual model of what we're building. Only with a
model that people can understand quickly and at a high level will it get
traction. We don't want to mislead or pander only to the lowest common
denominator but we want it to be right sized, if you will, to our goal of
educating the public.
I think, that when we are looking for the balance of high level
abstractions to low level technical details, that we should ere a bit on
the side of technical. I know I get frustrated with descriptions of
technology that use a false abstraction in an attempt to make a challenging
idea accessible to those who are unfamiliar with those ideas.
My 4c... ;)
--
Chris Jefferies
(510) 409-0003 - mobile
On Sat, Mar 22, 2014 at 11:42 AM, Jenny Ryan <tunabananas(a)gmail.com> wrote:
7:45 p.m.
All of this up or down discussion doesn't make much sense to me.
Network diagrams are either completely abstract with no up or down, or
they relate to real-world topographies as seen from above, usually
with the top being North.
On Sat, Mar 22, 2014 at 5:58 PM, Chris Jefferies <chris(a)freeranger.com> wrote:
23 Mar
23 Mar
11:14 p.m.
I think everyone's comments have been helpful. Attached is an updated
version of the diagram, though you can see that there are really only minor
tweaks and not a major reorganization. I decided that for the purposes of
this diagram, since the eye comes across it more or less from the top that
the primary focal point should be the Local Area Network, even if
emotionally we know it to be a bottom-up concept. Graphically, having the
internet at the top doesn't come off as legible to me without other
elements, say dirt, grass and such. The subtlety is that essentially,
outside the LAN bubble of this diagram is the open space of other networks,
namely including connections that go to and include the global internet.
I think what Chris points out is helpful too since we can basically shake
this diagram from any particular node, in order to orient our view toward a
particular topic, purpose, point of view, end user, developer, etc.
However, that can take place in additional diagrams, and I really want this
to be a basic reference. As for the end users, I completely agree and plan
to make a diagram from the perspective of the home router, showing how
traffic passes into and out of your home. I think the pair of these
diagrams tells a whole story: how I fit in at home, and how the network
functionally works on a fundamental level.
Any diagrams to explain the rest of the internet itself would be swell. Any
links? This one is a bit much:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Internet_map_1024_-_tra…
this
one not enough:
http://www.overthinkingit.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/tubes.jpg
// Matt
On Sat, Mar 22, 2014 at 7:45 PM, Marc Juul <juul(a)labitat.dk> wrote:
27 Mar
27 Mar
12:05 a.m.
Updates, clarifying what we mean by "local area network" which was too
generic, hence just using the actual name is fine "The People's Open
Network" which indeed is "(local)"
Also updated the Relay Node description, replacing "Virtual Private
Network" with the term "Virtual Public Network" or VPuN, which has roots in
GNUnet https://gnunet.org/gnunet-vpn and is situated in this historical
piece
http://www.isaca.org/Journal/Past-Issues/2001/Volume-3/Pages/Virtual-Privat…
I also updated the language to denote Relay Nodes as "Tunnel Server &
Client" because this is accurate based on the software used on these
servers, an IP tunnel package developed by WLAN-Slovenija folks:
TunnelDigger.
While TunnelDigger technically qualifies as "Virtual Private Network"
software (with a major lapse in not actually providing access control
mechanisms as is the point of most VPN software), this label is actually
more generic than what we need (see
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VPN#Unencrypted_tunnels), especially when
there is a socially and historically situated alternative that is both more
descriptive and mission-consistent with sudo mesh's work: Virtual Public
Network (VPuN).
So, who wants to write the Wikipedia article on Virtual Public Networks? ;)
Many thanks to Marc, Mitar, and everyone for drawing this out, I think we
have a good labeling system and sufficient justification for all names.
Cheers!
// Matt
On Sun, Mar 23, 2014 at 11:14 PM, Matthew Senate <mattsenate(a)gmail.com>wrote;wrote:
22 Mar
22 Mar
5:38 p.m.
Instead of Virtual Prival Network, I think it should be VPN: Virtual
Public Network, or VPM: Virtual Public Mesh.
I also really think we should change Local Area Network, to Local
Network or Local Public Network or Local Free Network, since the term
Local Area Network means something even more local in a lot of
people's minds. It may be confusing because this is what we call the
private tiny networks in peoples' houses and many routers have LAN
ports. These LAN ports will not be connected to the LAN in this image.
On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 2:51 AM, Matthew Senate <mattsenate(a)gmail.com> wrote:
4090
days inactive
4096
days old
14 comments
6 participants
participants (6)
-
Chris Jefferies -
Jenny Ryan -
Marc Juul -
Matthew Senate -
Ryan Evans -
Somebody