Repurposing old technology: IPoAC
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IPoAC, or IP over Avian Carriers[^], was put forth by the Internet Engineering Task Force in 1990 as RFC 1149[^]. Version 2 was proposed in 1999 as RFC 2549[^]. Version 3, adapted to include IPv6, was made in 2011 as RFC 6214[^]. Basically, the protocol describes the use of carrier pigeon or similar bird to which a portable storage device has been attached as a way of transporting digital information. Yes, the three proposals were made as April Fools jokes, but the protocols have been tested, and the results have been interesting. For large transfers of data, avian carriers actually outperform the Internet: the size of thumb drives has decreased greatly, while the storage density has greatly increased, since RFC 1149, meaning that bandwidth on an avian carrier has increased three times faster than bandwidth on the Internet. Latency is a problem, of course, with benchmarks showing response times ranging between 3000 seconds (about 54 minutes) to over 6000 seconds. Even so, the potential is impressive, especially for non-industrialized countries and rural areas that are poorly served by traditional Internet services. For example, if 16 homing pigeons are given eight 32 GB SD cards each, and they take an hour to reach their destination, the throughput amounts to about 9102 MB/s, excluding transfer to and from the cards, which is far superior to anything that is otherwise available. That is what I call thinking outside the box. Edit: Not sure what happened, but I've fixed the links.
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IPoAC, or IP over Avian Carriers[^], was put forth by the Internet Engineering Task Force in 1990 as RFC 1149[^]. Version 2 was proposed in 1999 as RFC 2549[^]. Version 3, adapted to include IPv6, was made in 2011 as RFC 6214[^]. Basically, the protocol describes the use of carrier pigeon or similar bird to which a portable storage device has been attached as a way of transporting digital information. Yes, the three proposals were made as April Fools jokes, but the protocols have been tested, and the results have been interesting. For large transfers of data, avian carriers actually outperform the Internet: the size of thumb drives has decreased greatly, while the storage density has greatly increased, since RFC 1149, meaning that bandwidth on an avian carrier has increased three times faster than bandwidth on the Internet. Latency is a problem, of course, with benchmarks showing response times ranging between 3000 seconds (about 54 minutes) to over 6000 seconds. Even so, the potential is impressive, especially for non-industrialized countries and rural areas that are poorly served by traditional Internet services. For example, if 16 homing pigeons are given eight 32 GB SD cards each, and they take an hour to reach their destination, the throughput amounts to about 9102 MB/s, excluding transfer to and from the cards, which is far superior to anything that is otherwise available. That is what I call thinking outside the box. Edit: Not sure what happened, but I've fixed the links.
But, in areas where the avian carriers may be mistaken for drones... Well... let's just say the message may not make it to the intended target...
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IPoAC, or IP over Avian Carriers[^], was put forth by the Internet Engineering Task Force in 1990 as RFC 1149[^]. Version 2 was proposed in 1999 as RFC 2549[^]. Version 3, adapted to include IPv6, was made in 2011 as RFC 6214[^]. Basically, the protocol describes the use of carrier pigeon or similar bird to which a portable storage device has been attached as a way of transporting digital information. Yes, the three proposals were made as April Fools jokes, but the protocols have been tested, and the results have been interesting. For large transfers of data, avian carriers actually outperform the Internet: the size of thumb drives has decreased greatly, while the storage density has greatly increased, since RFC 1149, meaning that bandwidth on an avian carrier has increased three times faster than bandwidth on the Internet. Latency is a problem, of course, with benchmarks showing response times ranging between 3000 seconds (about 54 minutes) to over 6000 seconds. Even so, the potential is impressive, especially for non-industrialized countries and rural areas that are poorly served by traditional Internet services. For example, if 16 homing pigeons are given eight 32 GB SD cards each, and they take an hour to reach their destination, the throughput amounts to about 9102 MB/s, excluding transfer to and from the cards, which is far superior to anything that is otherwise available. That is what I call thinking outside the box. Edit: Not sure what happened, but I've fixed the links.
Google call it FedExNet[^] but it's also known as SneakerNet. For huge amounts of data, it's a lot more efficient in time terms due to the massive bandwidth required otherwise. I do an equivalent from time to time, and load a USB3 HDD and drive it across town, rather than upload it to Dropbox because my upload speed is a paltry 1Mb/s.
Those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. --- George Santayana (December 16, 1863 – September 26, 1952) Those who fail to clear history are doomed to explain it. --- OriginalGriff (February 24, 1959 – ∞)
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IPoAC, or IP over Avian Carriers[^], was put forth by the Internet Engineering Task Force in 1990 as RFC 1149[^]. Version 2 was proposed in 1999 as RFC 2549[^]. Version 3, adapted to include IPv6, was made in 2011 as RFC 6214[^]. Basically, the protocol describes the use of carrier pigeon or similar bird to which a portable storage device has been attached as a way of transporting digital information. Yes, the three proposals were made as April Fools jokes, but the protocols have been tested, and the results have been interesting. For large transfers of data, avian carriers actually outperform the Internet: the size of thumb drives has decreased greatly, while the storage density has greatly increased, since RFC 1149, meaning that bandwidth on an avian carrier has increased three times faster than bandwidth on the Internet. Latency is a problem, of course, with benchmarks showing response times ranging between 3000 seconds (about 54 minutes) to over 6000 seconds. Even so, the potential is impressive, especially for non-industrialized countries and rural areas that are poorly served by traditional Internet services. For example, if 16 homing pigeons are given eight 32 GB SD cards each, and they take an hour to reach their destination, the throughput amounts to about 9102 MB/s, excluding transfer to and from the cards, which is far superior to anything that is otherwise available. That is what I call thinking outside the box. Edit: Not sure what happened, but I've fixed the links.
"Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway." Andrew S. Tanenbaum[^]
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"Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway." Andrew S. Tanenbaum[^]
CHOMP! You just got bit by the underscore in link bug!
<voice type="Ebeneezer Scrooge"> Bah. dumb bugs </voice>
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CHOMP! You just got bit by the underscore in link bug!
<voice type="Ebeneezer Scrooge"> Bah. dumb bugs </voice>
Fixed!
