Wade Gobel: Managing a New Internet

Managing a New Internet: Fundamental functions for a mobile, wireless, serverless testbed

As the internet expands, so must the capacity of servers. Servers play a key role in online communication, not to mention in storage of online resources. If a server fails, large areas could potentially lose service. But while servers are important, they are not strictly necessary for networked communication.

The University of California, Santa Cruz has created a small network that does not require a server in order to operate - the Santa Cruz mObile Radio Platform for Indoor / Outdoor Networks, or SCORPION. This network is made up of a number of different types of nodes: briefcases, buses, Roombas, and an airplane. Each node contains a computer that can communicate with any other nodes nearby. This network is used to test new serverless routing protocols while the nodes move around the campus. SCORPION nodes thereby replicate the real-world motion of cell phones, laptops, and any other mobile computer with wireless capabilities.

But to run tests quickly and successfully, each SCORPION node requires a little more infrastructure than just a routing protocol and a radio. During the summer of 2009, Wade Gobel wrote a "management suite" - a collection of functions that allow SCORPION users to communicate with multiple nodes simultaneously, in addition to changing their settings and retrieving data from them. Previously, the best way to do this was by establishing a secure connection with a node - a slow process that could only be done one node at a time. The management suite therefore facilitates the testing of new routing protocols that will help to create a new, more robust internet.