"They've got three network interfaces; we can do any combination
of wired and wireless cards. The OS is loaded on a flash-card; it
auto-detects any wireless cards and auto-configures them to seek out
other access points. When it finds a peer, they negotiate a
client-server relationship based on current load, and the client then
associates with the server. There's a key exchange that we use to make
sure that rogue APs don't sneak into the mesh, and a self-healing
routine we use to switch routes if the connection drops or we start to
see too much packet loss."
The graybeard looked up. "It izz a radio vor talking to Gott!" he
said. Lyman's posse laughed, and after a second, so did Kurt.
Alan must have looked puzzled, for Kurt elbowed him in the ribs and
said, "It's from Indiana Jones," he said.
"Ha," Alan said. That movie had come out long before he'd come to the
city -- he hadn't seen a movie until he was almost 20. As was often the
case, the reference to a film made him feel like a Martian.
The graybeard passed his unit on to the others at the table.
"Does it work?" he said.
"Yeah," Kurt said.
"Well, that's pretty cool," he said.
Kurt blushed. "I didn't write the firmware," he said. "Just stuck it
together from parts of other peoples' projects."
"So, what's the plan?" Lyman said. "How many of these are you going to
need?"
"Hundreds, eventually," Alan said.
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