netsukuku/doc/misc/Ntk_features_list

== Netsukuku features list ==

{{{

- The Netsukuku mesh network is: distributed, not hierarchic, and higly
  scalable. The design of Netsukuku prioritises the stability of net.
  For this reason, it isn't specifically suitable for mobile nodes.
  However if the mobile nodes are inside an area covered by static Netsukuku
  nodes, there aren't any problems. It is also possible to use other mesh
  network protocols designed for mobility in conjunction with Netsukuku (f.e.
  see olsrd.org), in the same way they are used in conjunction with the 
  Internet.
  
- Scalability: Netsukuku is specifically designed to handle an unlimited
	       number of nodes with minimal CPU and memory resources.

	- The net isn't overloaded with discoveries packet
	
	- The size of the maps is fixed: about 4Kb for the int_map and 16Kb
	  for  the ext_map.
	  
	- Not all the nodes sends a broadcast discovery.
	
	- There are few floods for each discovery.
	
	- When a node receives a flood it has already the routes that can be
	  used to reach all the nodes traversed by the flood. It doesn't need
	  to calculate anything about them.
	  
	- A flood is synchronized: the same flood starts at the same time for
	  all the nodes.

	- http://lab.dyne.org/Netsukuku_scalability

- zeroconf: the network builds itself, without need of human intervention

- ANDNA: distributed and not hierarchic DNS

	- When the net becomes larger, ANDNA scales more because its DB will
	  be distributed among the nodes.
	  
	- Any node can register up to 256 hostnames.

	- The registration is secure: it is based on asymmetric cryptography,
	  thus it is very difficult to take hostnames which has been already
	  registered by other nodes.

	- Each hostname can be a string of maximum 512 bytes.
	
	- DNS compatibility: all the network programs are already compatible
	  with ANDNA, because NetsukukuD comes with a DNS wrapper which
	  converts DNS queries to ANDNA requests.
	  
	-  All the resolved hostnames are kept, in the "resolved hostnames
	   cache" to speed up the resolution process. 
	   The rhcache is synchronized with ANDNA, therefore its stored
	   entries will expire exactly when the registered hostnames expire
	   in ANDNA.
	
	- Scattered Name Service Disgregation
	  http://lab.dyne.org/Ntk_SNSD
	  The SNSD is the ANDNA equivalent of the SRV Record of the Internet 
	  Domain Name System, which is defined here:
	  http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2782.txt
	  SNSD isn't the same of the "SRV Record", in fact, it has its own
	  unique features.

- Internet compatibility
	- internet sharing
		* Multi-inet-gateways. 
		  The Netsukuku nodes will now automatically use multiple
		  inet-gateways to connect to the Internet, therefore their
		  Internet connection will be effectively load-balanced.
		  
		* Anti-loop multi-igw shield. 
		  The nodes which share their Internet connection will also
		  automatically use the shared connection of the other nodes.
		  Through a simple marking system, death loops are avoided.
		  
		* Traffic shaping.
		  The nodes which share their Internet connection can now
		  shape it, in this way they'll prioritize their local
		  outgoingtraffic and the lowdelay one (f.e. SSH).

- Routes based on bandwidth and latency
  http://lab.dyne.org/Ntk_bandwidth_measurement

- NetsukukuD:
	- low memory and CPU usage
		- it can run smoothly on a small Access Point
		
	- Support for multipath routes: to reach a destination node, the
	  packets will use, at the same time, more than one route.
	  
	- support for multi network interfaces
	
	- Multi interfaces multipath: if the node can reach a rnode trough
	  multiple interfaces, it uses them all with a multipath route.
}}}