Subject: [NEXTEL-1] PacketHop

From: Marcelrf <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 03 Mar 2004 20:12:01 -0500

PacketHop

Corporate Overview
PacketHop is poised to transform mobile communications – introducing the
first-of-its kind mobile mesh networking software solutions that enable
instant, secure broadband connectivity – anytime, anywhere, and to any
device. PacketHop delivers secure, scalable wireless access and high-end
broadband capabilities to multiple markets, including automotive,
consumer, enterprise, homeland security and home networking.
The PacketHop Promise
Drawing on the phenomenal market growth of mobile devices and broadband
technologies, PacketHop’s mobile mesh technology makes wireless
communication and media-rich data exchange instant, persistent,
scalable, secure, and cost effective.

Technology Overview
PacketHop’s mobile mesh networking solution is comprised of client-side
software, which is easily installed on mobile devices, and network
management products, which interface seamlessly to distributed and
centralized control systems.
This first-of-its-kind software solution uses standard Internet and
wireless protocols, is device agnostic, uses existing operating systems
and reduces or eliminates the dependence on fixed infrastructures. This
approach enables our partners to deliver a cost effective mobile mesh
networking solution and get it to market quickly.

PacketHop’s core technology was developed in the SRI International lab
and is backed by 30 years of innovation and $50 million in R&D and
trials.

http://www.packethop.com/corporate/index.html

===============================================================================

Connectivity that Moves You
PacketHop Mobile Mesh Networking

Connectivity that Moves You

Colleagues attending a conference want to exchange information without
subscribing to a wireless service provider.
Workers at a remote construction site need to communicate with each
other and access critical, planning documents, and materials supply
schedules.  People searching for a missing child want to share locations
and observations.

A group of children want to play a networked game wirelessly.  Teams of
first responders from different agencies gather at a major incident and
want to coordinate their actions.

Today’s wireless networks have a central problem: they require fixed
infrastructure. Mobile phones require base stations, and Wi-Fi devices
require access points. Now, mobile mesh networking is poised to break
the wireless communication dependence on fixed infrastructure and enable
devices to network directly with each other—anytime, anywhere.
Broadband Connectivity – Anytime, Anywhere, Any Device

PacketHop’s technology allows wireless devices to communicate directly
by forming an instant mobile mesh network with peer-to-peer
connectivity. In a mobile mesh, wireless communications are no longer
dependent on the distance to the nearest access point or base station,
only on the distance to the next wireless device, as shown in Figure 1.

Today’s Wireless With PacketHop

11 Mbps
5 Mbps
1 Mbps
Out of
Range
AP AP
11 Mbps
11 Mbps
11 Mbps
X

For access to external networks, PacketHop-enabled devices seamlessly
connect to fixed infrastructure, so existing investments are protected.
PacketHop’s technology dramatically increases the value of a wireless
network as every device is transformed from a simple terminal to an
integral part of the communications network.

Building on a Foundation of Proven Technology and Standards

PacketHop’s technology has a legacy of more than 30 years of research
and development at SRI International, tracing back to the DoD-sponsored
Packet Radio Network (PRNET).  Recently, the DARPA-funded Global Mobile
Information Systems (GloMo) program advanced the state of the art in
wireless mobile mesh networks, including new radios and antennas,
network protocols, security techniques, network management tools,
middleware, and Quality of Service-adaptive applications.
PacketHop is committed to an open standards approach to solving the hard
problems of mobile mesh networking by delivering technology that
integrates with established IEEE and Internet Engineering Task Force
(IETF) standards.
Solving the Hard Problems

Scalable, secure, and robust mobile mesh networking requires a
comprehensive set of network capabilities beyond simple connectivity. To
meet the needs of demanding network applications, PacketHop is
addressing the complete set of mobile mesh networking challenges.

Challenge PacketHop Technology

Routing in a constantly changing topology Routing optimized for mobility

Security in the face of a hostile wireless environment Multi-layer
standards with distributed extensions
Roaming across different addresses and networks Dynamic addressing and
session management
Quality of Service (QoS) with variable links Layer 2-aware routing and
application-aware QoS
Network Management of mobile nodes Integrates distributed and
centralized control
Reliability of data delivery on intermittent networks Reliable
peer-to-peer framework
Interoperability with existing fixed infrastructure Seamless connections
to peers and infrastructure

A mobile mesh routing protocol has to adapt instantly to changing
topology and variable link bandwidth. However, today’s commercial
routing algorithms are based on the critical assumption that the network
topology changes slowly compared to the time it takes to discover
topology changes. Put simply, the routers cannot keep up with the rapid
motion of a mobile mesh.
In contrast, PacketHop routing protocols are designed to respond quickly
to highly dynamic mobile environments. Every node in PacketHop’s mobile
mesh maintains a routing table and forwards incoming packets toward the
destination based on number of hops, network congestion, and link
bandwidth. Alternate routing paths are immediately established to
provide seamless connectivity as topology changes occur due to mobility
or a node in the network cloud going offline.

W/LAN MESH W/WAN
Coverage Limit
GPRS,
1xRTT
Internet
Coverage Limit
Internet Ethernet

Security

Autonomous mobile mesh networks pose severe challenges for security,
including wireless eavesdropping, denial of service, and routing
attacks. Current centralized network security architectures break down
in these scenarios because connectivity between a node and the central
authority cannot be guaranteed.

PacketHop’s mobile mesh is secure at every layer. PacketHop’s software
builds on available security standards from IEEE and IETF to ensure
interoperable connections to existing infrastructure. PacketHop’s
approach incorporates extensions to these standards for distributed
encryption, key management, and authentication, to ensure that the
mobile mesh can continue to operate securely even if all connections to
centralized authorities are lost.

Roaming

Nodes in a mobile mesh by their very nature roam in and out of coverage
and between networks. Currently, wireless roaming between cellular data
networks, public Wi-Fi hotspots, and enterprise WLANs is patchwork at
best, impossible at worst.  PacketHop’s mobile mesh implements
self-contained dynamic addressing and rendezvous technologies to
simplify address management and enable true nomadic operation without
reliance on external network capabilities. Mobile devices can join and
leave a mobile mesh and/or connect to public or private fixed
infrastructure, all while retaining connectivity to critical services.

Quality of Service

A mobile mesh carries a variety of traffic, ranging from router control
messages to multicast video streams to encrypted messages. Traditional
wired approaches entail static multicast trees, reservation protocols
for bandwidth management, or simply increased wired bandwidth to
accommodate additional traffic.

PacketHop’s approach combines standards-based Quality of Service
protocols with
innovative enhancements to permit management of critical data flows.
PacketHop’s
technology combines layer 2-aware routing techniques, optimizations to
multicast protocols, and application-level control to provide enhanced
QoS.

Network Management

Each node in a mobile mesh is a critical resource for the user. However,
the current generation of network management tools is sorely lacking in
features to visualize and monitor intermittently connected, nomadic, low
power nodes.  PacketHop’s mobile mesh management technology provides a
unique combination of distributed element managers and centralized
aggregation points. This approach enables coherent monitoring and policy
control of a mobile mesh, whether it consists of a small collection of
nodes or a large set of interoperating clouds spanning public and
private fixed infrastructure.

Reliability

A mobile mesh must provide reliable transport of data between source and
destination.  However, conventional networking technologies rely on
classic timeout-based transport protocols not designed for wireless
networks, or on complex solutions that require intermediate
infrastructure to be upgraded.

PacketHop’s mobile mesh provides a layered approach to reliability, with
tuned transport protocols below a peer-to-peer network overlay to ensure
timely and reliable delivery of data.

Interoperability

A mobile mesh can work standalone, but devices need connectivity out of
the mesh to access external services such as corporate databases or the
Internet. Some technologies for mesh networking require special
infrastructure or access points with embedded mesh technology.
Deploying such a technology requires that existing infrastructure be
replaced with these special access points.

PacketHop’s mobile mesh products integrate with existing wireless
infrastructure as is, with no upgrade or replacement of wireless access
points. Because it interoperates with existing wireless infrastructure,
PacketHop mobile mesh technology is an extension to existing networks,
not a replacement.
Benefiting Applications in Multiple Markets

PacketHop technology solves the hard problems of mobile mesh networking
and benefits multiple market segments by making wireless broadband:

• Instant: fast configuration and connections between devices;
• Persistent: access to services regardless of network changes;
• Scalable: supports thousands of nodes across multiple mobile mesh
networks;
• Secure: distributed control of access and authorization; and
• Cost-effective: integrates with existing infrastructure.

Mobile mesh networking solves key problems in multiple markets. From
enabling existing systems work better and more reliably to delivering
applications never before possible, mobile mesh networking provides
connectivity that will move you.
Home Networking
Automotive
Consumer
Enterprise
Homeland Security

Contact
For further information, please contact:
PacketHop, Inc.
1301 Shoreway Road, Suite 200
Belmont, California 94002
(650) 292-5005
[email-masked]

http://www.packethop.com/technology/gfx/PH_VisionWP.pdf
--
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

-- 
    "NEXTEL-1 IT'S NOT JUST NEXTEL"
  Note The New address 
Subscribe to Nextel-1: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL-1

  "NEXTEL2 FOR iDEN SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS"
Subscribe to Nextel2: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/NEXTEL2

  "WIRELESS FORUM HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP"
     The Complete Resource for Wireless Homeland Security.
Subscribe to WFHSG:  http://www.groups.yahoo.com/subscribe/WFHSG

Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
     http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEXTEL-1/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
     [email-masked]

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
     http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/