I just got my Mesh’s. There are quite a fix nodes between work and home. (THANKS!)
I’d like to know if there is a, relatively, stable path between my and home to get an emergency email. (i.e. I survived the quake, I’m coming home). Is there a unix/linux traceroute equivalent that lists all the hops a message takes that I could map against a imeshyou list?
It would be nice to be able to embed the fixed node locations in the GPS map, I could just do it in a google map. Then I could take a route home that keeps me in contact.
If you’re relying on the nodes of others for the path, it’s hard to say. There really isn’t any routing in the wired network sense. It’s better described as echoing, I think. The signal originates then propagates outward. If it comes across the GUID to which it is to be delivered, then that GTM will decode and display it.
When we were doing testing on 5.0, our first long range scenario was designed to go the longest axis of the system. The first contact took 4 nodes (5 hops),a response to it took only 3 nodes (4 hops) and the reply to that took only 2 nodes (3 hops)! This was over a distance of nearly 3 miles. Everyone was in the same position and this happened in about a minute. Thus, the exact number of nodes used on any connection can change, depending on how the radio waves act.
That said, in en emergency situation, what remains of a path like that depends on a number of issues. First is power. Our mesh is almost wholly solar powered and specifically designed to keep on working when the power is down. We had a big ice storm in '90 that put the power out for about 10 days. If you were here (in Central Illinois) quakes aren’t too big a problem unless the New Madrid breaks loose, but tornadoes can be an issue. So long as the relay case is upright and sunlight can hit the solar panel, they will stay up. Maybe one in ten could get covered by a falling tree, etc, but most would stay on the air to render assistance, as intended. What happens in your locale depend a lot on how creative people are in supplying power to the relay nodes you may rely on.