This note does not have a description yet. Links to this note Ideas for NNCP Projects I sometimes see people read about NNCP and wonder “This sounds great! But… what can I do with it?” This page aims to answer those questions.| www.complete.org
Asynchronous communication is communication between two endpoints that doesn’t have to happen in real time or near-real-time. Compared to synchronous communication, asynchronous communication lets you trade latency for reliability. Asynchronous communication is closely related to the concept of store-and-forward networking and delay/disruption-tolerant networking. In fact, most asynchronous implementations are also store-and-forward and delay-tolerant, so these terms are often used intercha...| www.complete.org
Debian GNU/Linux is one of the oldest Linux distributions around. Some things that make it somewhat unique: Debian supports many architectures. Of course, the big names such as x86 and ARM (32- and 64-bit for both), but also lesser-known ones. Debian is completely self-organizing by volunteer developers. There is no corporate ownership. The organization that holds its assets, Software in the Public Interest, is also volunteer-controlled. Debian has a strong social contract which emphasizes th...| www.complete.org
Email is one of the most common examples of Asynchronous Communication people are familiar with today. It is a store-and-forward approach which is tolerant of temporary disruptions to services and supports multiple hops. Email is also a distributed system, supporting many different servers and providers. However, market forces have caused Google and Microsoft to have an outsized influence on email, and their algorithms and policies make it increasingly difficult for independent mail servers t...| www.complete.org
This page describes the basic installation and configuration of NNCP. If you aren’t already familiar with how NNCP works, I highly recommend you start with NNCP Concepts. This is a companion to, and often a parallel of, the Workflow section of the NNCP manual. Installation Main documentation: NNCP Manual: Installation Section. On that page, you can find links to packages for various operating systems. Building from source Alternatively, if you need to build it yourself, you can download a s...| www.complete.org
A network in which the nodes typically discover each other and the routes between each other automatically. Examples of mesh networks include Yggdrasil, Meshtastic, and Syncthing. A basic description of mesh networking is at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking Some of my articles about mesh networking include: Easily Accessing All Your Stuff with a Zero-Trust Mesh VPN, which discusses different types of meshes as VPNs. Using Yggdrasil As an Automatic Mesh Fabric to Connect All Your ...| www.complete.org
“Airgap” refers to a computer (or network) that is physically disconnected from a larger network and the Internet. This word originated in the pre-wifi days, when there was literally air between machines; that is, no connecting communication cables. Nowadays, it also refers to a lack of radio (wifi or otherwise) communication. That is, it is complete physical isolation. Airgapped systems are often desirable in situations where Computer Security is important. For instance:| www.complete.org
I loaded up this title with buzzwords. The basic idea is that IM systems shouldn’t have to only use the Internet. Why not let them be carried across LoRa radios, USB sticks, local Wifi networks, and yes, the Internet? I’ll first discuss how, and then why. How do set it up I’ve talked about most of the pieces here already: Delta Chat, which is an IM app that uses mail servers (SMTP and IMAP) as transport, and OpenPGP encryption for security.| www.complete.org
Keeping your (digital) bits secure. See also Airgap, Encrypted. My page Consider Security First discusses the importance of security in an operating system. (this page is a stub and will be improved) Links to this note Airgap “Airgap” refers to a computer (or network) that is physically disconnected from a larger network and the Internet. Ideas for NNCP Projects I sometimes see people read about NNCP and wonder “This sounds great!| www.complete.org
Keeping your data safe in the event of a disaster or compromise is important. That’s why we back up. Here is some information on backups: Backing up every few minutes with simplesnap on ZFS For hosting backups offsite, my 2021 Roundup of Unique Data/Storage Hosting Options can be useful. How and Why to use Airgapped Backups (see also Airgap) Links to this note Dar dar is a Backup and archiving tool.| www.complete.org
“OK,” you’re probably thinking. “John, you talk a lot about things like Gopher and personal radios, and now you want to talk about building a reliable network out of… USB drives?” Well, yes. In fact, I’ve already done it. What is sneakernet? Normally, “sneakernet” is a sort of tongue-in-cheek reference to using disconnected storage to transport data or messages. By “disconnect storage” I mean anything like CD-ROMs, hard drives, SD cards, USB drives, and so forth.| www.complete.org