The Packet Radio
“
2 N 1
”
Handbook
by
Buck Rogers
K4ABT
Section 1
;
Packet Radio “The Basics
”
Section 2
;
The X1J4 System Node Operator’s (SNO) Handbook
Section II
;
TheNET X1J4 System Node Operators Handbook
__ Page 34
For each node in the destination list, the routing table up to three routes to that destination node. In this context, a route
simply identifies a neighboring node that is a step closer to the ultimate destination. For each route, the destination list
maintains a "radio port" quality value in the range 192 (best) to 0 (worst).
Routes are maintained in sorted order by quality, and TheNET
X1
always attempts to use the highest-quality route
available. It also keeps an obsolescence count , which enables TheNET
X1
to purge paths from its routing table when it has
become unusable and remained so for a protracted period of time.
If you are the sysop or network manager, you may observe a more complete routing list with in the
X1
node by entering the
sysop command level and sending an "N * *" to the node. The node will return a complete list of all the nodes contained in
the NODES LIST. This list will be displayed in ascending order with up to three nodes to the right of each node showing
the routes and routing order to the neighbor nodes and their neighbor nodes. A user may obtain the route(s) to a single
node by sending the node a single-node path request using the following format:
N<space>[
nodename
] <Enter>
For instance if the user were connected to a node at Martinsville, Virginia, and wants to know what path the Martinsville
node (MVA) uses to reach the Salisbury, North Carolina (SNC) node, the entry to node MVA would be:
N SNC
Since each node keeps track of many other nodes and the available routes to those nodes, it is important that this routing
information be kept up-to-date to reflect the current state of the network. TheNET
X1
supports three methods of updating
its routing table: local, remote, and automatic.
