Re: [gaia] draft-irtf-gaia-alternative-network-deployments. Mitar review, question #5: Community Networks

["Jose Saldana" <[e-mail]>]

Hi,

> -----Mensaje original-----
> De: Mitar [mailto:[e-mail]]
> Enviado el: miércoles, 13 de abril de 2016 12:35
> Para: Jose Saldana <[e-mail]>
> CC: gaia <[e-mail]>
> Asunto: Re: [gaia] draft-irtf-gaia-alternative-network-deployments. Mitar review,
> question #5: Community Networks
> 
> Hi!
> 
> On Tue, Apr 12, 2016 at 7:38 AM, Jose Saldana <[e-mail]> wrote:
> >> "A Community Network is a network in which any participant in the
> >> system
> > may add
> >> link segments to the network in such a way that the new segments can
> > support
> >> multiple nodes and adopt the same overall characteristics as those of
> >> the
> > joined
> >> network, including the capacity to further extend the network.  Once
> >> these
> > link
> >> segments are joined to the network, there is no longer a meaningful
> > distinction
> >> between the previous and the new extent of the network."
> >>
> >> Isn't this definition of the Internet? Just replace "segment" with
> > "autonomous
> >> system" and "community network" with "Internet". :-)
> >
> > This is true. I have added "individuals".
> 
> I think another important difference is the control aspect. One can much easier add
> new device to the community network than one is to add it to the Internet BGP
> peering.

What about this?

   The fact of the users adding new infrastructure (i.e. extensibility)
   can be used to formulate another definition: A Community Network is a
   network in which any participant in the system may add link segments
   to the network in such a way that the new segments can support
   multiple nodes and adopt the same overall characteristics as those of
   the joined network, including the capacity to further extend the
   network.  Once these link segments are joined to the network, there
   is no longer a meaningful distinction between the previous and the
   new extent of the network.  The term "participant" refers to an
   individual, who may become user, provider and manager of the network
   at the same time.  The addition of a new link in a Community Network
   does not imply any modification of the BGP [RFC4271] peering of the
   Internet.

> 
> > This is the new version. Feel free to make some improvement suggestions:
> >
> > 5.1.  Community Networks
> >
> >    +--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
> >    | Commercial         | community                                    |
> >    | model/promoter     |                                              |
> >    +--------------------+----------------------------------------------+
> >    | Goals and          | reducing hurdles; to serve underserved       |
> >    | motivation         | areas; network neutrality                    |
> 
> We should expand this list with others we added to the overall "goals and motivation"
> dimension.

New version:

5.1.  Community Networks

   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+
   | Commercial            | community                                 |
   | model/promoter        |                                           |
   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+
   | Goals and motivation  | all the goals listed in Section 4.2 may   |
   |                       | be present                                |
   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+
   | Administration        | non-centralized                           |
   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+
   | Technologies          | Wi-Fi [IEEE.802-11-2012], optical fiber   |
   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+
   | Typical scenarios     | urban and rural                           |
   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+

           Table 1: Community Networks' characteristics summary
> 
> >    new extent of the network.  The term "participant" means an
> >    individual, who may become user, provider and manager of the network
> >    at the same time.
> 
> Hm, there can also be organizations and companies participating with nodes in the
> network. I like the addition, so explanation, that the participant is in multiple roles at
> the same time, not just user/consumer, but they are probably not necessary an
> individual.
> 
> >    infrastructure).  In Community Networks, everybody keeps the
> >    ownership of what he/she has contributed.
> 
> I would suggest the following wording:
> 
> In Community Networks, everybody keeps the ownership of what he/she has
> contributed, or contribute it to the network as a whole, commons, loosing track of
> the ownership of a particular equipment itself, in favor of the community
> stewardship of said equipment.
> 
What about this?

   In Community Networks, profit can only be made by offering services
   and not simply by supplying the infrastructure, because the
   infrastructure is neutral, free, and open (mainstream Internet
   Service Providers base their business on the control of the
   infrastructure).  In Community Networks, everybody usually keeps the
   ownership of what he/she has contributed, or leaves the stewardship
   of the equipment to network as a whole, commons, even loosing track
   of the ownership of a particular equipment itself, in favor of the
   community.

> 
> Mitar
> 
> --
> http://mitar.tnode.com/
> https://twitter.com/mitar_m

Thanks,

Jose
PS: This would be the whole subsection:

5.1.  Community Networks

   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+
   | Commercial            | community                                 |
   | model/promoter        |                                           |
   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+
   | Goals and motivation  | all the goals listed in Section 4.2 may   |
   |                       | be present                                |
   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+
   | Administration        | non-centralized                           |
   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+
   | Technologies          | Wi-Fi [IEEE.802-11-2012], optical fiber   |
   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+
   | Typical scenarios     | urban and rural                           |
   +-----------------------+-------------------------------------------+

           Table 1: Community Networks' characteristics summary

   Community Networks are non-centralized, self-managed networks sharing
   these characteristics:

   o  They start and grow organically, they are open to participation
      from everyone, sharing an open peering agreement.  Community
      members directly contribute active (not just passive) network
      infrastructure.  The network grows as new hosts and links are
      added.

   o  Knowledge about building and maintaining the network and ownership
      of the network itself is non-centralized and open.  Different
      degrees of centralization can be found in Community Networks.  In
      some of them, a shared platform (e.g. a web site) may exist where
      a minimum coordination is performed.  Community members with the
      right permissions have an obvious and direct form of
      organizational control over the overall organization of the
      network (e.g.  IP addresses, routing, etc.) in their community
      (not just their own participation in the network).

   o  The network can serve as a backhaul for providing a whole range of
      services and applications, from completely free to even commercial
      services.

   Hardware and software used in Community Networks can be very diverse,
   even inside one network.  A Community Network can have both wired and
   wireless links.  Multiple routing protocols or network topology
   management systems may coexist in the network.

   These networks grow organically, since they are formed by the
   aggregation of nodes belonging to different users.  A minimal
   governance infrastructure is required in order to coordinate IP
   addressing, routing, etc.  An example of this kind of Community
   Network is described in [Braem].  A technological analysis a
   community network is presented in [Vega_b], focused on technological
   network diversity, topology characteristics, evolution of the network
   over time, robustness and reliability, and networking service
   availability.

   These networks follow a participatory administration model, which has
   been shown effective in connecting geographically dispersed people,
   thus enhancing and extending digital Internet rights.

   The fact of the users adding new infrastructure (i.e. extensibility)
   can be used to formulate another definition: A Community Network is a
   network in which any participant in the system may add link segments
   to the network in such a way that the new segments can support
   multiple nodes and adopt the same overall characteristics as those of
   the joined network, including the capacity to further extend the
   network.  Once these link segments are joined to the network, there
   is no longer a meaningful distinction between the previous and the
   new extent of the network.  The term "participant" refers to an
   individual, who may become user, provider and manager of the network
   at the same time.  The addition of a new link in a Community Network
   does not imply any modification of the BGP [RFC4271] peering of the
   Internet.

   In Community Networks, profit can only be made by offering services
   and not simply by supplying the infrastructure, because the
   infrastructure is neutral, free, and open (mainstream Internet
   Service Providers base their business on the control of the
   infrastructure).  In Community Networks, everybody usually keeps the
   ownership of what he/she has contributed, or leaves the stewardship
   of the equipment to network as a whole, commons, even loosing track
   of the ownership of a particular equipment itself, in favor of the
   community.

   The majority of Community Networks comply with the definition of Free
   Network, included in Section 2.