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1997-02-01
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PACKET INFORMATION BULLETIN - #1
DETERMINING NODE ROUTE QUALITY
As I monitor the activity on the local packet frequencies, I see users
attempting to connect to nodes that aren't accessible, or to distant
nodes via a poor path when a good path is available. This wastes the
user's time and adds unnecessary congestion to the network.
In this first bulletin of my new "Packet Information" series let's look
at a feature offered by the nodes and packet switches that gives you a
simple way to find out if a node is accessible and, if it is, the best
route to use to reach it.
After you connect to your local NET/ROM node, TheNet node or G8BPQ packet
switch, it's easy to make a quick check of the route quality to any other
node or switch. All you need to do is enter N followed by either the
alias or callsign of the node or switch that you want to reach, such as:
N FRESNO or N W6ZFN-2
You'll receive a report showing up to three routes to the node you asked
about, how good these routes are and how up to date the information is.
If there is no information available, you will receive either "Not found"
or the complete node list, depending on the type of node or switch you're
using.
Let's take a look at a typical report you would receive after entering
N FRESNO. If you were connected to a NET/ROM or TheNet node the report
would look like this:
SFW:W6PW-1} Routes to: FRESNO:W6ZFN-2
105 6 0 WB9LOZ-2
78 6 0 WW6L-1
61 5 0 WA8DRZ-7
If you were connected to a G8BPQ packet switch you would see one less
column in the report and it would look like this:
SF:WB9LOZ-2} Routes to: FRESNO:W6ZFN-2
> 126 6 W6PW-10
61 3 WW6L-1
60 4 W6PW-1
Each line shown is a route to the node or switch you asked about.
The symbol > indicates a route that's in use.
The first number is the QUALITY of the route. 255 is the best possible
quality and means a direct connect via hard wire to a coexisting node
at the same site; zero is the worst, and means that the route is locked
out. 192 is about the best over the air quality you'll find, and it
usually means that the node is only one hop away. If you see a quality
of less than 80, you'll probably have a difficult time getting any
information through via that route.
The second number is the obsolescence count. This number is a 6 when
the information for this route is less than an hour old. For each
hour that an update on the route is not received, this number is
decreased by one. A 5 means the information is an hour old, a 4 means
that it's two hours old, and so on.
The next number, shown only on NET/ROM and TheNet nodes, indicates the
type of port. A 0 is an HDLC port; a 1 is an RS-232 port. You don't
need to pay any attention to this figure.
The callsign is that of the neighboring node or packet switch that's
next in line on the route. Digipeaters are shown if any are used to
reach this neighboring node.
This quick check on a node or switch that you want to reach can save
you a lot of time. You'll know immediately whether or not the node is
available, and if it is, how good the available routes are to it. You
then won't have to spend time trying to connect to a node that isn't
available or is of poor quality.
If you find that there's a decent route to the node or switch you want
to reach, it's normally best to let the network make the connection
for you. Simply enter a connect to the alias or callsign you want
rather than connecting to each individual node along the route yourself.
If a route exists but the quality is not very good, you might want to
connect to the neighboring node shown for the best route, then do
another quality check, repeating this procedure until you find a route
with decent quality. You can actually get through to some distant
nodes using this method if you have the time and patience to work on it.
de Larry Kenney, WB9LOZ @ W6PW.#NOCAL.CA.USA.NA
NCPA Education Coordinator