I'm sorry, but this needs a comment.
On Aug 20, 2008, at 5:46 PM, Eris Discordia wrote:
As Pietro demonstrated, no interface configuration is necessary here.
Only because the concept is hidden in Plan 9, though I don't know
how. _Someone_ or _something_ has to decide whether to route your
packets through, say, a ppp interface or an eth interface--when both
interfaces are present--and to do that according to configuration.
That won't happen on its own.
The program does so. What happens is the program sets up a 9P server
that runs in the background as a background process. It takes care of
everything. The user never needs to actually say "my cell phone is
interfacing off a proprietary network" because the program will take
care of that. ftpfs, for instance, doesn't ask the user for port
number, ASCII/Binary mode, etc. More elaborate FTP programs do, and I
don't know why.
When P. G. suggested an imaginary "motorola" file server he never
said how the file server is supposed to access the cellular network.
If it's going to happen by tunnelling through another protocol, e.g.
IP, then the question remains of _which_ interface to choose from.
And if it's going to happen over some special protocol then it must
occupy a place on the network stack over some _configured_ network
interface.
Like I just said, the program does all of that. Take a look at srv,
which can connect to both local and remote servers.
On a different note, what purpose did his "-M 'RAZR V3' 555 555
5555" switches serve? Don't they qualify as interface configuration?
No. -M 'RAZR V3' simply says the model of the phone. It does not say
over what protocol, serial number, or connection type. And 555 555
5555 is a phone number that is required for obvious reasons.
