The 100-Million Mile Network

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Posted by michael on Tuesday February 10, 2004 @08:30AM from the long-ping-times dept.

mykepredko writes "eWeek has an article on the network and radio topography of the two Mars rovers and how they communicate with satellites in Mars' orbit as well as the Earth. The article ends by giving four rules for maintaining a space network, a) Automate processes, b) Bulletproof your gear, c) Be persistent and d) Simulate potential problems, which are probably good rules for any network."

36 of 160 comments (clear)

e.) ... by jwthompson2 · 2004-02-10 08:30 · Score: 4, Funny

NEVER! BUT NEVER! Install Windows unless you want openly relayed spam from space!

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1. Re:e.) ... by Anonymous Coward · 2004-02-10 10:43 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  anti-MS..... check...
  poor grammar..... check...
  first post...... check...
  
  oh heck it MUST be funny.
Rule Z: by Anonymous Coward · 2004-02-10 08:32 · Score: 5, Funny

Never have a public webpage that can be linked to from Slashdot.
1. Re:Rule Z: by Anonymous Coward · 2004-02-10 08:59 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  The latency is so bad, if you use port knocking and got the sequence wrong you'd be waiting days before you could try again!
Good tips by GlassUser · 2004-02-10 08:32 · Score: 5, Funny

b) Bulletproof your gear

I'd think micrometeorite-proofing my gear would be more useful.

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Yeah right by Deraj+DeZine · 2004-02-10 08:32 · Score: 5, Funny

I didn't RTFA, but it sounds like they're just running ethernet cables (or OC12 or whatever) to Mars. Didn't they stop to think that the planets move? Ridiculous! The ESA and NASA really need to get their acts together.

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1. Re:Yeah right by FooGoo · 2004-02-10 08:34 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  You've never heard of bungee earthernet? It's the new standard.
  
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  People who bite the hand that feeds them usually lick the boot that kicks them
2. Re:Yeah right by kisrael · 2004-02-10 08:40 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Could they make that space elevator on top of that? That would be useful, just don't get out on the floor expecting "ladies' lingerie" when its actually "hard, lung popping vacuum and solar radiation".
  
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They teach parenting too... by Beolach · 2004-02-10 08:33 · Score: 4, Funny

Replace 'spacecraft' with 'child'...

"The most difficult thing is to know how to talk to the spacecraft when you're getting no response from it," says Douglas J. Mudgway

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wow thanks by Brahmastra · 2004-02-10 08:33 · Score: 5, Funny

The article ends by giving four rules for maintaining a space network, a) Automate processes, b) Bulletproof your gear, c) Be persistent and d) Simulate potential problems, which are probably good rules for any network."
I'm going to try this out on my space network immediately
is that still considered WAN? by Munden · 2004-02-10 08:34 · Score: 5, Funny

MWAN - Multi-World Area Network i guess....
1. Re:is that still considered WAN? by dfn5 · 2004-02-10 09:11 · Score: 2, Funny
  
  Well, "Area" really only applies to the surface of the Earth, so more likely it would be the IPSN - Inter Planetary Spacial Network. But how usefull can this really be? I mean Instant Messaging would be impossible. It would have to be renamed to Huge Lag Messaging.
  
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b) Bulletproof your gear by DanThe1Man · 2004-02-10 08:34 · Score: 4, Funny

b) Bulletproof your gear

For what? Those pesky Martians?
1. Re:b) Bulletproof your gear by chiph · 2004-02-10 08:40 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  Haven't you heard?
  
  Martians in pickup trucks drive around the surface of the planet, shooting at any Earth landers they see.
  
  Where do you think we got the term "Redneck" from?
  
  Chip H.
That rules out Linksys by Anonymous Coward · 2004-02-10 08:35 · Score: 5, Funny

If only the Beagle 2 people had seen this article beforehand.
In summary... by mikeophile · 2004-02-10 08:35 · Score: 5, Funny

To enact all four rules at once, do the following.
Persistantly empty clip after clip of rounds from an automatic rifle at your prototype. If it survives, begin production.
This doesnt exlpain how.... by butane_bob2003 · 2004-02-10 08:38 · Score: 4, Funny

...Starfleet can communicate over extremely long distances with out an lag. Apparently, the lag is encountered occasionally when it is necessary to fill plot holes. But otherwise, not at all. The laws governing subspace communication elude me.

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They left one out. by blair1q · 2004-02-10 08:39 · Score: 3, Funny

e) submit your URL to /. and start up the benchmark server.
Makinig seem harder than it really is by slashname3 · 2004-02-10 08:39 · Score: 5, Funny

They are just perpetuating the myth that the rovers are really on mars. Everyone knows that it is all done in a Hollywood sound stage. The problem a few weeks ago with the the first rover was traced to someone using the mircowave oven and causing interference with their radios on the set. Anyone want another burrito heated up?
Doh by TechnologyX · 2004-02-10 08:40 · Score: 3, Funny

Here I thought they just had a reeeeeeally long cable.

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priorities... by chow_mein · 2004-02-10 08:40 · Score: 5, Funny

and I can't even get a cable/DSL modem yet!!! new slogan... Earth First, We'll Network the Other Planets Later
1. Re:priorities... by kc0re · 2004-02-10 08:44 · Score: 1, Funny
  
  Hows that "I live in the middle of Africa and my internet connection is over a single strand of copper" thing working for you?
Unless . . . by GoodNicsTken · 2004-02-10 08:43 · Score: 4, Funny

"The orbiter then uses its more-powerful antenna to send as many as one million bits of data per second back to Earth. While fairly fast for an attenuated radio connection, that's only about a tenth of the speed of a cable-modem connection for the average home-computer user." Unless they are using Commcast, such high bandwidth usage would violate the vauge acceptable use policy, putting the rover in the top 10% of Mars bandwidth users. Ah, maybe that's what happened. NASA ignored the first warning letter, and got cut off.
comparison to cable modem speed? by egomaniac · 2004-02-10 08:46 · Score: 2, Funny

The orbiter then uses its more-powerful antenna to send as many as one million bits of data per second back to Earth. While fairly fast for an attenuated radio connection, that's only about a tenth of the speed of a cable-modem connection for the average home-computer user.

Uhhh ... did I miss something? My DSL line peaks at 1.5Mb on a good day. Where can I get a ten-megabit cable modem? And "average home-computer users" have them? I thought average home-computer users were still using 56K modems.

Oh, I get it now. According to this calendar, it's 2008. Damn, that was a nice nap. Need to catch up on the last four years of news. Hope something horrible happened to Microsoft.

What? SCOSoft? Oh, shit.

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Just wait till spam starts to relay from Mars by gumbysworld · 2004-02-10 08:48 · Score: 4, Funny

Just wait till spam starts to relay from Mars

Them crafty spamers have spoofed every other network. Just wait till the IP trace routes through Mars.

Martian Viagra pills 25% off
Order now and save on shipping.
Re:Use OLD technology by GPLDAN · 2004-02-10 08:50 · Score: 2, Funny

Type UFH into Google. It says what I was going to say, right at the top.
Maybe it should just be 3 rules... by ryanvm · 2004-02-10 08:52 · Score: 5, Funny

c) Be persistent

Do they really need that in the handbook? What did they use to do when they had a problem?

Engineer 1: "Shit Fred, I can't ping it."
Engineer 2: "Oh well, cest la vie. You wanna grab a beer?"
.22's won't piece IBM XT's by DR+SoB · 2004-02-10 09:02 · Score: 5, Funny

Bulletproofing your gear is extremely important. The old IBM XT's were up for that, I took one camping once (just the case and CPU) and we set up it and took shot's at it with .22's. Only 1 shot pierced the 1/4 inch thick steel case, and the only actual damage done was a really noisy fan afterwards. Think martians have more firepower then .22's, though? d'oh!

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Re:Explanation by Chess_the_cat · 2004-02-10 09:06 · Score: 3, Funny

That's not maximum warp. I clearly remember Riker giving the order to go to Warp 13 in that episode when Picard was all old and shit and Geordi had his eyes fixed. I think it was called "The Ship That Couldn't Slow Down."

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Bulletproofing? by hesiod · 2004-02-10 09:07 · Score: 4, Funny

To hell with bulletproofing, that's only useful on Earth. If they make it ASTEROID-PROOF... now THAT would be impressive.
Re:Use OLD technology by dsci · 2004-02-10 09:10 · Score: 5, Funny

I use W2K as a platform.

I use what has worked reliably for years and years.

Isn't that a contradiction in terms?

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Channel 25? by Unnngh! · 2004-02-10 09:18 · Score: 5, Funny

The rover-to-orbiter link uses UHF radio-the same basic technology used for broadcasting channels 14 and higher to television sets in the United States
Clearly, Mars Channel 25 caused the original Spirit communication breakdown by interrupting it with an episode of Days of our red, dreary lives.
They missed a few... by Alsee · 2004-02-10 09:41 · Score: 2, Funny

Rules for maintining a space network:
a) Automate processes
b) Bulletproof your gear
c) Be persistent
d) Simulate potential problems
e) Don't crash into the damn planet
f) Don't confuse feet and meters
g) Don't "misplace" quarter-billion dollar probes
h) Don't let probes explode because you left out the fuel-check valve
i) Don't press the big red shiny button (Narf!)
j) ???
k) PROFIT!

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Re:Use OLD technology by Anonymous Coward · 2004-02-10 09:42 · Score: 1, Funny

UHF? Old technology (as opposed to "new whiz-bang technology"? Yeah.
So check it, I'm using OLD, super reliable technology... it's called "copper". Yeah, everyone seems to miss the fact that I'm using OLD technology, this copper stuff has been around FOREVER. Why golly jee, I'm using several twisted wires of this stuff inside a plastic sheath to transmit my slashdot posts over old reliable printed circuit boards into something that uses LIGHT, a REALLY old technology, to transmit my slashdot post over another PRINTED CIRCUIT BOARD (note: old technology) until it finally reaches the server!
Re:Use OLD technology by Eraser_ · 2004-02-10 10:02 · Score: 2, Funny

Don't forget, W2K is built in NT (New Technology).
Pringles cans by femtoguy · 2004-02-10 10:57 · Score: 2, Funny

Just think about how many cans of pringles those guys at NASA had to eat to get 100,000,000 miles out of their link.