[ax25-layer2] Still lost

[pete at ae5pl.net]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: James Ewen
> Sent: Saturday, October 01, 2005 9:45 AM
> To: Discussion of Link Layer use of AX.25
> Subject: Re: [ax25-layer2] Still lost
> 
> My point all along has been that without that copper and 
> fiber, layer 3 does not work.

???

There are literally millions of non-copper and non-fiber layer 1
networks out there which support layer 2 protocols that layer 3
protocols are running over.  What about 802.11?  What about WiMax?  What
about IP over AX.25?  Layer 3 does not have anything to do with the
media that is being used to interconnect layer 3 devices.  That is one
of the primary reasons we look at networks in the layered view: so each
layer can perform independently of the layers below and above.

What we have tended to do in the past with AX.25 is make it the physical
layer, application layer, and the network layer in addition to the link
layer.  Unfortunately, it doesn't have the necessary architecture to be
all those layers in one.  Also, by trying to wrap all those layers into
one, we have prevented its use as a generic layer 2 protocol.  What we
are trying to do here is create a generic layer 2 implementation that
can be used by other layers per the OSI model so that we can use are
current hardware and new hardware to support multiple networks over
local RF networks.

73,

Pete Loveall AE5PL