[Commotion-discuss] for discussion- running local apps on Commotion networks

[Chris Ritzo]

Hello Commotion-Discuss subscribers:

A common question we receive is "What applications can I run on a
Commotion network? How do I set up xyz application?

For instance,
- How do we perform file sharing?
- How do we perform text, voice, or video chat sessions?
- How about mesh email, chat rooms, bulletin board systems, etc?
- What software currently exists to enable the non-technical person to
use a GUI to perform useful functions?

If you have experience or ideas about what applications are useful in
this situation, or are already running apps on a local Commotion
network, please join the discussion.

Part of what we're hoping to address is proving documentation on how to
set up and run network applications on a local mesh network, whether
it's connected to the Internet or not.

Running network applications on a local mesh is very similar to running
applications on the way Internet, and requires at a minimum a server
hosting the app, service, etc on the mesh. That service can be
advertised between Commotion mesh routers very easily so people
connecting to a mesh can find out about the application or service. So
the person(s) running the mesh can put together a server and advertise
the service (websites, chat server, database, etc) to network users. We
hope to have a basic guide in the near future on how to set up an
application server and connect it to a commotion mesh, however there is
no currently an out of the box easy setup solution.


-- 
Chris Ritzo
Senior Technologist - Open Technology Institute
New America Foundation