TCP/IP over Bongo Drums 215

link [dilbert.com]

It's called a drum circle.

it's already slashdotted.

All I could get I'm afraid...

At Algoma University the mature students in the fast track accelerated second degree program are not quick to accept theory without proof. As a result, Professor George Townsend offered extra credit to anyone in his forth year Computer Networks course who could take up the challenge of implementing internet based protocols over a new form of medium - Bongo Drums.

Eight weeks later, the first public demonstration was given to the class by using a simple ping packet. With a blinding 2bps speed, the class sat patiently as the packet was received in roughly 140 seconds.

Whats the point you may ask? We aren't trying to set any speed records here (actually, we have been developing some ideas for "highspeed" bongos), but rather we're showing that the lower layers of the OSI model can be replaced with any form of media without affecting the layers above it.

Look at those bongos fly! - classmate

Due to a busy semester and a Microcoded M6800 Emulator project, work on the final phase of the project has slowed. The design plans for the actual bongo hook up have been completed, and now only a few more hours are required for total completion. The demonstrations that have been conducted have used synthesized bongo beats played through desktop speakers. Due to summer work, time has ran out and the final implementation will have to wait until september.

Their net connection must be using TCP/IP over bongo drums; it's already slashdotted. :P

One improvised drum solo and you take down the whole LAN...

is a Token Ringo....

I bet that would make a fine fortune cookie. "Linux, the ability to communicate even with bongo drums"

OK, but what is the RFC for this physical layer?

Is anybody working on a bridge between TCP over bongos and TCP over avian carriers?

Which has the greater bandwidth?

Can you imagine drumming your way through a slashdotting?

First thing that came into my mind: Richard Feynman [miami.edu]

With two drums one could do binary transmission quite easily. When adding time-based stuff even more complex patterns could be achieved.

From the article: Whats the point you may ask? We aren't trying to set any speed records here (actually, we have been developing some ideas for "highspeed" bongos), but rather we're showing that the lower layers of the OSI model can be replaced with any form of media without affecting the layers above it.

Now I wonder... when will someone actually do TCP/IP over smoke signals?

Apart from obvious decoding and wind issues, it should work just as well!

This will go great with my "file sharing over trumpets" project. Together they could be called "Samba"

[ducks]

I went ahead and put up a mirror [kirknet.net] of this poor Slashdotted site. I'm not sure if I've got it all but it looks nicer than just the text people have posted. Hopefully my machine's up to the task. :-)

The following non-technical story has appeared in school magazines and many other news sources from around the world.

Modern and Centuries Old Technologies Meet at AUC

Daniel Reid, senior computer science student at Algoma University finished explaining his project to a room full of his peers. The room fell silent as everyone waited in eager anticipation of the demonstration that was about to begin. Danny sat down in front of an ordinary windows computer and typed a simple command, ping www.sony.co.jp This command sends a test message to the specified computer, namely a webserver on the other side of the planet in Japan.

Ah yes the humble ping test, used to test for connectivity between your computer and another. But this was no ordinary test. It would couple together one of the most primitive centuries old technologies known to man together with the one of the fastest fiber-optic backbones in the Internet.

It all began several months earlier when Professor George Townsend was lecturing to a group of computer science students taking his fourth year Computer Networks course. The topic of the day was the OSI networking model, which describes a layered method of combining different types of technologies together to form functional networking systems. During the lecture, Professor Townsend made the claim that the design of the model permits different types of technologies to be transparently connected together. He suddenly stopped in mid lecture, and stared off into space stroking his beard thoughtfully. After a short moment of silent thought, he suggested to the class, that in theory, this should permit us to use any technology we like to connect a computer to the Internet without compromising its ability to participate in the Internet. Furthermore, he exclaimed, his voice rising in excitement, we could use a set of bongo drums to communicate as our technology of choice!

This was a dangerous claim to make at Algoma University where a unique blend of students exist as a result of the very successful Second Degree Accelerated programs it offers in Computer Science and Information Technology. These fast-track programs allow completion of an accredited university degree for people that already have a university degree in another discipline in only one calendar year. The program attracts many mature students who often bring a great deal of real world experience with them. So, of course, it was not surprising that there were many who doubted professor Townsend's words. We demand proof, they shouted!

The next morning, Professor Townsend sent out a challenge to the students in the course offering bonus marks to the first student to volunteer to attempt to connect a standard windows PC to the internet using a system of bongo drums. Danny eagerly took up the challenge. Now, several weeks later, under the guidance and direction of Professor Townsend, Danny had a working prototype.

After typing the ping command, Danny tapped smartly on the enter key, and a hush fell upon the room as the students waited to see what would happen. There was a short pause, and then suddenly the primitive sounds of a message being beaten out on a set of bongos filled the air. Several minutes passed, and yet the class remained quiet not wanting to disturb the communication. Having passed through the bongo-link and out onto the Internet, the ping message then raced to its destination in Japan.

Sony's web server in Japan was none the wiser concerning the source of the communication, and obediently responded to the ping request. The silence was broken by another set of bongos at the opposite side of the classroom as they began relaying their response back to Danny's computer. Several more minutes passed, and the class remained attentive, spellbound by what they were witnessing. Finally, the bongos stopped, and suddenly the successful ping response appeared on the screen of Dannys computer.

The classroom filled with cheers! History had been made! For the very first time, a computer had successfully communicated over the Internet using Bongo drums!

...does that make Neil Peart a webserver?

I actually implemented TCP/IP using a morse code connection many years ago. The morse code was generated, transmitted, captured and decyphered automatically -- and it ran quite swifty (swiftly here being a *very* relative term). You could actually listen into the transmision with a loudspeaker -- it souded quite suprisingly different from a analog modem "squeal" just prior to connection. Must see if I can did out the design and implementation notes and sling them online. (Also considered TCP/IP over wet string using tin-cans as the Tx and Rx devices. Came up with some quite entertaining math -- but it never got past the "let's have another beer" stage.....)

The article talks about the potential for increasing the speed of the system. One obvious way to do it is to upgrade from bongos to Irish bodhrans.

Some time you _do_ need to hear Dierdre McCarthy playing Wipeout on bodhran....

For whatever reason, Slashdot stripped the trailing / on the link of a mirror I posted, so people aren't getting the site. Please try this link [kirknet.net] instead.

PS, for whoever modded my other link as a Troll...I wasn't trying to be mean when I said the mirror looked better than posts of the text, I just meant it had the graphics too.

Wouldn't you suppose that they would measure bandwidth by the type of music played? Like...

Dude, my reggae connection is sooooo slow! I can't wait until the telco rolls out the grunge-death-metal next month!

I often teach computer classes where I talk about how flexible the TCP/IP protocol is. I would say that you could make TCP/IP run over smoke signals if you wanted.

Looks like now I can use Bongo Drums and show them the article. This is great...

I graduated in the spring with Dan. I was in that class and the demonstration was pretty nifty( if somewhat lost on some of the less enthusiastic students). Dan is a smart kid and professor Townsend was one of the cooler more accesible profs in computer science. I talked with dan over a year ago about submitting this to Slashdot, so it's very cool to see.
Kudos to Dan, and i imagine Tack was very unpleased with the sudden increase in traffic :) It is somehow gratifying to see your former school get Slashdotted.