Network2/Scenarios

Prerequisite concepts: scenario, network, medium, link, bridge, router, tunnel, internetwork

We want to offer maximally efficient and robust support for our ideal network scenarios (nos. 1 and 9, denoted with bold text, below) while offering seamless support for optional network enhancements like fancy links, routers, tunnel endpoints, and transit agreements that may be provided by the surrounding ecosystem of deployment organizations, universities, individuals, and commercial entities.

Network Scenarios:

1. access to at least one shared-media link, like an 802.3 hub or the 2.4 GHz radio band
2. a more efficient link, like an 802.3 switch or an 802.11 access point
3. a bridge, like an XS or a good access point, between two or more otherwise separate single-link networks
4. a local router, like an XS, routing between two or more otherwise separate (but potentially complicated) local networks
5. a restrictive local router which provides some IPv4 connectivity but which drops IPv6 traffic
6. credentials for some sort of dedicated local tunnel endpoint (like a SOCKS proxy or an HTTP proxy)
7. a remote router offering us some sort of access to a larger internetwork, typically via (perhaps restricted) IPv4
8. credentials for some sort of dedicated remote tunnel endpoint (like an SSL or IPsec VPN or a 6to4 tunnel, etc.)
9. a remote router offering great access to a larger internetwork, like the IPv4 or IPv6 Internet