Equal Device Network
Equal Device Network (EDN) is a proposal that describes how to interconnect devices in a unified networking model.
Purpose of EDN
- Simplify the computer peripherals' physical cabling.
- Flex devices interconnections by application protocols.
- Make all devices smarter to do more possible applications and functionality.
EDN concept
- Unified wired interface: Light Peak (replace RJ45, RJ11, PS/2, USB, 1394, ATA, SATA, SCSI, VGA, DVI, HDMI, etc.)
- Unified wireless interface: Wi-Fi (replace IR, bluetooth, etc.)
- The network can be wired, wireless or hybrid.
- Switches and routers are optional in the network.
- DHCP server is optional in the network.
- All device nodes can communicate directly with each other even there is no switch in the middle.
- The network is dynamic, with any node can be hot plugged in or plugged off.
- All device nodes are equal. (Compare to master and slave model).
EDN node implementation
- All device nodes shall implement application protocol(s) over IP layer
EDN monitor
- A visual monitor (as a node itself in a specific EDN) lists all device nodes in the EDN.
- With help of another node, such as a keyboard, it can monitor, assign, configure, or command each device node.
- It's useful especially for those devices which don't have displays themselves, such as keyboard, mouse, hard drive, etc.
EDN node addressing
- DHCP: When a device is power up, it obtains an IP address in the existing network.
- If DHCP fails, the device assign itself an IP address uniquely in the network.
EDN Session
- First, in P2P mode, two device nodes on the network shall establish transmit/receive relation; in broadcast model, establishment is optional.
- Second, two device nodes communicate with each other on a specific application protocol over IP layer.
- Third, session is ended when necessarily.
EDN sample applications
- On a network consists multiple computers, keyboards, mice, hard drives, monitors, phones, earphones, remote controls, TVs, cameras, card readers, etc.
- Because all nodes are equal, a keyboard can choose which computer shall the signals be sent to. Same as mice. Of course, a computer itself can choose which keyboards, mice, hard drives, monitors to communicate with.
- A computer can use a phone as an internet gateway or vice-versa.
- A keyboard can serve both a computer and a smartphone, which means the computer and the phone share this keyboard like it's connected with a KVM.
- A TV in kitchen can choose video source from a DVD player, cable TV or computer.
Two-node only EDN
- This kind of EDN is safe because it's isolated.
- For example, if an EDN consists only a computer and hard drive with a Light Peak cable.