= Network Configurations =

There are several ways that people might want to use Tahoe.  We're not necessarily committed to satisfying all of these use cases -- these are just possibilities.

As these network configurations develop, the ''node roles'' section develops in complement.

||__name__||__number of nodes__||__administrative domains__||__node capacity__||__node availability__||__churn__||
||''friendnet''||2-10||many domains, but all trusted||mixed||mixed||low||
||''proprietary grid -- 1x upload''||2-30||one domain||uniform||high||low||
||''proprietary grid -- p2p upload''||2-30 servers, up to 50,000 clients||one domain for servers, many for clients||uniform||high||low||
||''hivecache''||10-1000||one domain, but not as well controlled||somewhat uniform||high||low||
||''Allmydata plus customers''||10-10,000||many||mixed||mixed||medium||
||''global grid''||any||many||mixed||mixed||high||

 * ''friendnet'': A group of friends want to share backup and files.
 * ''proprietary grid -- 1x upload'': A sysadmin, or Allmydata Inc. wants to backup data onto a set of servers.  The data is uploaded to the servers over a streaming protocol such as HTTP (using the Web API).
 * ''proprietary grid -- p2p upload'': A sysadmin, or Allmydata Inc. wants to backup data onto a set of servers.  The data is uploaded to the servers over the Tahoe distributed upload protocol.
 * ''hivecache'': A sysadmin wants to backup data onto hundreds of employee workstations.
 * ''Allmydata plus customers'': Allmydata, Inc. and its customers share a storage grid including the customer's computers.
 * ''global grid'': A large, diverse ecosystem of people and organizations who want a storage grid with extremely high reliability and availability.


= Node Roles =

Network configurations can usually be thought of in terms of a topology connecting particular ''node roles''.  These roles often fulfill the same abstraction across network configurations.  By allowing specialized role configurations, a plethora of custom network configurations can be deployed without modifying the code.

Here are some archetypal roles:

 * The ''Available Migrator'' consumes storage from a changing address.
   * '''Migration Pattern Availability''' - Availability is high, but address changes are frequent.
   * Examples: Laptops, mobile devices, poor DHCP configurations.
   * Should this role supply storage?  If so, how does it affect average file availability?  -reliability?

 * The ''Ephemeral Consumer'' consumes storage, but lacks availability.
   * '''Poor availability''' - Availability is low, such as a node that is only up when consuming storage service.
   * Examples: Backup service customer.
   * Hints:
     * Set ''size limit'' config option to 0.  (Is this a kludge currently?  -Nejucomo)

 * A ''Grid Storage Servant'' provides storage but does not consume it.
   * '''High Availability''' - An individual file's availability is largely dependent on average storage availability.
   * '''Remote Control''' - Typically a provider configures many nodes through a centralized manner for convenience.
   * '''Non Consumer''' - Specialized storage providers do not consume storage services.
 
 * A ''Grid Manager'' does not provide storage services but controls storage servents.


= Deployment =

== The Test Grid ==

...  Put your experience with particular configurations here ...