Prior Implementation: http://shysecurity.com/posts/PingFS
Pingfs – a filesystem where the data is stored only ICMP Echo packets
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Re: Pingfs – a filesystem where the data is stored only ICMP Echo packets
#12In principle, one could store BxL/v in a cable of length L, where B is the bandwidth and v is the propagation speed of the signal.
Re: Pingfs – a filesystem where the data is stored only ICMP Echo packets
#13This is crazy cool. Nevertheless, if everyone used it, we would saturate whatever network we are using and I am curious what it would do to traffic costs since you are basically bouncing around a whole bunch of data back and forth. Sounds expensive.
Still crazy cool.
Re: Pingfs – a filesystem where the data is stored only ICMP Echo packets
#14In principle, one could store BxL/v in a cable of length L, where B is the bandwidth and v is the propagation speed of the signal.
Delay lines built on this principle were used in some old analog color TVs, for purposes of color correction: color info for a line was compared to the previous line, and differences were smoothed out. This resulted in less color resolution on the vertical, but also greatly reduced color noise and error.
The signal in the line was ultrasonic sound waves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay_line_memory#Piezoelectri...
Re: Pingfs – a filesystem where the data is stored only ICMP Echo packets
#15Can someone please explain what this does? I've read the readme, glanced through the code, and still have no idea.
ICMP Echo packets or Ping packets send data to a (given) server which then replies with the exact packet (data) in return. In essence this program bounces your data back and fourth between a (given) server and your computer instead of storing it on a drive or on someone else's drive it. So your data is living on the internet, in the internet's delay between you and the remote server. This can be unsafe data storage if the link between you and the remote server ever dropped.
Re: Pingfs – a filesystem where the data is stored only ICMP Echo packets
#16Can someone please explain what this does? I've read the readme, glanced through the code, and still have no idea.
ping packets (ICMP) can have any data you want as a payload (1,500 bytes or so). This is a joke filesystem that lets you store data by putting it in ping packets and sending them to other systems. To read the data, you just wait for the ping response to come back. Then, you send it again immediately so that you don't have to store it locally.
The amount of data you can store is a factor of the amount of bandwidth you have and the amount of latency available, where the more latency is better. Hypothetically, on a 10 gigabit connection with a 1 second ping time, you'd be able to store 1,250 megabytes. Of course that doesn't factor in packet loss, and finding something that's one second away that also can saturate a 10 gigabit connection is unlikely.
Re: Pingfs – a filesystem where the data is stored only ICMP Echo packets
#17If we had space probes with ICMP support, you could use this to store data in the interplanetary æther.
You don't need ICMP for that, or even an active space probe. Just encode your data in laser pulses and bounce it off one of the retroreflectors we've put out there. There are at least three on the moon, or the LAGEOS satellites (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LAGEOS) would work.
Re: Pingfs – a filesystem where the data is stored only ICMP Echo packets
#18Prior Implementation: http://shysecurity.com/posts/PingFS
Discussed at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6203442.
Re: Pingfs – a filesystem where the data is stored only ICMP Echo packets
#19Some radio HAMs have done this with packet radio and EME transmissions so the idea isn't new but this is really neat and likely much higher capacity.
Very slow refresh DRAM, next up, Mercury? (the planet or the metal, take your pick) ;)
Re: Pingfs – a filesystem where the data is stored only ICMP Echo packets
#20In principle, one could store BxL/v in a cable of length L, where B is the bandwidth and v is the propagation speed of the signal.
Delay lines built on this principle were used in some old analog color TVs, for purposes of color correction: color info for a line was compared to the previous line, and differences were smoothed out. This resulted in less color resolution on the vertical, but also greatly reduced color noise and error. The signal in the line was ultrasonic sound waves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delay_line_memory#Piezoelectri...
Yep, you can gang them for really nice guitar phasing effects...