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Multiple Active PANs, ... double the paranoia

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Fortune

Aug 9 2007, 10:07 AM

Post #1

Immoral Elf

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So, this topic came up in another Thread, but we were kicked out, so I'll summarize it here to start things off. (non-quoted sections are responses from yours truly)

QUOTE (Doctor Funkenstein)

I'd love it if you could have multiple networks going and be able to shut one down that's under attack while maintaining your others.

I don't see why you can't do this (characters set up a phony PAN all the time and keep their real one Hidden), but they couldn't share any devices whatsoever (Image Link, Ear buds, etc) and still be secure.

QUOTE (Doctor Funkenstein)

Oh, it'd be great if you could separate them completely. I just don't see how you can and still have interoperability (ie, with you being the "device" that connects everything together).

Now having a cheap commlink on you that's turned on but with which you're not personally networked to (ie, it's doing what it needs to do and you're checking up on it the old fashioned way; through the standard non-DNI interface), that's fine and that's what most people seem to be doing when they have one. Well, while simultaneously having their PAN completely skinlinked with wireless connectivity turned off, that is.

Well, I'm assuming that you could run one PAN either totally internally though cyber or through a datajack/skinlink combo with an external commlink, and another wirelessly through separate accessories utilizing a separate 'trode net.

You might not be able to access them both at the exact same instant, but I don't see any reason why they couldn't both be operational.

QUOTE (Doctor Funkenstein)

Well yeah, that's the thing. The moment you do connect to them at the same time, game over; it's all one network. You can have wireless devices that aren't connected to your PAN, but that means you can't operate them through that PAN either. You have to either rely on old fashioned controls and interfaces or hook it up to your PAN and use your standard DNI controls. You still only ever have one PAN; you're just connecting and disconnecting devices as you see fit.

Maybe I'm not explaining what I am picturing quite right.

I see it as two seperate networks. The only thing they would have in common is your brain, one connected via datajack (or internal commlink) and another connected via either a 'trode net or datajack (if an Internal commlink was used in the first option).

Come to think of it, I see no reason why you couldn't set up two distinct networks utilizing two separate datajacks. As above, the only thing they have in common as far as networking is your actual gray matter, which in my opinion can't be hacked to 'make a connection'.

I could foresee concentration or cognition problems if you try to actually access and process data from both networks at the same time (good time for the Attention Coprocessor?), but otherwise the networks should run simultaneously and distinctly separate from each other.

Am I wrong? If so, where?

Posts in this topic

Fortune Multiple Active PANs Aug 9 2007, 10:07 AM

Doctor Funkenstein Maybe I'm having trouble with the definition o... Aug 9 2007, 10:20 AM

Fortune I think the problem may be that you are picturing ... Aug 9 2007, 10:55 AM

Doctor Funkenstein If it's just the commlink, someone couldn... Aug 9 2007, 11:12 AM

Fuchs The way I see it, the body is just the means to tr... Aug 9 2007, 11:15 AM

Blade To make things clearer: a PAN is a Personal Area N... Aug 9 2007, 12:26 PM

The Jopp The PAN is simply a Commlink+Subscribed Devices, i... Aug 9 2007, 12:48 PM

Wasabi The persona can, however, be in multiple PANs at t... Aug 9 2007, 12:55 PM

The Jopp QUOTE (Wasabi) The persona can, however, be in mul... Aug 9 2007, 01:20 PM

Aristotle What kills me is that everything here makes perfec... Aug 9 2007, 02:12 PM

deek Aristotle, the confusion is understandable. You ... Aug 9 2007, 03:04 PM

otakusensei As a GM I like rating as abstraction. As a player... Aug 9 2007, 03:57 PM

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