TheDaddy said:Hey guys,
We've been working hard on the DS here - after our initial fortune with tunneling Metroid
I thought I would spend a few minutes bringing you all up to speed an exactly where we are, where we're going, and when you can expect to get your hands on something to play with.
Before I begin, i *must stress* then although I'll be discussing certain hardware in detail here, this is all entirely subject to change - and (I know you're sick of hearing this) - but DONT BUY ANYTHING YET
OK. First we must ask ourselves, what are Kai's objectives as concerns the DS? Well, XLink Kai is an ethernet frame tunnel - it is highly optimised and very configurable. We are able to, from a centralised list, configure specific routing parameters for each of Kai's arenas. This enabled us to make Halo 2, amonst other games with "weird" networking work properly online. The kaiEngine module is mature, and good quality, officially produced cross platform ports are progressing very nicely.
However, while the DS, once "in game", uses simple ethernet frames, the handshaking procedure - the BSS exchange, etc., is not something which we can easily "see" using any of our existing packet sniffing technology. Hence, we needed to discover a way to capture these handshake packets, and somehow translate them into something which the kaiEngine can both tunnel, and more importantly, optimise.
At present, 3 seperate threads of development are in progress. I will describe them all in detail:
1.) The Linksys WRT54G. We've already done a hell of a lot of work with this badboy, and the successfull tunnel attempt was performed using code running on this beast. At some point in the very near future, we will be unveiling our initial firmware for this device - it will encapsulate kaid (the cross-platform, super clean kaiEngine implementation). Don't believe me? Check this out http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/firm.pdf ) This code is working RIGHT NOW - and will be released soon. However, it doesnt support the DS... yet.. My plan for this extra step is as follows.. Because we want to provide DS engine support, at the engine level, on all platforms, we are producing a piece of "bridge" software for the WRT. This code will capture the BSS/Handshake data, wrap it in UDP, and feed it to a kaiEngine - either on the device itself, or anywhere else on the network - win32 for example. The protocol specifics will become part of the official engine spec for Kai components - and support will be universal. An example of the topology can be found here http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/temp/ds_plan.jpg (I write this a few weeks back - ignore specifics like port numbers for now).
This code will, in compliance with my previously stated intention regarding open source, NOT be release under the GPL - it will be completely free BSD Licensed software. I am aware of the progress made by other groups, who don't focus on tunnelling - hopefully they will be able to take advantage of this standalone "relay" component running on the KaiStation.
2.) Platforms with hardware which can support BSS capture: I'm aware that certain combinations of platform/hardware (atheros in linux, airport on OSX, etc) is capable of doing the same job as the WRT module we are developing. Hopefully, "a few good men" will undertake the job of porting the bridge application to these platform - and by obeying the protocol definition which we will have in place on the KaiStaion module, these ported applications will be able to "feed" the kaiEngine in the same way as the WRT.
3.) kaiJackDS: Lastly, I've asked some chaps who are good friends of Kai to investigate porting an existing GPL application to the WRT buildroot. If they can manage this, it will provide a "quick fix" for WRT54G owners out there who want to play DS. However, nothing is guaranteed here - and while these guys may be some of the most talented wifi/nix guys out there, we can't say yes or no until they tell us.
So, what does that mean for the guy who has turned up in this forum with his DS? It means, worst case, you're going to need to buy a WRT54G router. Best case, if you have a linux box with network card X, Y or Z, that you wont need to buy anything. Either way - tunnelling this device is a reality, and in a very crude form, it's here now. However, you won't see anything which you can use until kaiEngine integration has been completed. I want you guys to be able to flash, click, browse - using all the existing sweetness of the multiple, sexy kaiUI application which we have already.
Also, you must recognise, that the Kai project deals with a diverse number of development tasks - and support is always an issue for us. I cast no aspersions, but after taking a cursory glance at the user demographics on certain other DS / GC related sites, I'm a little worried about being able to support this DS project in a decent way. That's another reason why I'm holding fire until everything is golden..
Anyway, that's the current state - I'll do my best to keep you fully updated as things unfold. Don't get all excited when you see the WRT firmware / engine release on the news - it's just the "normal" kaiEngine - for our XBox users at present. It certainly represents my chosen direction for the DS project though, so know that any progress with the WRT is a step towards our goals for the DS.
Finally, a couple of new DS tunnel projects have been brought to my attention by my DS/ GC moderators. I'm not going to get drawn into any protracted arguments regarding these people - other than to say that the last time these guys declared-us-evil-and-made-a-rival-project-to us, they went down - badly. XLink is a group of *real developers* making *real software*. Bullshit is not part of what we do here - it never has been. We've always delivered - and will deliver again. If external groups choose not to be involved with what we do, it's their choice - not ours.
TD
http://www.teamxlink.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4624&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
