[net2-wg] link estimator interface

[Joe Polastre]

> What do people think about abstracting the notion of link quality and
> saying here is the range of values and the values in between describe
> link quality in linear proportion of the range? For example,
> 1/2(max+min) would describe link quality roughly in between the
> maximum and minimum quality.

Can you provide a motivating example where this would be needed?

> Without standardizing the return value, I do not see how different
> routing protocols can work with a variety of link estimators. The
> drawback is this will make it harder for protocols that rely on a
> specific implementation of an estimator - protocols that configure the
> number of retransmission based on ETX, for example.

Not true.  If it is "standardized" to ETX, then the value is
irrelevant--all that matters is that it provides a relative ETX
metric.

Certainly there are other routing metrics besides ETX, but the
question arises--are they metrics that soley the link can determine on
its own?

And just to be completely accurate--the link estimator in Boomerang by
Moteiv is a function of the raw LQI value, not the raw LQI value
itself.

-Joe