comStar Firewall alert - PhaseThrough

Matrix topoloGy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50
nexi
Nexi are highperformance
mainframes
able to run a larger number
of programs than
standard nodes. They are
commonly used by Matrix
cafés, civic wireless access
points, corporate servers,
businesses that need VR
workspaces and security
nodes (see Slaving, p. 59),
data havens, and for other
processor-heavy tasks. The servers that run nexi come in a wide range
of sizes and processor power, from units the size of a modern-day laptop
to a full-blown server tower. The more processor power needed,
the more powerful and thus bigger the hardware of the nexus will be.
In game terms, nexi work exactly like standard nodes with a
few exceptions. They have a higher processor limit, allowing for
more active programs (with the exception of agents, IC, AIs, sprites,
and e-ghosts, which are limited by Response per standard rules—see
Response, p. 212, SR4). Their configuration and design also means
that System rating is not capped by Response. Nexi are designed to
run multiple personas; their persona limit equals System x 3.
Nexi have a minimum processor limit of 10 and a maximum
of 50.
data tranSport
In the world of 2070, data travels from node A to node B in
various ways. The most common means of travel are radio waves and
fiberoptic cables. While radio signals, better known as wireless traffic,
are mostly used to supply the end user with data, the bulk of the longdistance
data transfer is delivered via fiberoptic cables. Other, more
exotic ways of transmitting data are also available. They include satellite
linking and laser and microwave beams.
fiberoptic Lines
Contrary to public opinion, most of the
data in 2070 is still delivered via fiberoptic
cables. An optical fiber is a cable made of glass or
plastic that is designed to guide light along a certain
track. A carrier wave, mostly near-infrared
light, is modulated to carry the information and
sent through the cable to its destination at the
speed of light. Compared to sending electric signals
over a copper cable,
fiberoptic transmissions
have the advantage of
being less prone to interfering
effects and having
much lower signal degradation
even at high data
rates. Fiberoptic cables
run between continents,
countries, cities, and even
houses. Home telecoms,
private access points, and
most important, the ac-
cess points of the large MSPs, provide the connection between
the wireless and wired world.
radio waves
When Joe Normal talks about transferring data, he talks
about radio waves or wireless data transfer. Almost every single device
in Shadowrun is able to broadcast data using electromagnetic
waves of the radio spectrum. They require a relatively low amount
of energy to produce, can penetrate buildings, cars, clothing, and
other obstacles, and are easy to pick up. The biggest advantage and
the reason for the tremendous success is ease of use. There is no
need for cables in day-to-day life. No plug-and-play any more; in
2070 it’s just play. All the cities throughout the world are littered
with public access points that provide wireless access, linking
people via the Matrix to almost any other spot in the world.
In places where access points are rare, either due to bad
infrastructure or violent destruction, the user nodes themselves
(commlinks, vehicles, etc.) provide access. The mesh network
nature of the wireless Matrix allows every node in active mode to
function as a router for other nodes around it. Data is routed from
one wireless node to another until the next access point to the
wired Matrix, or the wireless destination, is reached. In this way,
even the Barrens are decently covered with wireless access points.
In both radio signals and fiberoptic cables, electromagnetic
waves are used to transport data at extremely high speeds. A data
request can easily make a trip to the other side of the world and
back within 0.2 seconds.
Satellite Links
Commlinks and other nodes can use a direct satellite link to
connect to geostationary satellites and satellites in lower earth orbits
(LOE). The advantage of using a geostationary satellite uplink
is that your location cannot be pinpointed via trace any more precisely
than a range of a few hundred of kilometers. This means that
exaMpLeS of Standard nodeS
Node Response Signal System Firewall
Standard Home Telecom 3 3 3 3
Premium Telecom 4 3 4 4
Business/Retail Terminal 3 3 4 4
Public Terminal 2 1 2 2
Civic/MSP
Wireless Access Point 3 6 3 5
exaMpLeS of nexUS nodeS
Persona Processor
Nexus Response Signal System Firewall Limit Limit
Small Matrix Cafe 2 3 3 2 9 10
Large Matrix Cafe 3 3 4 2 12 20
Public Library 5 4 4 3 12 50
Online Shop 3 4 3 4 9 15
Matrix Backbone Hub 5 0 5 3 15 50
Unwired
Simon Wentworth (order #1132857) 9