UK-developedApplication environment
Established
Provides the protected workload and the integration point into Omnimesh.
Open in specification
The exact interface contract and packaging remain under specification.
TN-01 / Public architecture note
The system boundary stated precisely
The current design places Omnimesh in user space, integrated with the application environment and carried over UDP. The host operating system’s network stack and existing IP connectivity remain in place.
01 / Confirmed placement
One public boundary. Four confirmed design constraints.
This note records system placement and responsibility boundaries. It is not implementation evidence, a protocol specification or an assurance result.
Host environmentApplication integration required
ApplicationProtected workload
Application interface
User-space softwareOmnimeshTransport system carried over UDP
Uses existing interfaces
Retained foundationHost network stackNo replacement required
Existing connectivityIP network / third-party underlayNot controlled or trusted merely because traffic is encrypted
Peer environmentApplication endpointExact packaging and operator model remain under specification
- Integration
- Application integration is required.
- Execution
- The current design is intended to run in user space.
- Carrier
- Traffic is carried over UDP.
- Retained foundation
- The host operating-system network stack remains in place.
02 / Responsibility model
What enters the boundary—and what remains outside it
Omnimesh boundary
Established
Introduces the user-space transport system between the application and the retained host networking interfaces.
Open in specification
Protocol state, cryptographic construction, path logic and implementation parameters are not described in this public note.
Host and underlay
Established
Continue to provide the operating-system network stack and existing IP connectivity.
Open in specification
Routing ownership, middlebox behaviour, MTU, failure handling and operator responsibilities require the completed specifications.
03 / Terminology
“Transport assurance” is broader than an OSI layer number
In Omnimesh public communication, the term covers application transport and the path, routing and dependency conditions surrounding it.
It does not imply that routing or BGP operate at OSI Layer 4.
- Application-integrated
- The application environment must connect to the Omnimesh interface; transparent or universal compatibility is not asserted.
- User-space transport system
- The transport logic is intended to execute outside the host operating system kernel while using existing networking interfaces.
- Carried over UDP
- UDP is the carrier. This wording does not imply that Omnimesh replaces, modifies or is equivalent to UDP.
04 / Protocol obligations
UDP provides a minimal carrier; the design must supply the transport behaviours it requires
RFC 8085 is best-current-practice guidance for applications and protocols using UDP. It identifies responsibilities including congestion control, message size, reliability, checksums and middlebox traversal; which requirements apply depends on the deployment environment. Omnimesh must resolve them in its protocol specification and subsequent test plan.
Congestion behaviour
When operated over the public Internet or other shared capacity, a UDP-based protocol must define congestion-control behaviour appropriate to that environment.
Message sizing
The specification must account for path MTU, fragmentation risk and the relationship between application messages and UDP datagrams.
Reliability and ordering
Any required delivery, retransmission, duplication or ordering behaviour must be explicit rather than assumed to be provided by UDP.
Middlebox traversal
NAT, firewall, port and timeout behaviour form part of deployability and must be tested against defined environments.
Failure semantics
Loss, impairment, path change and peer failure need specified responses, observable states and safe operational outcomes.
External engineering referenceIETF RFC 8085 — UDP Usage Guidelines
The reference informs the engineering questions; it does not validate the Omnimesh design.
05 / Disclosure boundary
Enough to locate the system. Not enough to rebuild it.
This note intentionally does not disclose interface contracts, protocol state, cryptographic construction, path-selection logic, key schedules, packet formats or implementation parameters.
Those details require specification stability, IP review and an appropriate technical-review context.
Review the public evidence registerNext step
Interrogate the boundary before the mechanism
For a non-sensitive technical question about application fit, retained dependencies or the evidence required for evaluation, begin with the public boundary described here.