[atlas]trying to collect basic info about the architecture

Dear ATLAS-Team,

I am aware of the fact that my poking and attempt to collect information
may be premature, as the whole thing is still very much in development...

Still, I think it would be useful for many of us to have some sort of
"snapshot" regarding the behaviour of the probes and the framework they
live in.

The initial basic questions on my end would be:

What does the term "connect", to one of the controllers, really mean in
terms of TCP/IP Lingo? Like: does the thing open a TCP hose to the controller?
Is communication based on UDP and/or on TCP?

Is the probe capable of bufffering data for a while if connectivity to the
Net is still there, but not to the controller(s)?

Is there any means to (locally, on the same subnet, or even remotely)
trigger or "reboot" a probe, other than disconnecting power (which means
physical access required)?

I am also wondering how much of this stuff is available already and where
to collect it - the 'labs pool may be more appropriate than this list?

Thanks to everyone who was and is involved in this fascinating project,
with season's greatings and a happy (2010)++ to everyone,
Wilfried.

PS: for a future version of the probes or as an optional gadget:
    how about making the thing capable of feeding it off 2 different
    power plugs, e.g. a primary and a UPS? :-)