The Meshcube

Here is another piece of hardware to add to our list

Advantages: Packaged mesh product
Disadvantages: Price - 1 Unit costs 199 Euros, more than double the Linksys box

FrontPage - The Mesh(cube) Wiki

For picture and specs
meshcube.org - the meshing community website

For prices
PDF with prices of kits and bits and pieces

Setting up mobile mesh on Mandrake Linux

1. Download the source code and read documentation

This can be found here
Mobile mesh information

You need to download iproute2, GraphViz and MobileMesh

You can also find a local copy at
edna ftp server

2. Make sure that you are using g++ 2.96 compiler and libraries

Remove with RpmDrake

libstdc++5-devel-3.2.2-3mdk
gcc-c++-3.2.2-3mdk

Install using RpmDrake

libstdc++2.10-devel-2.96-0.82mdk
gcc2.96-c++-2.96-0.82mdk

3. Unzip, compile and install graphviz, iproute2 and mobilemesh

eg. for mobile mesh
gunzip < mobilemesh-1.0.tar.gz | tar xvf -
cd mobilemesh-1.0
make depends
make
su to root
make install

4. Read the documentation for mobile mesh to learn how to use it

mmdiscover
mmrp
mmborder
mmrpvizr

The African WiFi Summit 2004

This is an important summit on WiFi in south Africa
The African WiFi Summit 2004 - Registration

A possible way to legalise WiFi access

South Africa has a telecommunications act which specifically covers the use of amateur radio and includes the frequencies being used for wifi: 2 300-2 450 MHz and 5 650-5 850 MHz. Amateur radio is essentially a community owned network which is operated by licenced amateur radio operators. There might be a way to justify a community wireless LAN network as part of an amateur radio network. There are certain rules such as not using the network for business purposes, charging for the service or transmitting music. You also need to a basic proficiency exam, which includes writing morse code at 12 words a minute (ouch!), to become an amateur radio operator.

If you want more details on Amateur Radio regulation in South Africa
ICASA telecommunications act for amateur radio

And more about the National Association for Amateur Radio in South Africa
South African Radio League Home Page

If you want to write the exam
South African Radio League Exam

A blog about wireless networking in South Africa

Click here - the link!

Good references for mesh networking protocols

Nice list of popular mesh protocols currently in use Daily Wireless

Pulbications on mesh/ad-hoc networks

The IETF manet (mobile ad-hoc networks) working group

Someone please try to find the complete archive of all RFC's submitted to the IETF MANET working group

Windows version of the mobile mesh protocol for Linux

The story of Philemon part I

It is twilight on a cold winters evening in Mamelodi east, Philemon has just climbed out of the Taxi in Mandela street when his eye catches a large crowd gathering outside the community hall. A smartly dressed man is holding up all sort of strange gadgets and gesturing to the crowd. Philemon is curious and begins walk closer, on further investigation, he sees that the man is talking about a computer that only costs R300 called the Biko I. He is also waving around some strange thing that looks like a drain pipe which he says will help you to connect to a digital community network called ubuntu-digital. With this, he claims, you can help your children with their schoolwork, look for jobs, Talk to other people in the network for free – no more expensive “pay as you go” cards, get legal advice, send letters to friends and relatives who also have a computers – he says the sky is the limit – you can even think up your own ways of using it to create new business. Philemon takes one of the pamphlets the man is handing out and begins reading it as he walks back to his small RDP house in block E of an area called Sundown valley. He sees that the computer plugs into a normal TV screen – he begins to imagine his children fighting to use the Biko I while he wants to watch the 7PM news, maybe he should pay the extra R200 for a separate colour monitor. He reads over a section on installing the ubuntu-digital network which costs R250 for the equipment and is pleased to see that there will be training every Tuesday at the community centre for people who need help installing it – apparently to bring down the cost you can make your own aerial out of a pringle can. It says that if you can see the community centre mast then you can connect to the network, if you can’t you need to get a neighbour involved who you can see and who can see the community centre mast. He begins to walk quicker now, as the excitement builds and he pictures telling his wife Florrie and 3 children about this exciting new device. He has already started calculating in his head that if he saved R100 a month he could buy the Biko I in 3 months and install the Ubuntu-digital network after 6 months.

What we've got to do to make this happen

Task 1: Build a web site to share information on mesh networking and community owned networks

Outcome: Quick information dissemination amongst interested parties in the FMFI project, CSIR staff and other external interested parties.


Task 2: Build a simulation of a mesh network to test out various routing protocols and congestion control meshanisms

Outcome: A document showing theoretical estimates of how a mesh network will perform under changing load conditions


Task 3: Build home made WiFi antennas - omni-directional and directional and check their performance using tools from Poynting

Outcome: Omni-directional antenna and directional antenna with enough gain for a city wide mesh network


Task 4: Carry out a literature survey on existing mesh networking protocols that can be used in a Linux, FreeBSD environment and Windows environment.

Outcome: A document outlining all the information on protocols and recipes for setting up mesh nodes on Linux, FreeBSD and Windows (not that Windows would be my OS of choice).


Task 5: Test existing mesh protocols such as Locust mesh between 5 or more PC’s running on Linux, FreeBSD and possibly Windows in an office environment.

Outcome: A working indoor mesh network


Task 6: Create a Pretoria mesh network as a testbed for networking in other community networks. This testbed will be used to carry out experiments in the mesh and test the reliability of various protocols.

Outcome: A working city wide mesh network


Task 7: Use a web based GIS system for CSIR staff to become part of the Pretoria mesh and to pinpoint the position of their house and have a link prediction carried out to check line of sight to the next available node.

Outcome: An easy way for staff to check if they can become part of the community mesh
network


Task 8: Research the cheapest method of creating a WiFi access point and build a low cost WiFi AP.

Outcome: A document outlining all the components required to build a low cost WiFi and a working low cost WiFi AP


Task 9: Research low cost PC’s for poor communities and build a prototype based on research.

Outcome: A working low cost PC prototype. A document outlining all the components required to build a low cost PC.


Task 10: Test various existing mesh routing protocols and establish their strengths and weaknesses.

Outcome: Access points or PC’s with a menu which allows a user to select between different mesh protocols. A document describing all the meshing protocols available.


Task 11: Test out various application on the mesh – check their performance versus the number of hops between two hosts. Test performance versus the number of simultaneous running applications e.g. After how many simultaneous VoIP calls does it become unusable.
Peer to peer applications such as Skype
Video streaming with different levels of compression
Standard internet applications such as web browsing and email through the CSIR gateway

Outcome: Document describing the performance of various applications running over the mesh network


Task 12: Connect the mesh network to the Tshwane backbone.

Outcome: test the feasibility of Tshwane building out community mesh networks from their fibre backbone.


Task 13: Create computer based training material which will explain how to set up a mesh network in a community – everything from involving the community, installing an antenna to setting up their operating system.

Outcome: A CD/website with a user manual describing how to build community mesh networks and access points.

Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network

Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless NetworkDownloadable Linux/BSD compatible Mesh bootcd, link supplied by Johan Hugo

Home-Brew Omni-Directional Antennae

Here are some directions for building home-brew Omni Directional Antennae, which seem perfect for COIN

802.11 2.4Ghz Vertical Collinear Antenna

802.11 2.4Ghz Low-Power 5dBi Vertical Collinear Antenna

Gnet Gateway

Guerrilla.net
An underground alternative to the wired Internet
Nice portal for Wifi Community owned network information. Info on antennae, software, mesh etc.

W2i: The Wireless Internet Institute

W2i: The Wireless Internet Institute...Link suggested by Kobus

My 1st Cantennae, homebrew wifi antenna, see my previous links for instructions on how to build 1! 

Airshare.org - Wi-Fi and WLAN Wireless Community Resource

Airshare.org - Wi-Fi and WLAN Wireless Community Resource

FreeNetworks.ORG || Community Networks

FreeNetworks.ORG || Community Networks FreeNetworks.org is a voluntary cooperative association dedicated to education, collaboration, and advocacy of the creation of free digital network infrastructures

How to build a tin can waveguide antenna

How to build a tin can waveguide antenna