Wireless Mesh networks for true freedom : Libertarian

Wireless Mesh networks for true freedom : Libertarian

Wireless Mesh networks for true freedom (self.Libertarian)

submitted 1 year ago by TheSov

does anyone know of anyone and/or products that exist built on a peer to peer mesh network? it seems like more and more often isp's have begun to lock down and there simply isnt enough competition

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[–]yujikle 3 points 1 year ago*

There have been a number of good developments in MANET / WMN (Wireless Mesh Network) technology, from802.11n and MIMO at the Physical and Data Link layers, and connecting nearby towns with LoS (Line of Sight) Towers using Terahertz technology, to new protocols like DYMO, OLSRv2, B.A.T.M.A.N. and others, and full-path-metrics (not just hop by hop counting for shortest route), and Loop Detection, Correction and Avoidance to stop routing loops and looping packets from doing damage by taking up valuable resources where they appear.

It's easy to get one running (to some degree) but a matter of effort of getting enough mass joining in your community to get it off the ground.

See List of wireless community networks by region though most MANETs / WMNs however are not on that list. None of the communities I know are on there.

EDIT: I mean some "cross-layer-information" passing at the Data Link layer. So that the routing or path-metric decisions may be based on various Physical and Data Link Layer information that isn't usually provided, but can be gathered if you use a special modified driver, and some if you change the firmware. There's quite a variety of techniques each with improvements and tradeoffs against each other.

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[–]tinkelberry 1 point 1 year ago

The B.A.T.M.A.N. MANET Routing Protocol is in the 2.6.33 kernel (linux-2.6.git commitdiff).

The Open Mesh site gives a good introduction to B.A.T.M.A.N. (Better Approach To Mobile Ad-hoc Networking):www.open-mesh.org

I'm hoping to get a few multi-antenna (MIMO) 802.11n routers and start setting up a mesh network here soon. I'm also interested in multi-channel meshing.

Our last one ran on OLSR and then an implementation of OLSRv2 but it was useless because the majority of traffic was looping packets. I think B.A.T.M.A.N. solves these main problems that plague OLSR / OLSRv2.

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[–]MrBabycake 2 points 1 year ago

Yes, there are a few.

WiliMesh = Expensive!

Meraki = Not quite so expensive.

OpenMesh = Awesome and cheap!!

The OpenMesh platform runs on a variety of hardware including cheap Fonera type routers. These have a range appropriate for next door neighbors, but if you are looking for a long range solution, Open-Mesh ROBIN firmware can be flashed onto professional bridging systems such as the Ubiquiti Bullet2. Additionally, more powerful access points such as the Ubiquiti Nano and Picostations can be utilized for outdoor long range links.

The best part: the dashboard control of the Open-Mesh routers is completely free and has a fair amount of customization.

THE PROBLEM YOU NOW FACE is that the typical residential internet access plans contain a user agreement that you will not share/sell the access with/to others not in your residence. If you do this you are in violation of contract (contract law is very important to Libertarians mind you). The only solution is to have a business-class connection that does allow sharing/reselling.

Once you have that, setting up a node on a rooftop to broadcast around town is possible. I would do something like a hub and spoke design as you want to minimize the number of hops between a node and the internet (3 hops is okay, but you get diminishing returns past that).

Hope this helps!

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[–]overbri 1 point 1 year ago

This is exactly how i get my internet. http://www.db3broadband.com/ Theres no cable lines or dsl lines where i live so this company pays to use another companies fiber optic lines then sets up wireless routers atop high structures and charges people per month to connect to them. Unfortunately since their the only broadband providers available their prices are terrible for slow connections but its still better than 56k the only other option.

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[–]MrBabycake 1 point 1 year ago

You might file paperwork to create a non-profit organization. If you are talking about a rural area, I would lean towards 5Ghz technology for broadcast to specific nodes and then a 2.4Ghz mesh coming out from those nodes. Open-Mesh does support third party billing systems such as Coova, but my experience with those is limited.

Additionally, Open-Mesh, to my knowledge, does not leverage 5Ghz radio technology properly. You should probably go with a professional long rage bridging system such as Ubiquiti's NanoBridge . This will require the roll-out of two systems: Airmax (Ubiquiti) for backhaul, and Open-Mesh for access points.

If you're talking about rural broadcasting you should probably get yourself a Rohn 25g tower (cheap) and set that up. Permits and community allowances for these structures vary from area to area.

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[–]SamsLembas 2 points 1 year ago

Wait, are you suggesting that there is a solution other than forcing the isp to operate a certain way at gunpoint?

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[–]TheSov [S] 5 points 1 year ago*

Yes, i know you are being sarcastic but ill answer anyway for those who do not know.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking . basically I'm looking for a long distance wireless device I can connect up with all my friends or anyone who wants to join in around the Chicago area. if enough people connect up we can join a backbone as a common carrier and bypass all the local isp's

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[–]citizen42alpha 2 points 1 year ago

Start locally with cabled networks.

House to house. Street to street and so on.

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[–]overbri 1 point 1 year ago

Google the Motorola canopy but the equipment aint cheap.

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[–]SamsLembas 0 points 1 year ago*

Sorry, I guess you missed the sarcasm.

I have thought about this in the past. It should be easy enough to modify the firmware of a good consumer WiFi router to accomplish the task. The major problem is getting enough people to install the equipment in their homes/offices/whatever. I imagine that if there really was a serious net neutrality problem, you could get enough support to get it running. But today it is virtually impossible.

If you are really determined and have money to burn, perhaps a WiMax link would work? Iirc those are effective at up to 20 miles or so if mounted on a roof, etc.

EDIT: And I missed the message saying you knew I was being sarcastic. Just noticed now while looking at my inbox. Oops, sorry.

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[–]pankkake 1 point 1 year ago

See also: http://netsukuku.freaknet.org/

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[–]JackalsNose 1 point 1 year ago

A couple of guys I met once were talking about building their own little internet. They didn't like the fact that there are massive data centers in areas that could take down the internet for huge regions.

Atlanta, Georgia is one such location.

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[–]Kildurin 1 point 1 year ago

OLPC

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[–]Gadsden 1 point 1 year ago

I've run 4 different WISP (Wireless ISP) networks, owned 2 of them. There doesn't seem to be enough competition in the ISP business until you try to run one. Then when you pay $500 per 1.5Mbit T1, and the cable and telco companies you're competing against sell up to 20Mbit for $60, you realize you're going to have a really tough time gaining customers to cover your operating costs.

You are at the mercy of the giants as you have to get your bandwidth from them either way. I don't have a problem with this because it's their network of cables, they can sell it for whatever the market supports, just as I did with my services for as long as I could until the competition from them drove me out. It was great for my area when there was no high-speed option other than me, I sold an affordable solution that was WAY better and cheaper than satellite, but wireless had it's issues too compared to the stability and robustness of wired solutions - so it was only natural that I didn't last when DSL and cable came to my area.

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