[OLSR-users] Getting started with OLSR

[Florian Walther]

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Hi Mike,

I basically do the same with my neighborhood. based on WRTs with
freifunk firmware.
What i do for clients without OLSR Software is give them IP/Netmask
and default route via dhcp from the WRT.
each of my WRTs has a own /26 (64 IPs) for his own.
48 of them i give out via dhcp, the rest is fixed IPs i give out to
ppl on request.
One IP is for the WRT (normally the lowest).
A network map of that setup is at:
<http://www.sredzki40.de/NetzwerkDiagram.html>
(blue net == fully routet, no NAT, fixed IPs; red is  dhcp IPs, behind
NAT)
A Topology Map is at: <http://www.sredzki40.de/topology.html>

So Clients do not need OLSR Software if you offer and they use dhcp.
But if so they are NATed on the WRT they are connected to. (But you
can turn that off also to NAT everyony on the Gateway or nearby)

> Questions: 1) Am I on the right track? Is this the best
> practice/hacker/cheap
way to build a community network?
I guess so ;-).
> 2) Assuming yes on 1, how do I put roll out a simple but effective
OLSR deployment?
Good Question, i haven't found any better solution so far.
> 3) What am I doing wrong with OLSR Switch, and how do I debug?
Turn up the debug-level in the switch app to see whats going on.

I can also send you some WRT Config examples if you like to. But right
now i'm not at home, so wait a few days for those.

hope that helps
/~flow

Mike McKay schrieb:

> OLSRers-
>
> Allow me to lay out my situation:
>
> I live in Malawi, Africa. Getting a very dodgy dialup internet
> connection for just 30 minutes per day will cost about $150 dollars
> a month. Thanks to satellite internet (VSAT) equipment no longer
> needed in many parts of the US, I have found cheap VSAT hardware
> which I am in the process of hooking up. Once set up it should cost
> a couple hundred dollars a month for a decent always on
> connection. I also have 3 WRT54Gs.
>
> I would like to build a wireless mesh network to cover my city
> (Lilongwe), and perhaps take it further if possible. But first I
> would like to start with my neighborhood.
>
> I have read the Wireless Hacks book, and done plenty of googling,
> but I would love to hear some suggestions on what are the must read
> docs - they must be out there, because I don't quite have my head
> around it all yet.
>
> On my 3 WRT54Gs I have installed the Friefunk firmware, which is
> based on OpenWRT, and has OLSR ready to run on it. I managed to
> plug in via ethernet two laptops to two different WRT54Gs with one
> acting as an internet gateway and it worked - I could surf the web
> from both laptops. This was pretty easy and very cool - but I had
> pretty much just followed the instructions here:
> http://csircoin.blogspot.com/2005/07/few-tips-with-olsr-on-openwrt-freifunk.html
>
>
>
> This is all good but I want more. My perfect mesh would work
> something like this:
>
> Take a bunch of Freifunked WRT54Gs and disperse them around the
> neighborhood, preferable on rooftops with antennas. Some of these
> would be connected to VSAT systems and therefore provide a route to
> the web. Then whoever wants to jump on the mesh, just turns on
> their machine and connects to the ad-hoc network supplied by the
> mesh.
>
> Is this possible? So far, I get the feeling that every client on
> the mesh needs to be running the OLSR software, unless that client
> is connecting via one of the ethernet interfaces on a WRT54G. This
> makes sense I guess, but I just want to make sure I am not missing
> something. I am able to connect to the ad-hoc network with my
> windows laptop, using the builtin wireless software (i.e. no OLSR),
> but then I am unable to ping anything - including the router that
> it connected to.
>
> If I have to install the OLSR software on every client, then that
> is fine. I have installed the OLSR Switch software on my box, but I
> haven't successfully discovered any routes with it, let alone
> shared a connection or browsed the web.
>
> Questions: 1) Am I on the right track? Is this the best
> practice/hacker/cheap way to build a community network? 2) Assuming
> yes on 1, how do I put roll out a simple but effective OLSR
> deployment? 3) What am I doing wrong with OLSR Switch, and how do I
> debug?
>
> Thanks in advance - I am very excited about the possibilities here.
>
>
> Mike
>
>
> _______________________________________________ olsr-users mailing
> list (spam-protected)
> https://www.olsr.org/mailman/listinfo/olsr-users
>

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