[Olsr-users] High-level questions about encryption on OLSR ad-hoc mesh

[Ben West]

First off, a low-level question ...

Is any information available about the key (type, content, length) used by
the olsr-secure plugin?  I see that the module exists in v0.6 of OLSR, but I
can't find any documentation about how to generate the key file.  Also, am I
correct in undestanding that his plugin basically works to prevent route
spoofing by an untrusted node, but not to actually encrypt mesh traffic?

Now, the high-level question ...

Have there been any nifty developments in options for encrypting an OLSR
mesh running ion ad-hoc mode, or this is perhaps a path with diminishing
returns?  My platform is Ubiquiti 5GHz M devices running OpenWRT 10.03-rc4
with ath9k driver, and I've been able to set up a unencrypted mesh with OLSR
v0.6.

I read that WPA/WPA2 encryption is not possible in ad-hoc mode, and that WEP
encryption may be possible (tho I couldn't get it working), but I understand
that WEP encryption now-a-days is as easy to crack as rot13 obfuscation.

Since I don't plan on having end users connect to the 5GHz mesh, only to use
it for back-haul, I don't have to worry about encryption schemes that are
compatible with end users (e.g. smartphones, Windoze boxes).  However, is
putting encryption into an ad-hoc OLSR mesh even worthwhile, should the
relevant drivers come to support it?  Or am I better off putting wired
VPN-cable routers on the fringes of the mesh, wherever encryption may be
demanded?

-- 
Ben West
(spam-protected)
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