2012-12-26 - [GRASE-Hotspot] Repeaters, WDS, or Mesh

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From: Bob Hunt <bo***2@gmail.com>
Message Hash: 622b0914e777d0ad6d2838ffffcd18af63e33e2c06143010507a539f059d085f
Message ID: <CAA-jMMRG+4Onbe8kOpofs5SL5afAwxTV7CO+RqaQwtG8fPJpaQ@mail.gmail.com>
Reply To: N/A
UTC Datetime: 2012-12-26 19:02:57 UTC
Raw Date: Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:02:57 +1100

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Santiago,

I never had any success using repeaters to extend hotspot range .

I did get WDS to work, but it rapidly became impossible to manage as
my network grew. MAC address routes have to be hard coded into each
router and loops avoided, making a very dificult to configure and
fragile network.

I now use a mesh network and IMHO, this is definitely the way to go,
as it is forms a robust, self configuring and self-healing nework,
which can have nodes added and removed at will .

I began my mesh using "Robin" (an open source variant of OpenMesh)
which is easy to get started in as it uses a remote dashboard server
to configure, manage and visualize the routers in your mesh.

I didn't like being dependent on remote servers so  I eventually
migrated my mesh to the SECN2 firmware from http://villagetelco.org/,
and this forms a transparent layer 2 bridge which works perfectly with
Grase.

For real-time visualization of my mesh, showing link-status,
user-details etc, I use the "SPUD" vis server  software also from
http://villagetelco.org.

Downsides are that each node requires manual setup and specific
atheros based routers. For indoor use, I use TP-link wr703n at around
Au$21 each and Dlink DIR300 which are cheap if second hand. For
outdoors, I use Ubiquiti PicoM2HP weatherproof units with POE.

FYI, Here's a screenshot of my vis sever
https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B8Zo7istnNXpN3ZyUmM2MWFPVWc

Cheers,

Bob



On Mon, Dec 24, 2012 at 1:26 PM,
<gr***t@lists.sourceforge.net> wrote:

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