Reposted on the wiki at: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/27_June_2013
Please add your own notes to this semi-scattered documentation! :)
Remember we are also hanging regularly on #510pen on Freenode IRC!
Attendees
- Chris J, Jenny, Max, Juul, Luis, Adrian, Christie, Thomas
New Action Items
- Add your potential node to the map! - http://meshmap.sudoroom.org
- Get batman-adv running at Hearth node, mesh with LiveLabs node
- Next reportback on an active mesh - Jenny
- Find some tall rooftops for Adrian to test TDMA point-to-multipoint
links
- Research resilient ethernet cable
- Tune the OpenWRT settings on the new nodes for RTS / CTS and ACK
timing
- Brainstorm on name for the mesh!
Old Action Items
- Decide on name (some suggested options further down in the notes)
- Research 501(c)x statuses:
https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Tax_Structure_Research
- Put together a brochure / pamphlet
- Website (contingent on name)
- Splash page design
- Glossary of terms (eg Fresnel zone, Hidden Node problem, etc) on the
wiki - MaxB began: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Terms
Announcements
- Marc & Jenny set up the first two nodes at their home rooftops
Report-backs
- Marc reporting on Seattle Meshnet:
- They are using cjdns and part of Project Meshnet
- Hyperboria: mesh on top of the internet. like Tor.
- Currently running an excellent
- Bay Area Wireless Users Group (died awhile ago)
Misc Notes
- For every 10-20 street level nodes (2.4GHz) there will be one rooftop
(5GHz) node
- Ubiquiti Tough Cable - some batches of them weren't UV-resistant
- Solve the hidden node problem with Non-Violent Communication for
devices (make requests, send acknowledgments)
- Alternatively, this has been solved with TDMA - but that's
currently not available on Linux
- Reflowing electronics - heat up a circuit board at the right
temperature in a toaster oven to melt the solder and enable the joints to
re-form
- Adrian can port OpenWRT onto anything with an Atheros chip!
- Using epoxy or ... - changes the wireless behavior - to manage outdoor
wear & tear
- Conformal coating
- Two options: 1) Keep existing access point / connection or 2) create
an entirely new access point
- Not best idea for repeater node to be primary access point
Crowdfunding Campaign
- WePay currently stands at $1933.00
- 0.7319 Bitcoins!
- Combined, that's $2,004.01!
Potential Local Services
- Local copy of Wikipedia
- Access to Archive.org
- Tidepools interactive map
Web Resources
- WISP Forums: http://www.wispforum.net/
- Tin Can Texting -
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hubski/tin-can-text-messages-without-th…
----------
Jenny
http://jennyryan.nethttp://thepyre.orghttp://thevirtualcampfire.orghttp://technomadic.tumblr.com
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
"Technology is the campfire around which we tell our stories."
-Laurie Anderson
"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it."
-Hannah Arendt
"To define is to kill. To suggest is to create."
-Stéphane Mallarmé
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
I think Tyger, but whether because of my name or the Blake poem I'm not
sure!
I must confess that, although cats have more flash, there is something
eminently pragmatic about prehensile.
On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 11:37 AM, Ray Lai <raymond.wm.lai(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> Excellent etymological deduction, my good man Tony. Personally I think I
> would be handier, play better piano and be a better lover if I had a
> prehensile monkey tail grafted to the base of my spine.
>
> If you had a choice of tails what would you choose?
>
>
> Raymond Lai
> Ice Cream Man
> Atomic Ice Cream
> Facebook.com/MotoAtomico
>
> On Jun 27, 2013, at 11:12 AM, Tony Barreca <tony.barreca(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> "xenomorphic tail grafting," eh?
>
> Let me guess: "Xeno" is "foreign" or "other" and "morphic" means it
> pertains to "forms" (in approximately the Platonic sense), so is
> "xenomorphic tail grafting" what you get when, say, you graft a dog's tail
> onto a monkey?
>
> Thanks,
>
>
>
> On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 10:40 AM, Ray Lai <raymond.wm.lai(a)gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> Very cool, Eddan! Thanks for sharing.
>>
>> Now my club for xenomorphic tail grafting aficionados can become a tax
>> free reality!
>>
>> Raymond Lai
>> Ice Cream Man
>> Atomic Ice Cream
>> Facebook.com/MotoAtomico
>>
>> On Jun 27, 2013, at 10:33 AM, Eddan Katz <eddan(a)clear.net> wrote:
>>
>> As my task from this past week for the Mesh group has been to do some
>> more research on tax structure advantages and disadvantages - I wanted to
>> share my excitement about 501(c)(7) with everyone. Social Clubs!
>> Check it out --
>> http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Other-Non-Profits/Social-Clubs
>> .
>>
>> Examples of 501(c)(7) ----
>>
>> - College social/academic fraternities and sororities
>> - Country clubs
>> - Amateur hunting, fishing, tennis, swimming and other sport clubs
>> - Dinner clubs that provide a meeting place library, and dining room
>> for members
>> - Variety clubs
>> - Hobby clubs
>> - Homeowners or community associations whose primary function is to
>> own and maintain recreational areas and facilities
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> sudo-discuss mailing list
>> sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>>
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> sudo-discuss mailing list
>> sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
>> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>>
>>
>
>
> --
> Tony Barreca
> LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tonybarreca
> Skype: tonybarreca
> Twitter: tbarreca
> Mobile: (510) 710-5864
>
>
--
Tony Barreca
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tonybarreca
Skype: tonybarreca
Twitter: tbarreca
Mobile: (510) 710-5864
"xenomorphic tail grafting," eh?
Let me guess: "Xeno" is "foreign" or "other" and "morphic" means it
pertains to "forms" (in approximately the Platonic sense), so is
"xenomorphic tail grafting" what you get when, say, you graft a dog's tail
onto a monkey?
Thanks,
On Thu, Jun 27, 2013 at 10:40 AM, Ray Lai <raymond.wm.lai(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> Very cool, Eddan! Thanks for sharing.
>
> Now my club for xenomorphic tail grafting aficionados can become a tax
> free reality!
>
> Raymond Lai
> Ice Cream Man
> Atomic Ice Cream
> Facebook.com/MotoAtomico
>
> On Jun 27, 2013, at 10:33 AM, Eddan Katz <eddan(a)clear.net> wrote:
>
> As my task from this past week for the Mesh group has been to do some more
> research on tax structure advantages and disadvantages - I wanted to share
> my excitement about 501(c)(7) with everyone. Social Clubs!
> Check it out --
> http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Other-Non-Profits/Social-Clubs.
>
> Examples of 501(c)(7) ----
>
> - College social/academic fraternities and sororities
> - Country clubs
> - Amateur hunting, fishing, tennis, swimming and other sport clubs
> - Dinner clubs that provide a meeting place library, and dining room
> for members
> - Variety clubs
> - Hobby clubs
> - Homeowners or community associations whose primary function is to
> own and maintain recreational areas and facilities
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> sudo-discuss mailing list
> sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> sudo-discuss mailing list
> sudo-discuss(a)lists.sudoroom.org
> http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/sudo-discuss
>
>
--
Tony Barreca
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tonybarreca
Skype: tonybarreca
Twitter: tbarreca
Mobile: (510) 710-5864
another legal aspect of the sudo-mesh project is patent busting prior art research. ...
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/06/mesh-networking-good-overbroad-patent…
> JUNE 21, 2013 | BY JULIE SAMUELS
> Mesh Networking, Good. Overbroad Patents, Bad. Help Us Protect Mesh Networking.
> Earlier this year, we announced that along with the Cyberlaw Clinic at Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, we were challenging six patent applications that, if granted, could threaten the development of 3D printing technology. We asked you—the community—for help, and your input was invaluable. We're still waiting to hear from the Patent Office on those applications, but our work is not done. We need your help again, this time to challenge dangerous patent applications that threaten mesh networking technology.
>
> Mesh networking allows users to form their own networks without a centralized infrastructure, making them inherently resistant to censorship, surveillance, and disruption. Given recent revelations showing widespread surveillance of the phone calls and online activities of innocent Americans and others around the globe, the development of mesh networks more important than ever. Governments and commercial actors have taken advantage of intermediaries as “weak links” in order to censor, surveil, and disrupt communications and social movements. Already in the United States, cell towers have been deactivated in response to planned protest, while activists in countries such as Egypt, Libya, and Syria have suffered massive blackouts that shut down all access from within the country to the wider Internet. Mesh networking technology can help activists fight back.
>
> Wireless Mesh Networks
>
> For more than a decade the open-source community has been developing networks that use multi-hop connectivity to bypass the current ISP-dominated model of Internet access. These Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) have tremendous potential for enabling the free flow of information without exposure to censorship and monitoring. Because they lack a central access point, mesh networks are also harder to take down, as the removal of one node won’t terminate the entire network. And WMNs, by not relying on infrastructure provided by ISPs, can provide connectivity in areas where that infrastructure is inaccessible, damaged, or prohibitively expensive.
>
> The open source community has developed innovative tools and applications of mesh networking technology including the B.A.T.M.A.N. routing protocol developed by Freifunk, a system for internet access in remote areas of Afghanistan and Kenya (FabFi), and community controlled telephone systems in Nigeria, Columbia, Puerto Rico, South Africa, East Timor, and Brazil (VillageTelco). Harvard Law Professor Jonathan Zittrain and former FCC chairman Julius Genachowski recently advocated for the use of mesh networks to provide phone access during times of crisis when mobile networks are overloaded.
>
> The Problem
>
> Wireless Mesh Networking is still in its nascent stages, and the innovations and experimentation of the open source community are playing a vital role in advancing the technology. However, there has also been significant proprietary and military interest in the technology, and companies are seeking patents in many areas of WMN already explored by the open source community. We unfortunately know what can happen when overbroad patents get granted—the rise of patent trolls, lawsuits that can threaten growing businesses, and threats that target entire areas of technology. We don't want to see that happen to mesh networking.
>
> This is where you come in!
>
> We have identified several patent applications that we believe particularly threaten the free development of mesh networking technology. There is a danger that these patents, if granted, will lock up the basic mesh network infrastructure and restrict advancement of and access to the technology.
>
> We have been using the Patent Office’s new Preissuance Submissions procedure, which gives third parties an opportunity to tell patent examiners when they think a patent application shouldn't be granted. The procedure requires those third parties to submit publications predating the application that prove the ideas in the patent were not novel.
>
> Which is why we need your help. We are again partnering with Ask Patents so you can help us identify the best prior art to reign in these applications. While prior art for issued patents must date back many years, these are recently filed applications for which relatively recent publications may be helpful. Look at each “Request for Prior Art” we post to learn the exact priority date.
>
> Working together we can protect the mesh networking community from overbroad, illegitimate patents that threaten to stifle innovation and access to technologies that preserve personal freedoms.
>
> APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR ENHANCING WIRELESS MESH NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS
>
> ADAPTING EXTENSIBLE AUTHENTICATION PROTOCOL FOR LAYER 3 MESH NETWORKS
>
> MESH NETWORK GATEWAY AND SECURITY SYSTEM
Reposted here for posterity: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/20_June_2013
June 20th Meeting Minutes
= Attendees =
* Chris J, Jenny, Max, Juul, Miguel, Eddan.com, Sam
= Action Items =
* Decide on name (some suggested options further down in the notes)
* Research 501(c)x statuses:
https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Tax_Structure_Research
* Put together a brochure / pamphlet
* Website (contingent on name)
* Splash page design
* Glossary of terms (eg Fresnal zone, Hidden Node problem, etc) on the wiki
- MaxB began: https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Terms
= Misc Notes =
* Community wireless vs. Municipal (gov run) or Corporate (eg Google Wifi)
* Hidden Node Problem:
** Request-to-Send and Clear-to-Send
** TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_division_multiple_access
*** Someone at Noisebridge has worked on this, could maybe help port from
FreeBSD to Linux?
=Checking out the hardware!=
** Don't power them up without the antennas!!
** Need adapters for the external antennas to bullets
** AirGrids can only run on 5.2V max, meant to run off USB
** NanoBridges and AirGrids are 5GHz and will serve as the rooftop backbone
of the mesh.
** PicoStations are the street-level routers
= Crowdfunding Campaign =
* Raised over $1600 in one week! Awesome!
* Legal structure of accepting donations
** Very good accounting
* Should investigate 501(c)4
** Talk to folks at the SELC, recommended 501(c)7
* Talking to Noisebridge and SchoolFactory in the next week or two about
umbrella-ing under their 501(c)3
= Survey Responses =
* FILL IN
* 2/3 like the current logo
= Name Suggestions =
* Mycelium
* Wicelium
* Sudo Mesh
* Meta Mesh
* Root Net
* Super Web
* The Trunk
* Hive 10
* Orga Net
* Open and Notorious
* Sudo Net
* Oakland Wireless Network (OWN)
* Oakland Community-Organized Resilient Network (OCORN)
* Oakland Community Network
= Marketing Discussion =
* Sudo meant to reflect empowerment to fix it or make it yourself
** Include a brief definition of SUDO at the bottom of marketing materials
* 'FREE WIFI' sign and/or stickers for the mesh
* Adopt-A-Picostation
* Collate accessories for mounting and running a node and link to online
marketplaces on the site
= Folks to reach out to =
* Internet Archive and Brewster
* Kapor Foundation
= Report Backs =
* Still need to make a protocol decision
* Inventory Tracking! Mycelia Zero should be completed by next week:
Decentralized network of tools/objects, projects and people/skills - Access
control (choose to share)
** Need a weather-resistant sticker or tagging system - RFIDs?
** MyAssetTag.com - aluminum matte tags - available very tiny (0.25" x 1")
in batches of 100 for $32
** 'Property Of' stamps / tattoos to discourage theft
* OpenOakland feedback:
** Someone has a roof in the hills with a view of the airport (and thus LOL)
= Outreach Strategy =
* Origin of the outdoor mesh could be LOL/SOL/Cycles Bikery
* Would be easier to connect W Oakland
* We could split the hardware 50/50 between West and East Oakland, then run
a campaign to reach across the divides in Oakland to connect the two meshes!
* Reach up to Richmond to Internet Archive's awesome node!
= Mounting Solutions =
* Flower pots! (with plants that won't obstruct!)
* Birdhouses
* On the eve of the rooftop outside would be ideal
* Flags (American or Pirate version)
= Firmware =
* Directing network traffic is the major technical challenge
* Encourage participants to use BitTorrent clients that support uTP
(microtorrent protocol)
* Should have two options:
1. People replace their existing access point (which they donate to us)
with a PicoStation
2. People keep their existing access point and add the PicoStation to their
setup, which runs off their router
** Folks can also host a rooftop node
* Focus on aesthetic unobstrusiveness
* Set up a way to split the network into several access points: back
channel (for the mesh nodes to connect to eachother), open channel (for
public connecting) and private channel (for folks in house/etc, more
bandwidth, can be secured with password, etc)
* Things to add to the firmware:
** Privoxy! Non-caching web proxy for block "obnoxious internet junk"
** Ghostery (protect from tracking)
** Adblock (allow for easy opt-in)
* Put passwords on the PoE adapters and let people maintain their own
node's level of privacy, upgrades, etc
= Useful Anecdotes =
* Internet Archive has created a super node up in Richmond (~15km from here)
* Chris has used a dish and 4ft antenna like ours and with line of sight
reached up to 2 miles
* Chris has created a router with an xbee radio (cheaper, takes less power)
hooked up to the serial port to take in different kinds of sensor data
** Air quality egg
** Router w/ xbee unit for additional cost
= Needs =
* Antennas towers
** Telescoping flagpoles! (suggested by Seattle Meshnet) - up to 20ft,
available Harbor Freight for $50
* Wooden blocks with hinges to direct the Picos
* Ubiquiti sector antennas as major backbone points (2 x 2 x) - up to 40
subscribers, with dishes pointing the signal outward in all directions
= Research Assignment =
Homework Assignment: Research a Mesh Project that has succeeded or failed
* Week 1: Marc
* Week 2: Jenny
* Week 3: Chris
* August: Eddan
= Web Resources =
* RadioLabs (antennas and such): http://www.radiolabs.com/
* CeroWRT - solving the issue of bufferbloat in OpenWRT:
http://www.bufferbloat.net/projects/cerowrt
* BISmark (detect ISP issues and home traffic): http://projectbismark.net/
* MyAssetTag.com (for tagging outdoor routers with barcodes):
http://myassettag.com
Oh yeah, we're checking out hardware for testing here:
https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Checkouts
~mesh the planet!~
Jenny
http://jennyryan.nethttp://thepyre.orghttp://thevirtualcampfire.orghttp://technomadic.tumblr.com
`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
"Technology is the campfire around which we tell our stories."
-Laurie Anderson
"Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it."
-Hannah Arendt
"To define is to kill. To suggest is to create."
-Stéphane Mallarmé
~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
I set up a mapping application so we can start mapping out potential nodes.
If you add a node, please put information about whether we'd have access to
put a node node on the roof or mount it on the side of the building, or
only inside the building, and put your name so we know who to talk to about
each node.
http://meshmap.sudoroom.org/
Hi everyone.
Meeting tonight is 8:30 as always.
On the agenda is:
* Introductions and icebreaker.
* Have a look at the hardware we bought. Intro for less technical folks.
* State of the crowdfunding campaign and how to proceed.
* Follow up on last weeks agenda items and turning them into action items.
* -end of meeting- work on agenda items for as long as people want.
** I'm specifically interested in getting building our firmware, so if
anyone want to join me for a firmware hacking \o/
Jenny and myself may be delayed (hopefully not), but if we are, we should
be there by 9 pm. Also this group has no leaders: If you get there and
no-one else is setting up a table and gathering people up for the mesh
meeting, then you can totally do it! (even if it's your first time there!).
There are sudo beers in the fridge for suggested donation $2. See you
tonight!
--
Marc
Hi. I wanted to get the name and logo discussion off the ground.
First a bit of history as i understand it: In 2009 Mark Burdett (and
others) started an east bay community mesh networking project called
510pen. It had several nodes in Oakland (maybe 20+), and still has a few
active nodes. The routers used were open-mesh.com routers, which come
pre-configured for mesh. 510pen applied for some decent amount of funding
(Mark can elaborate) but did not get it. Over time the project stagnated
and several routers went offline.
The assets carried over from 510pen are:
* A small amount of brand recognition from the people who ran or are
still running mesh nodes.
* The logo: https://510pen.org/
* A few deployed mesh routers.
Our current project could be communicated as a reboot of 510pen, or as a
new project with roots in 510pen, or as an entirely new project. We have to
decide if we want to re-use the name and/or logo of 510pen.
To get a sense of people's opinions, here's a survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PFL7B25
Please fill it out!
At the meeting this upcoming Thursday, we'll give everyone a few minutes to
fill out the survey if they haven't already and then have a discussion
about it.
Personally, here are my totally biased thoughts on the logo and name, and I
invite everyone else to chime in with theirs:
510pen pros:
* It communicates to locals that it's a local project.
* It puts a focus on the open, which we're all about.
* It's clever.
510pen cons:
* Does not communicate what the project is (except open).
* Does not work well outside of the bay area where people don't know 510.
* Difficult to communicate in speech. Most people Jenny and myself have
talked to needed it explained.
* It might be problematic if it expands to e.g. SF.
Logo pros:
* It's awesome.
* It references the nice Oakland oak tree design.
* It brings to mind roots, as in grass roots.
* It doesn't look corporate.
* It works well in black and white.
Logo cons:
* It looks like the houses are connected underground, which brings to
mind cables, not wifi. (but then again, i think we should be focused on
creating a community communications network, not specifically a wifi
network).
* It references the Oakland oak tree, even though it's not an
oakland-specific project.
Personally, I'd like to see us go with a different name but keep the logo.
How do you folks feel?
--
Marc
