Difference between revisions of "Mesh"

From Sudo Room
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m
(31 intermediate revisions by 9 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
<span style="color:#20b24b;">'''<big>Feb 21: Launched [https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Blog#Developer_Launch.21 "Snow Crash" release candidate v.0.1.0] - now deploying the first batch of experimental nodes!</big>'''</span>
[[File:SudoMesh Node.png|frameless|right|300px]]
&nbsp;
 
We're currently in beta testing phase. That means that anyone can join the mesh if you're willing to help us by reporting bugs and being patient if something is broken :)
 
You can read about our progress on our [https://peoplesopen.net/blog/ blog].
 
To become part of the mesh, or for other opportunities to be participate see the [[#Join Us]] section. You do not need to be technically skilled to be part of this project. We need people willing to mount gear on rooftops, folks who want to do public outreach, graphics design artists and film-makers and so much more. Show up at a monthly general meeting and get involved!
 
----


'''We are an all-volunteer organization building the People's Open Network, a community-owned and operated non-profit internet infrastructure in Oakland.'''
'''We are an all-volunteer organization building the People's Open Network, a community-owned and operated non-profit internet infrastructure in Oakland.'''


A [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking mesh network] is a network that allows the participants to freely share internet connectivity and build their own community-owned communications. It consists of routers running software that allow them to communicate with other routers around them. People who join the network enable others to be on the network and support [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_neutrality net neutrality]. Community wireless mesh networks are growing around the world as alternatives to the existing system, creating local 'internets' rather than being dependent on the infrastructure developed by large Internet Service Providers and companies that mine and sell your personal information.
People's Open Network is a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking mesh network] based out of Oakland, California.  


The software we've created is [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_source open source] and we're using it to develop free internet for Oakland and the surrounding areas. Our mission in building the network is to connect our neighbors, support local businesses, and enable community collaboration and cultural production. In the event of disaster or censorship, a mesh network can be a resilient means of communication and sharing of information.
Imagine if the wifi router in your home connected to the wifi routers in your neighbour’s homes and they again connected to their neighbours to form a huge free wireless network spanning the city! That's exactly what a mesh network is, or at least what it can be. Roads and telephone poles are owned government or private interests and laying down cable is expensive but by using wireless signals that hop from building to building we can create a community owned and operated free-as-in-freedom alternative to corporate Internet Service Providers! Community wireless mesh networks are growing around the world, creating local 'internets' that support Net Neutrality and community control of critical infrastructure.  


[[File:Mesh_Oakland_High_Res.png|250px|right]]
sudo mesh is a non-profit organization consisting of a group of unpaid volunteers who are building People's Open Network. Our mission in building the network is to connect our neighbors, support local businesses, and enable community collaboration and cultural production. In the event of disaster or censorship, a mesh network can be a resilient means of communication and sharing of information.


&nbsp;
We are spending a lot of time developing [https://github.com/sudomesh/ software] to make it cheap and easy for anyone to be part of People's Open Network, regardless of technical skill.
&nbsp;
 
[[File:Mesh_Oakland_High_Res.png|225px|right]]


= Join Us =
= Join Us =
Ways to participate:


* Join the [http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/mesh email list]
* Join the [http://lists.sudoroom.org/listinfo/mesh email list]
* Follow us on [https://twitter.com/sudomesh twitter] and like us on [https://www.facebook.com/sudomesh facebook].
* Follow us on [https://twitter.com/sudomesh twitter] and like us on [https://www.facebook.com/sudomesh facebook].
* We have '''weekly hack nights''' on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:30-11:00pm at [[Getting_there|sudo room]]. The first three Thursdays of the month are work nights -- help us change the internet!
* Learn more at our general meetings, which are the last Tuesday of every month at [[Getting_there|sudo room]] at 7:30 pm. We have focus groups and we collaborate on different parts of the project - from design to software development, documentation to community outreach and of course, community outreach and climbing rooftops to mount nodes!
* Learn more at our general meetings, which are the last Thursdays of every month. We have focus groups and we collaborate on different parts of the project - from design to software development, documentation to community outreach and of course, community outreach and climbing rooftops to mount nodes!
* We have '''weekly hacknights''' on the Tuesdays that are not general meetings, 7:30-11:00pm at [[Getting_there|sudo room]], but at these events we do not spend time introducing new people to the project. If you do not feel ready to jump right in and start contributing, please show up for our general meetings (mentioned above) where we specifically take time to intro new volunteers and answer questions :D
* Chat with us on [http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/irctutorial.html IRC]: [http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=peoplesopen.net #peoplesopen.net]
* Chat with us on [http://www.irchelp.org/irchelp/irctutorial.html IRC]: [http://webchat.freenode.net/?channels=peoplesopen.net #peoplesopen.net] (see also [[IRC | IRC Intro]])
* We generally collaborate on [https://pad.riseup.net/p/sudomesh meeting notes] at each meeting. Look at our archive of past [[Mesh/Minutes|meeting minutes]]!
* We generally collaborate on [https://pad.riseup.net/p/sudomesh meeting notes] at each meeting. Look at our archive of past [[Mesh/Minutes|meeting minutes]]!
* Contribute to the network by installing a mesh node at your location using our handy [https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/WalkThrough Mesh Node Setup Walkthrough]. This is especially helpful for those that are within range of an existing node (seen as a wireless SSID named "peoplesopen.net").
If you want to join the mesh you'll need a mesh router at your home! Currently the best way to get one is to show up at our monthly general meeting as described above :)


= How to Help =
= How to Help =


We need more people on the network to improve the quality of the service. When you setup a node, you improve the service for everybody on the network and give more access to your community. We encourage participants to ask their communities to join their networks and create distributed services for them. We have a user introduction to help you get involved!
We need more people on the network to improve the quality of the service. When you setup a node, you improve the service for everybody on the network and give more access to your community. We encourage participants to ask their communities to join their networks and create distributed services for them. We have a [[Mesh/User_Guide|user guide]] to help you get on the network!


*Check out our [[Mesh/ToDos|action items]]
*Check out our [[Mesh/ToDos|ToDo list]]
*Support us with a small weekly donation on [https://www.gittip.com/sudomesh/ gittip], here's [[Mesh/Purchases|how we spend it]].
*Support us with a small weekly donation on [https://www.gittip.com/sudomesh/ gittip], here's [[Mesh/Purchases|how we spend it]].
*Send bitcoins to our wallet address: {{bitcoin wallet}}
*Send bitcoins to our wallet address: {{bitcoin wallet}}
Line 38: Line 51:
We need hardware and software engineers to help us with our code. We have an overview of [[Mesh/Technical_Overview|technical documentation]] that will be helpful in understanding the network.
We need hardware and software engineers to help us with our code. We have an overview of [[Mesh/Technical_Overview|technical documentation]] that will be helpful in understanding the network.


If you want to immediately help, check out [https://github.com/sudomesh our code]! We're focused on these areas:
If you want to immediately help, check out [https://github.com/sudomesh our code] or [https://github.com/sudomesh/sudowrt-firmware/milestones look at our remaining issues for upcoming milestones].
* [https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Firmware Firmware]
 
* [https://github.com/sudomesh/service-browser Service Browser]  
Here are some of the projects that need attention:
* [https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Distributed_Services Services]
 
* [[Mesh/Firmware|Firmware]] - The sudowrt firmware
* [https://github.com/sudomesh/sudowrt-web-ui sudowrt-web-ui] - The new and improved web admin UI for sudowrt nodes
* [https://github.com/sudomesh/ubus-https-forwarder ubus-https-forwarder] - Allow management of extender nodes from home node web UI
* [https://github.com/sudomesh/service-browser The Service Browser] - Web UI for browsing mesh services
* [[Mesh/Distributed Services|Mesh Services]] - Which services should we provide?


== Designers ==  
== Designers ==  
Line 52: Line 70:


= Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)=
= Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)=
*[[Mesh/Challenges]] - What sort of challenges and problems do we face?
*[[Mesh/Decisions]] - What decisions have we made, and why?
*[[Mesh/Funding]] - How the heck do we fund this thing?
*[[Mesh/Legal]] - How do we use exit nodes, relays and legal structures to protect node owners and ourselves?
*[[Mesh/Hosting]] - How are we hosting and what does it cost?
*[[Mesh/Backup]] - How do we handle backups?
*[[Mesh/Server security]] - How do we ensure server security?


=Logistics=
* [[Mesh/Challenges|Challenges]] - What sort of challenges and problems do we face?
*[[Mesh/Checkouts]] - Who took what gear home.
* [[Mesh/Decisions|Decisions]] - What decisions have we made, and why?
*[[Mesh/Donations]] - What's been donated to the group.
* [[Mesh/Funding|Funding]] - How the heck do we fund this thing?
*[[Mesh/Inventory]] - Continually-updated inventory of our hardware and gear.
* [[Mesh/Legal|Legal]] - How do we use exit nodes, relays and legal structures to protect node owners and ourselves?
*[[Mesh/Marketing]] - Inspiration and links to marketing materials in progress.
* [[Mesh/Hosting|Hosting]] - How are we hosting and what does it cost?
*[[Mesh/Naming]] - What do we call ourselves? A lineage of bikeshedding.
* [[Mesh/Backup|Backup]] - How do we handle backups?
*[[Mesh/Purchases]] - Details on our purchases, made by either individuals or through our crowdfunded money.
* [[Mesh/Server security|Server security]] - How do we ensure server security?
 
= Logistics =
 
* [[Mesh/Checkouts|Checkouts]] - Who took what gear home.
* [[Mesh/Inventory|Inventory]] - Continually-updated inventory of our hardware and gear.
* [[Mesh/Marketing|Marketing]] - Inspiration and links to marketing materials in progress.
* [[Mesh/Naming|Naming]] - What do we call ourselves? A lineage of bikeshedding.
* [[Mesh/Purchases|Purchases]] - Details on our purchases, made by either individuals or through our crowdfunded money.
* [[Mesh/Taxes|Taxes]] - Filed taxes for the sudo mesh non-profit


= Research =
= Research =
We need help improving our documentation about the area and other legalities.
We need help improving our documentation about the area and other legalities.


*[[Mesh/Legal|Legal]] - we are becoming a 501(c)3 and there are other legalities of wireless networks
* [[Mesh/Legal|Legal]] - we are becoming a 501(c)3 and there are other legalities of wireless networks
*[[Mesh/Interviews with other meshers|Interviews]] - we interviewed other experienced meshers
* [[Mesh/Interviews with other meshers|Interviews]] - we interviewed other experienced meshers
*[[Mesh/Documentation]|Other documentation] - books, articles, wikis, blog posts.
* [[Mesh/Documentation|Other documentation]] - books, articles, wikis, blog posts.
*[[Mesh/Oakland|Oakland]] - information and resources pertaining to Oakland community organizations, wireless initiatives, policy and research initiatives
* [[Mesh/Oakland|Oakland]] - information and resources pertaining to Oakland community organizations, wireless initiatives, policy and research initiatives
*[[Mesh/Other muni networking projects]|Municipal projects] - examples of progressive uses of municipal networks.
* [[Mesh/Other muni networking projects|Municipal projects]] - examples of progressive uses of municipal networks.
* [[Mesh/Decentralized FM/AM radio|Decentralized FM/AM radio]] - Bit of research on adding legal FM/AM transmitters to nodes.


= Other Firmware and Networks =
= Other Firmware and Networks =
Line 81: Line 103:
There are [[Mesh/Other mesh projects|other meshes]] around the world that have inspired us to make our own network! They use software from these projects:  
There are [[Mesh/Other mesh projects|other meshes]] around the world that have inspired us to make our own network! They use software from these projects:  


*[[Mesh/Freifunk]] (germany) - the creators of batman-adv (routing protocol we use) and one of the longest-running mesh networks in the world.
* [[Mesh/Freifunk]] (germany) - the creators of batman-adv (routing protocol we use) and one of the longest-running mesh networks in the world.
*[[Mesh/Commotion]] - a very well-documented project from the Open Technology Institute creating a simple-to-deploy mesh firmware and setup for small community meshes around the world.
* [[Mesh/Commotion]] - a very well-documented project from the Open Technology Institute creating a simple-to-deploy mesh firmware and setup for small community meshes around the world.
* [[Mesh/San Francisco]] Mesh projects in San Francisco


=Web Resources=
= Web Resources =
*[http://510pen.org 510pen] - East Bay community wireless mesh network spawned in 2009 by [[User:mfb|Mark Burdett]]
*[http://wiki.tidepools.com Tidepools] - [[User:tunabananas|Jenny Ryan]] designed local use cases for a community mobile mapping application built to run on mesh networks.
*[https://wiki.projectmeshnet.org/Main_Page Project Meshnet] - Extensive wiki on the /r/darknet project, including extensive list of [https://wiki.projectmeshnet.org/Projects projects coordinating with them].
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-range_Wi-Fi#Notable_links Long Range Wifi] - Info on the longest-range wifi connections ever made.
*[https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-WebIDE Adafruit's Web IDE built for Raspberry Pi] but probably good for editing code on any device and ensuring it is managed with a code repo.  By default it uses [https://bitbucket.org bitbucket.org] but it could probably be configured for Github.


* [http://510pen.org 510pen] - East Bay community wireless mesh network spawned in 2009 by [[User:mfb|Mark Burdett]]
* [http://wiki.tidepools.com Tidepools] - [[User:tunabananas|Jenny Ryan]] designed local use cases for a community mobile mapping application built to run on mesh networks.
* [https://wiki.projectmeshnet.org/Main_Page Project Meshnet] - Extensive wiki on the /r/darknet project, including extensive list of [https://wiki.projectmeshnet.org/Projects projects coordinating with them].
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-range_Wi-Fi#Notable_links Long Range Wifi] - Info on the longest-range wifi connections ever made.
* [https://github.com/adafruit/Adafruit-WebIDE Adafruit's Web IDE built for Raspberry Pi] but probably good for editing code on any device and ensuring it is managed with a code repo.  By default it uses [https://bitbucket.org bitbucket.org] but it could probably be configured for Github.


{{Mesh nav}}
= All Sudo Mesh Wiki Pages =


<center>{{Mesh nav}}</center>


''Please note that all contributions to Sudo Room may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Sudo Room:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!''
''Please note that all contributions to Sudo Room may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Sudo Room:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!''


 
[[Category:Projects]][[Category:Mesh]]
[[Category:Projects]]

Revision as of 21:17, 7 February 2017

SudoMesh Node.png

We're currently in beta testing phase. That means that anyone can join the mesh if you're willing to help us by reporting bugs and being patient if something is broken :)

You can read about our progress on our blog.

To become part of the mesh, or for other opportunities to be participate see the #Join Us section. You do not need to be technically skilled to be part of this project. We need people willing to mount gear on rooftops, folks who want to do public outreach, graphics design artists and film-makers and so much more. Show up at a monthly general meeting and get involved!


We are an all-volunteer organization building the People's Open Network, a community-owned and operated non-profit internet infrastructure in Oakland.

People's Open Network is a mesh network based out of Oakland, California.

Imagine if the wifi router in your home connected to the wifi routers in your neighbour’s homes and they again connected to their neighbours to form a huge free wireless network spanning the city! That's exactly what a mesh network is, or at least what it can be. Roads and telephone poles are owned government or private interests and laying down cable is expensive but by using wireless signals that hop from building to building we can create a community owned and operated free-as-in-freedom alternative to corporate Internet Service Providers! Community wireless mesh networks are growing around the world, creating local 'internets' that support Net Neutrality and community control of critical infrastructure.

sudo mesh is a non-profit organization consisting of a group of unpaid volunteers who are building People's Open Network. Our mission in building the network is to connect our neighbors, support local businesses, and enable community collaboration and cultural production. In the event of disaster or censorship, a mesh network can be a resilient means of communication and sharing of information.

We are spending a lot of time developing software to make it cheap and easy for anyone to be part of People's Open Network, regardless of technical skill.

Mesh Oakland High Res.png

Join Us

Ways to participate:

  • Join the email list
  • Follow us on twitter and like us on facebook.
  • Learn more at our general meetings, which are the last Tuesday of every month at sudo room at 7:30 pm. We have focus groups and we collaborate on different parts of the project - from design to software development, documentation to community outreach and of course, community outreach and climbing rooftops to mount nodes!
  • We have weekly hacknights on the Tuesdays that are not general meetings, 7:30-11:00pm at sudo room, but at these events we do not spend time introducing new people to the project. If you do not feel ready to jump right in and start contributing, please show up for our general meetings (mentioned above) where we specifically take time to intro new volunteers and answer questions :D
  • Chat with us on IRC: #peoplesopen.net (see also IRC Intro)
  • We generally collaborate on meeting notes at each meeting. Look at our archive of past meeting minutes!
  • Contribute to the network by installing a mesh node at your location using our handy Mesh Node Setup Walkthrough. This is especially helpful for those that are within range of an existing node (seen as a wireless SSID named "peoplesopen.net").

If you want to join the mesh you'll need a mesh router at your home! Currently the best way to get one is to show up at our monthly general meeting as described above :)

How to Help

We need more people on the network to improve the quality of the service. When you setup a node, you improve the service for everybody on the network and give more access to your community. We encourage participants to ask their communities to join their networks and create distributed services for them. We have a user guide to help you get on the network!

  • Check out our ToDo list
  • Support us with a small weekly donation on gittip, here's how we spend it.
  • Send bitcoins to our wallet address: 12RxU4DpLpdWcmEBn7Tj325CCXBwt5i9Hc
  • Check out our wishlist, we have requests!
  • Come to our meetings in Oakland! (listed above)
  • Improve our documentation
  • Talk to your community about joining the mesh

Developers

We need hardware and software engineers to help us with our code. We have an overview of technical documentation that will be helpful in understanding the network.

If you want to immediately help, check out our code or look at our remaining issues for upcoming milestones.

Here are some of the projects that need attention:

Designers

We need artists and designers to make things look nice! We have design schemes we already use, but we're always looking to improve it. We need to improve our presentation content and diagrams too! We've been focused on these areas:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

  • Challenges - What sort of challenges and problems do we face?
  • Decisions - What decisions have we made, and why?
  • Funding - How the heck do we fund this thing?
  • Legal - How do we use exit nodes, relays and legal structures to protect node owners and ourselves?
  • Hosting - How are we hosting and what does it cost?
  • Backup - How do we handle backups?
  • Server security - How do we ensure server security?

Logistics

  • Checkouts - Who took what gear home.
  • Inventory - Continually-updated inventory of our hardware and gear.
  • Marketing - Inspiration and links to marketing materials in progress.
  • Naming - What do we call ourselves? A lineage of bikeshedding.
  • Purchases - Details on our purchases, made by either individuals or through our crowdfunded money.
  • Taxes - Filed taxes for the sudo mesh non-profit

Research

We need help improving our documentation about the area and other legalities.

  • Legal - we are becoming a 501(c)3 and there are other legalities of wireless networks
  • Interviews - we interviewed other experienced meshers
  • Other documentation - books, articles, wikis, blog posts.
  • Oakland - information and resources pertaining to Oakland community organizations, wireless initiatives, policy and research initiatives
  • Municipal projects - examples of progressive uses of municipal networks.
  • Decentralized FM/AM radio - Bit of research on adding legal FM/AM transmitters to nodes.

Other Firmware and Networks

There are other meshes around the world that have inspired us to make our own network! They use software from these projects:

  • Mesh/Freifunk (germany) - the creators of batman-adv (routing protocol we use) and one of the longest-running mesh networks in the world.
  • Mesh/Commotion - a very well-documented project from the Open Technology Institute creating a simple-to-deploy mesh firmware and setup for small community meshes around the world.
  • Mesh/San Francisco Mesh projects in San Francisco

Web Resources

All Sudo Mesh Wiki Pages

Quick Links (see below for more details)
Documentation Technical Outreach Operations Research External Links
Install Instructions Overview FAQ Minutes User Research peoplesopen.net
Net Topology Hardware Blog To-Do's SF Bay Area network map
Presentations Power How to Help Legal Interviews code on github
History Security Wishlist Inventory Other Meshes DisasterRadio
Press Backup Website Meetings Software Tools BuildYourOwnInter.Net
Firmware Hosting Propaganda Funding Local Services
Mounting Decisions Self-Education
Next gen

Please note that all contributions to Sudo Room may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Sudo Room:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!