Difference between revisions of "Mesh"

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(fixed some things, still revamp/weeding needed)
(okay, this looks good :))
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=What does it mean?!=
=What does it mean?!=
Imagine if the wifi router in your home connected to the wifi routers in your neighbours' homes and they again connected to their neighbours to form a huge free wireless network spanning the city! That's exactly what a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking mesh network] is, or at least what it can be. Roads and telephone poles are owned by 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.  
Imagine if the wifi router in your home connected to the wifi routers in your neighbours' homes and they again connected to their neighbours to form a huge free wireless network spanning the city! That's exactly what a [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesh_networking mesh network] is, or at least what it can be. Roads and telephone poles are owned by 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.  
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= Research =
= Research =
We need help improving our documentation about the area and other legalities.
* [[Mesh/Other mesh projects|Other mesh projects]] around the world that have inspired us to make our own network!
* [[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.
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* [[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.
* [[Mesh/Decentralized FM/AM radio|Decentralized FM/AM radio]] - Bit of research on adding legal FM/AM transmitters to nodes.
* [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.


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= Our Projects =
= Our Projects =
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[[File:Mesh_Oakland_High_Res.png|center|187px|thumb|Building a community-owned and -operated wireless mesh network in Oakland, California and beyond!|link=https://peoplesopen.net]]<br />
[[File:Mesh_Oakland_High_Res.png|87px|link=https://peoplesopen.net]] Build a community-owned and -operated wireless mesh network in Oakland, California and beyond!<br />
[[File:Disasterradio.png|center|187px|thumb|link=https://disaster.radio|Disaster-resilient communications network powered by the sun.]]<br />
[[File:Disasterradio.png|87px|link=https://disaster.radio]] Disaster-resilient communications network powered by the sun.<br />
[[File:Byoi.png|center|187px|thumb|link=https://buildyourowninter.net|Instructions for building your own internet, plus a global directory of community wireless mesh networks.]]</center><br />
[[File:Byoi.png|87px|link=https://buildyourowninter.net]]<br />
[[File:Laptops4all.png|center|187px|thumb|link=https://laptopsforall.org|Upcycling retired/donated laptops to those who can't afford them.]]<br />
[[File:Laptops4all.png|87px|link=https://laptopsforall.org]]<br />


[[File:SudoMesh Node.png|frameless|right|300px]]
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= How To Participate =
= How To Participate =
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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. 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!
* 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 meetings from 7:30-9pm at [[Getting_there|sudo room]]. We have focus groups and collaborate on different parts of the project - from design to software development, documentation to hardware hacking, community outreach and climbing rooftops to mount nodes!  
* We have weekly meetings from 7:30-9pm at [[Getting_there|sudo room]]. We have focus groups and collaborate on different parts of the project - from design to software development, documentation to hardware hacking, community outreach and climbing rooftops to mount nodes!  
* For the sake of time, we don't use Tuesday meetings to introduce folks to the project. If you do not feel ready to jump right in and start contributing, please join us during our "Build Your Own Internet (BYOI)" open hours on Sundays from 1-3pm at [[Getting_there|sudo room]] :D
* For the sake of time, we don't use Tuesday meetings to introduce folks to the project. If you do not feel ready to jump right in and start contributing, please join us during our "Build Your Own Internet (BYOI)" open hours on Sundays from 1-3pm at [[Getting_there|sudo room]] :D
* 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]])
* Chat with us on [https://peoplesopen.net/chat RocketChat] or [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://peoplesopen.net/pad/p/notes] at each meeting. Look at our archive of past [[Mesh/Minutes|meeting minutes]]!
* We generally collaborate on [https://peoplesopen.net/pad/p/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 who are within range of an existing node (seen as a wireless SSID named "peoplesopen.net").
* 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 who 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. 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|ToDo list]]
*Check out our [[Mesh/ToDos|ToDo list]]
*Support us with a small monthly donation on [https://www.patreon.com/peoplesopennet Patreon], here's [[Mesh/Purchases|how we spend it]].
*Support us with a small monthly donation on [https://www.patreon.com/peoplesopennet Patreon], here's [[Mesh/Purchases|how we spend it]].
*Send bitcoins to our wallet address: {{bitcoin wallet}}
*Send bitcoins to our wallet address: {{bitcoin wallet}}
*Check out our [[Mesh/Wishlist|wishlist]], we have requests!  
*Check out our [[Mesh/Wishlist|wishlist]], we have requests!  
*Come to our meetings in Oakland! (listed above)
*Improve our documentation
*Improve our documentation
*Talk to your community about joining the mesh - here are some [[Mesh/Outreach|resources]] for doing so!
*Talk to your community about joining the mesh - here are some [[Mesh/Outreach|resources]] for doing so!
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* [[Mesh/Diagrams|Diagrams]] - Diagrams outlining the network topology and technical stack
* [[Mesh/Diagrams|Diagrams]] - Diagrams outlining the network topology and technical stack
* [[Mesh/Design|Design]] - Website & logo design; swag for enthusiasts; and marketing inspiration.
* [[Mesh/Design|Design]] - Website & logo design; swag for enthusiasts; and marketing inspiration.
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= Get in touch! =
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* Join the mailing list.
* Jump in on our RocketChat or IRC!
*
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= Other Firmware and Networks =
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There are [[Mesh/Other mesh projects|mesh projects]] around the world that have inspired us to make our own network!
* [[Mesh/Other mesh projects#wlan_slovenija_-_Slovenia |wlan_slovenija]] (Slovenia) - mesh network in Slovenia with the first cross-country links to Austria and Croatia! wlan-sl developers have been incredibly helpful mentors since the beginning of the sudomesh project, and are the founders of the Nodewatcher admin database as well as the Koruza wireless optical link project.
* [[Mesh/Other_mesh_projects#Freifunk_-_Germany | Freifunk]] (Germany) - the creators of batman-adv and one of the longest-running mesh networks in the world.
* [http://guifi.net/en Guifi] (Catalonia) - largest community network (using a variety of topologies) in the world - spanning upwards of 22,000 nodes across catalonia and spain. Guifi folks have also been incredibly supportive of sudo mesh and helpful in guiding the international movement toward community wireless networks.
* [[Mesh/Other mesh projects#Altermundi_-_Argentina | Altermundi]] (Argentina) - Connecting rural communities in Argentina to the Internet using long range point-to-point links connecting community mesh networks. Developers from Altermundi also contribute extensively to the Libremesh firmware and Librerouter, an open hardware mesh router in development.
* [[Mesh/Other_mesh_projects#Funkfeuer_-_Austria | Funkfeuer]] (Austria) - another old-school mesh network
* [[Mesh/Other_mesh_projects#Ninux_-_Italy | Ninux]] (Italy) - Spanning several cities across Italy, Ninux developers also contribute extensively to research on community networks, the dashboard admin interface NodeShot, and LibreMesh / Librerouter
* [[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.
* [https://www.aredn.org AREDN] Amateur (HAM) Radio mesh net - building a mesh backbone on mountaintops.
* [http://www.broadband-hamnet.org BBHN] Broadband Ham Net
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= Web Resources =
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* [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.
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