[mesh-dev] Progress update

[max b]

Just to respond to your questions:

-Are we fully switched at the Omni now to LMI?


Yes I believe so. We're still re-working some of the internal
wireless/network configuration, but yeah our internet is now going through
the LMI connection.

-What do folks think about doing a test bed network here at xxxxxxxxxxxxxx?
> There are a lot of people without Internet here because no ISP will serve
> parts of the area because of weird zoning things. It makes it hard for this
> community to organize and stay plugged in, and like at the Omni, we'd have
> complete access to every house/cabin, mast, flagpole, etc. That'd make it
> faster to install. And we'd buy our own equipment.
>  -- do we even need another test bed?


It would depend a lot on what we thought of as a "test bed". If enough
people have upstream internet connections and are willing to share, then we
could potentially do some setup there. One real downside is that no one
with a lot of technical proficiency lives near there, so it might require
us to do more commuting in order to troubleshoot things. Let's talk a
little more about what we'd want to do in person this Tuesday or Thursday
if you'll be around.

Max


On Mon, Mar 16, 2015 at 11:53 AM, April Glaser <april.glaser at riseup.net>
wrote:

>  Hey guys,
>
> Yeah, that grant proposal definitely intertwined some aspirational
> statements with our current progress. So maybe it wasn't the best project
> update. But in any event, I think you're all really great. And I think
> it'll be incredibly cool once we start to expand the network even more.
>
> I've sent out a handful of emails to folks who have been involved with
> community network projects before to pick their brains about what stage we
> are at, and I'll be in touch when they get back to me.
>
> Two more questions:
>
> -Are we fully switched at the Omni now to LMI?
>
> -What do folks think about doing a test bed network here at xxxxxxxx
> xxxxxx? There are a lot of people without Internet here because no ISP will
> serve parts of the area because of weird zoning things. It makes it hard
> for this community to organize and stay plugged in, and like at the Omni,
> we'd have complete access to every house/cabin, mast, flagpole, etc. That'd
> make it faster to install. And we'd buy our own equipment.
>  -- do we even need another test bed?
>
> Peace,
> April
>
>
> On 3/13/15 3:23 PM, max b wrote:
>
> Hey Jenny,
>
>  I really wish you wouldn't have publicly walked back April's statement
> like this. A number of people have different ideas for the next directions
> for this project, and I think one of the things we've realized lately is
> that when they don't align, we rely on eachother's good judgement and
> communication in order to not shout eachother down. In fact, I don't really
> agree with your statement:
>
>  Namely, we're not intending to create a free-as-in-beer, fast,
>> high-speed network, but rather the focus is on cultivating a community of
>> participants sharing their existing bandwidth with a public, open network
>> and developing local applications and services- all built by and for the
>> people with resiliency in mind.
>
>
>  I, for one, do intend in part to create a fast high-speed network which
> would allow folks to join with a sliding scale membership. I don't really
> think that anything in the grant proposal that April wrote up fundamentally
> contradicts our values or motives, so I'd prefer that if you have your own
> constructive additions you voice them without attempting to cancel out
> anyone else's.
>
>  Thanks
>
> On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 12:30 PM, Jenny Ryan <tunabananas at gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Laura!
>>
>> Please use Marc's reply for the update - the grant application isn't a
>> totally accurate portrayal of our goals, current progress and next steps.
>> Namely, we're not intending to create a free-as-in-beer, fast, high-speed
>> network, but rather the focus is on cultivating a community of participants
>> sharing their existing bandwidth with a public, open network and developing
>> local applications and services- all built by and for the people with
>> resiliency in mind.
>>
>> Thanks for putting this together!
>>
>> On 03/13/2015 11:23 AM, Laura Turiano wrote:
>> > Thanks Marc and April. This is so exciting and you are really being
>> > thoughtful about the build out and testing.
>> > Laura
>> >
>> > On 3/13/15 7:07 AM, April Glaser wrote:
>> > > Hi Laura,
>> > >
>> > > To clarify, the $40 node isn't $40 a month for an Internet connection.
>> > > It's the price of the antenna set up to connect to the network.
>> > >
>> > > So we're still working out the details on how we will distribute
>> > > access to the network. Some parts of Oakland still report that less
>> > > than 50% of residents have access to a reliable Internet connection.
>> > > In those areas we might experiment with other methods of distribution.
>> > > To that end, we're doing outreach to local organizations and the like
>> > > to discuss how to best expand the network.
>> > >
>> > > Here's a description of our work that we used recently to apply for a
>> > > grant, in case this also helps.
>> > >
>> > > *What's your project? What's below is about 30 words over. Can someone
>> > > tighten it up?*
>> > > We are a homegrown, community-owned network in Oakland, California
>> > > working toprovide free Internet access at faster speeds than
>> > > traditional providers.
>> > > The People's OpenNetworkis dedicated to the idea that our community
>> > > must have a central role in theoperation of ourcommunications
>> > > networks. That is why we are building our own free network that
>> > > provides high-speed, open access to the global Internet, while hosting
>> > > local applications and services crafted by and for users in the East
>> Bay.
>> > > We are committed to universal, equitable, and unfettered access, free
>> > > of unwanted surveillance and censorship. People's Openuses Sudo Mesh
>> > > firmware, a free software project developed by
>> > > volunteersenablingrobust, non-hierarchical mesh networks. The firmware
>> > > provides a simple way for users to share a configurable portion of
>> > > their Internet connection with the network – made relatively safe
>> > > because the traffic from the shared connection is notassociated with
>> > > the donor's IP address. Sudo Mesh is distinct from other opensource
>> > > firmwaresbecause we prioritize both sharing andprivacy.
>> > > Every aspect of People's Open is participatory, and every week we host
>> > > three open meetings, including firmware development and community
>> > > organizing. We're collaborating with local organizations and our
>> > > diverse neighbors to co-create the network.
>> > > *What assumptions will you test? *
>> > > We hope to establish that a small-scale community-run network can
>> > > provideservices currently assumed to be the province of large,
>> > > top-down Internet providers. Specifically, we are exploring how local
>> > > media and applications can be developed on such a network tobenefit
>> > > local users. Examples of services include a local bulletin board,
>> > > grassroots journalism outlets, local Voice-over-IP, archives,
>> > > community asset maps, and Internet radio, all hosted on our local
>> > > network.
>> > > Instead of paid-subscribers, our goal is to have active participants.
>> > > To that end, we currently offer training and hold open hack-nights at
>> > > Oakland community hackerspaceSudoroom. Topics range from cryptography
>> > > and network administration to antenna design and firmware hacking. We
>> > > are actively designing our network through conversations with
>> > > community partners, like Media Alliance, AspirationTech,
>> > > ICSI/UCBerkeley, and others as part of our long-term outreach
>> strategy.
>> > > Access to the Internet is a human right, and we oppose practices that
>> > > corner users into paying exorbitant rates to get online. Our network
>> > > offers a free connection to anyone within range or willing to host a
>> > > node. We challenge the idea that users need to trade personal data to
>> > > engage with their community online, and People's Open encourages our
>> > > neighbors to support other free software projects.
>> > > *Who is the audience/user of this project? How will they be impacted?
>> *
>> > > The current model of Internet distribution in the East Bay isn't
>> > > working for everyone. Many neighborhoods continue to report that over
>> > > fifty-percent of residents lack a reliable home Internet connection.
>> > > People's Open is partnering with community anchors, like churches,
>> > > neighborhood gardens, schools, small businesses, and libraries, to
>> > > mount antennas in underserved neighborhoods.
>> > > This is a community network, and we're working with our neighbors to
>> > > build and maintain it collectivity. We meet with local leaders and
>> > > invite our neighbors to participate, fostering collective expertise
>> > > and helping to ensure sustainability of the network.
>> > > We are building a captive portal that directs users tolocal
>> > > applications, such asa community calendar, grassroots media, maps, and
>> > > bulletin boards. Working directly with activist groups to co-design
>> > > trustworthy platforms, we're exploring ways to host local social media
>> > > and digital classrooms. We are also in conversation with branch
>> > > libraries and social service organizations about hosting information
>> > > directories on the network. People’s Open is a grassroots media
>> > > project, and we want to help meet the information needs of our
>> > > communities.
>> > > In sum, we provide a faster connection to the global Internet than a
>> > > traditional residential ISP, while strengthening our community’s
>> > > relationship with technologies that we depend on everyday.
>> > >
>> > > *What have you made so far? *
>> > > For the past year and a half, most of our work has gone into
>> > > developing and testing our firmware, which is a heavily modified
>> > > version of OpenWRT. Our sources are on GitHub
>> > > (https://github.com/sudomesh/) <https://github.com/sudomesh/%29>and
>>  > > are available for other communities wishing to create a similar
>> > > network. We are finally at a point where we can begin to offer a
>> > > reliable networking service.
>> > > We have also deployed two testbed networks, one in Omni Commons, a
>> > > giant community center which houses Sudoroom, and one in West Oakland,
>> > > consisting of routers running our firmware.
>> > > People's Open also has a long-term outreach and communications
>> > > strategy, with the goal that the network will bloom and remain
>> > > responsive to our communities. Our outreach strategy focuses on three
>> > > tiers: large organizational partners, community anchors like churches
>> > > and small businesses, and neighborhood mapping. In working with
>> > > existing and trusted community groups, we hope to invite their
>> > > networks to join and participate.
>> > > Finally, we have a dedicated team in the project for the long-haul. We
>> > > have three open hack-nights a week at Sudoroom, a well-known community
>> > > center, where anyone is welcome to get involved at every level of the
>> > > project. We frequently welcome new participants and keep our website
>> > > up-to-date.
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > > On 3/13/15 3:04 AM, Marc Juul wrote:
>> > >> On Thu, Mar 12, 2015 at 3:13 PM, Laura Turiano<scylla at riseup.net>
>> > >> wrote:
>> > >>
>> > >>> Hello meshers,
>> > >>>
>> > >>> I'm writing an update for Oaklandish about the Omni and would like
>> to
>> > >>> include info about progress on the mesh network. Can someone tell me
>> > >>> how
>> > >>> many nodes have been installed, any other accomplishments, what are
>> the
>> > >>> next steps, etc.?
>> > >>>
>> > >> Hi. Here are my thoughts. Other mesh folk, please correct or expand
>> > >> as you
>> > >> please.
>> > >>
>> > >> Next week we're activating a test network at the Omni to test our
>> indoor
>> > >> nodes in an apartment-complex-like setting, as well as a small six
>> node
>> > >> high-speed roof-to-roof network in west Oakland. We have been working
>> > >> on a
>> > >> new, friendlier, web admin interface as well as features that will
>> allow
>> > >> people to start out with an entry-level ~$40 node and upgrade their
>> > >> coverage later by adding rooftop or street-facing nodes without any
>> > >> extra
>> > >> configuration.
>> > >>
>> > >> Over the next month or so we'll be stress-testing our two networks
>> and
>> > >> completing these new features. The next phase will be a beta release
>> > >> where
>> > >> we invite the adventurous to adopt nodes. I would like to see a beta
>> > >> test
>> > >> network with maybe 50-100 node locations. The beta test will be less
>> > >> about
>> > >> testing the technology (though there will be some of that) and more
>> > >> about
>> > >> understanding the problems and opportunities that arise when a
>> diverse
>> > >> group of people with diverse skill-sets have to run their own
>> > >> network. If
>> > >> the network is to succeed as it grows, then it cannot rely only on
>> the
>> > >> small group of volunteers that make up sudo mesh. We're going to
>> have to
>> > >> figure out how to communicate to node operators that this is not a
>> > >> traditional ISP with a support line. Instead it is rather like a
>> > >> community
>> > >> garden where everyone helps out to make it succeed and we want so
>> figure
>> > >> out how to best facilitate that cooperation. During this phase we'll
>> > >> also
>> > >> be finalizing our automation tools for receiving orders for new
>> nodes,
>> > >> automatically configuring those nodes and shipping them out. Once
>> we're
>> > >> comfortable that everything is ready for a rapidly expanding network
>> the
>> > >> next phase might take the form of a large crowdfunding campaign where
>> > >> people can get nodes as perks.
>> > >>
>> > >
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>  --
>>
>> Jenny
>> http://jennyryan.net
>> http://sudomesh.org
>> http://thevirtualcampfire.org
>> http://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
>> ~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`~`
>>
>
>
>
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