Difference between revisions of "Mesh/WalkThrough"

Congratulations on choosing to become part of a People's Open Network! This is a walkthrough for flashing a node (a home router) with Sudo Mesh's sudowrt-firmware (a custom build of OpenWRT) and then configuring it with makenode (a custom javascript tool developed by Sudo Mesh). At the end of the walkthrough, you'll be able to plug in your router and join the mesh. The walkthrough assumes you're using a linux-ish OS (mac OSX should work also) and that you have [https://help.ubuntu.com/community/UsingTheTerminal basic knowledge of the terminal]. The general idea of building your own mesh node consists of three steps, [[#Download/Build|downloading or compiling]] custom firmware, [[#Flash/Upload|flashing that firmware]] to the node (i.e. copying firmware to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flash_memory flash memory]), and [[#makenode/Configure|configuring the node]] to function as part of a mesh (with a software tool such as makenode).

Before you flash your router, it is recommended that you read the [[Home and extender nodes#Home_nodes|home node info]] to ensure your router works as a mesh node.

Now that you have a node, you will probably want to learn how to flash it with the latest sudowrt-firmware. The first step is to download the firmware image file for your supported router.  

 

At the moment, we are supporting the following routers:

| Western Digital MyNet N600 || [https://wiki.openwrt.org/toh/wd/n600 OpenWRT Docs] || '''[https://builds.sudomesh.org/sudowrt-firmware/latest/ latest]''' [https://zenodo.org/record/1205601/files/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-mynet-n600-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.3] [https://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/fledgling/0.2.2/ar71xx/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-mynet-n600-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.2][https://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/fledgling/0.2.0/ar71xx/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-mynet-n600-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.0]  

[https://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/fledgling/0.2.2/ar71xx/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-mynet-n750-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.2][https://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/fledgling/0.2.0/ar71xx/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-mynet-n750-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.0]  

[https://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/fledgling/0.2.2/ar71xx/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-wdr3500-v1-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.2] [https://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/fledgling/0.2.0/ar71xx/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-wdr3500-v1-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.0]  

[https://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/fledgling/0.2.2/ar71xx/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-wdr3600-v1-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.2][https://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/fledgling/0.2.0/ar71xx/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-wdr3600-v1-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.0]

[https://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/fledgling/0.2.2/ar71xx/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-wdr4300-v1-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.2][https://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/fledgling/0.2.0/ar71xx/openwrt-ar71xx-generic-tl-wdr4300-v1-squashfs-factory.bin 0.2.0]  

Builds for other routers can be found on our [http://builds.sudomesh.org/builds/sudowrt/ builds server] or on [https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1205601 zenodo], though there is no guarantee the firmware will work with any given router. For release notes, please go to our [https://github.com/sudomesh/sudowrt-firmware/releases github release pages].

If you do not want to use Sudo Mesh's OpenWRT image, you can also install [https://downloads.openwrt.org/ a standard OpenWRT] release and configure it from scratch.

* With the router plugged in and power turned off, push a pin / paperclip / tiny screwdriver into the reset hole and hold it for at least 15 seconds.

* With the pin held down, turn on the router power button.

* IP Address: 192.168.1.10 (some devices will only accept from this IP)

* Subnet Mask: 255.255.255.0

* Gateway: 0.0.0.0 (Or leave blank)

where <eth_interface> is the name of your ethernet interface found using `ip addr` (common names include eth0, enp3s0, ...)

Note: Sometimes the firmware upload will not complete. After you click on 'Upload' You should get a page with a countdown of 120+ seconds. If this does not occur, reboot the router with the pin reset button depressed (as noted above), and try again.

See Network Configuration Guides: [https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Network%20Configuration%20for%20Linux Linux] [https://sudoroom.org/wiki/Mesh/Network%20Configuration%20for%20MacOS%20X Mac]

== Autoconf (v.0.3.0) ==

'''''Note: If you installed autoconfiguring [https://github.com/sudomesh/sudowrt-firmware/releases/tag/0.3.0 release 0.3.0] for myNet N600 routers, you will not need to use makenode ([[#Makenode_.28v.0.2.3_and_earlier.29|instructions further down]]) after flashing the sudowrt-firmware to your router to configure it to work on People's Open Network.'''''

[[File:Nodeports titles.png|400px|thumb|right|Plug into port 3 to access the private network from your laptop. Port 2 connects to the public 'peoplesopen.net' network]] Connect your newly-flashed MyNet N600 to your existing Internet router via ethernet from your existing router's LAN port to your new node's Internet port. Wait a few minutes for your new node to connect to the Internet and obtain its private IP address. Once this happens, the node will broadcast a new WiFi network starting with 'peoplesopen.net' (and ending with a unique IP address). This is the public network, has no password, and is suitable for day-to-day internet access.

There is also a wireless network called 'pplsopen-admin'. This is the private network, and you can use it to access a web dashboard to configure some settings. The default WiFi password is 'meshtheworld'. Try connecting to it (you can also connect to the private network using an ethernet cable connected to port 3 on an N600).

While connected to the ''private'' network, try connecting to the home node's web dashboard by opening a web browser and navigating to http://172.30.0.1  

The default password is 'meshtheplanet'.

[[File:WifiSettings.jpg|frame|left|upright=2|Set your private SSID and password via the 'WIFi Settings' tab. NOTE: When you first set your private SSID name and hit 'Save', you will have to reconnect to the newly-named SSID using the original default password ('meshtheworld') and then reconnect again with the new password after setting it in the dashboard]] [[File:newrouter.png|frame|right|upright=2|See all devices connected to your node via the 'Connections' tab]]

'''''Note: If you would like to be able to change these settings in the future, or ssh into your router, you will need to change the admin and root passwords within 12 hours.'''''

To do so, open a terminal while connected to the 'pplsopen-admin' SSID:

Enter the following password: meshtheplanet

== Makenode (v.0.2.3 and earlier) ==

 

After you're finished with the flashing and configuration, your home node should be available for connections via your private WiFi SSID. Additionally the public SSID 'peoplesopen.net' will be available. It should also be populated on the [https://peoplesopen.herokuapp.com monitor]!

A third interface named 'pplsopen.net-node2node' will be detectable as well. This is the interface used for the nodes to mesh with each other.

At this point you're setup. For more information on using your node, such as accessing the web-based management interface, see [[Home and extender nodes#Home_nodes|Home node info]]

For more technical details on the internals of the home node, see the [[Mesh/Technical_Overview]]