ddwrt
adr...@adrcommunications.co.uk
I understand that Tom has done allot of work with ddwrt.
I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the WDS mode and
what results.
I have a project were i need to used mesh but WDS will do for me. I
want to use ddwrt as the access points, because they have all the
signal tools QOS ect built in. I will still be using a LW node, but
running twin LAN, this will control all the clients that come via the
AP's that are feed via the second LAN card (BTW this is dev107 OSS
Moded)
We run this method in some of our hotles and serviced offices.
Just really need to know about the WDS on ddwrt.
Adrian
Phil Thompson
> I understand that Tom has done allot of work with ddwrt.
>
> I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the WDS mode and
> what results.
Tom uses WDS links for connecting ddwrt nodes together. As these work at
a lower level than tcp/ip connections they appear to be more robust and
of better capacity than an AP / client connection.
This is done on Buffalo and Linksys kit with ddwrt.
He hasn't AFAIK used any fancy routing with any success as yet, so a
group of interconnected WDS access points feed data between clients and
a meshbox or ddwrt router acting as a RADIUS gateway (mac authentication
via radius).
Phil
Adrian (ADR Communications)
Are these the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54-1 and Linksys WRT54GL-UK? I have to move
fast on this project so do not want to buy the wrong kit.
I have a WRT54G runing fine with no issues, But need a sustainable stock and
the buffalo and Linksys should be ok.
Adrian
adr...@adrcommunications.co.uk wrote:
Phil
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Phil Thompson
> Are these the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54-1 and Linksys WRT54GL-UK? I have to move
> fast on this project so do not want to buy the wrong kit.
>
> I have a WRT54G runing fine with no issues, But need a sustainable stock and
> the buffalo and Linksys should be ok.
Tom will probably confirm, we have used both the Buffalo WHR-HP-G54-1
(silver) and the "other one" the cheaper WHR-G54S (white)
Have also used various Linksys WRT-54G, GS and GL but the Buff's are
cheaper and the power supplies less prone to overheating. Linksys has
the two antenna connectors as well.
Phil
Adrian (ADR Communications)
What bandwidth drop have you seen when in WDS mode?
Have you ever used them in Adhoc mode, using a central DHCP server (twin LAN
node)
Just loaded the latest ddwrt build, now with live bandwidth monitor, bloody
great tool.
shame that we can not use the wiana radius on the ddwrt.
Adrian
-----Original Message-----
From: Phil Thompson [mailto:ph...@yarwell.demon.co.uk]
Sent: 24 September 2007 14:49
To: mes...@googlegroups.com
Subject: [mesh] Re: ddwrt
Adrian (ADR Communications) wrote:
Phil
Phil Thompson
> Have you ever used them in Adhoc mode, using a central DHCP server (twin LAN
> node)
in WDS mode they have a central DHCP server, I don't think we've done
ad-hoc.
Phil
Tom Anderson
dd-wrt is my favoured choice because it has a good wegui for remote management, rflow to keep track of whats happening on the network , a variety of hotspot solutions etc, etc.
As yet I've not been able to get olsr (meshing ) to work, could be me or the firmware/settings.
Just fired up two sveasoft talisman/mesh and these do mesh (olsr)but are missing some good bits that dd-wrt has.
Batman is another for meshing but not tried this.
dd-wrt wds links have no bandwidth drop on the ethernet side only the wireless.
Used as a backhaul wds link , no wan port ,no dhcp server , no firewall etc , 6meg maxadsl comes out the second dd-wrt ethernet side to deliver 6 meg into an access point.Two bonded lies producing 10 meg at the input gave 10meg at the output. Killed all our other adsl feeds tho'.
If a mesh box is used as the dhcp server wiana radius can be used.
freeradius.net for a radius server that will run as a service on a windows machine.
rflow runs on windows.
Trying apples bonjour , runs on windows, mac and linux , for monitoring/management of talisman firmware.
I'm of the same opinion as Guy and others that multiple radio is the way to go, perhaps using wds links to feed access points eg
adsl/ap/ wds-----------wds/ ap /wds-----------wds/ap/wds-----------wds/ap/wds----------etc
We have this setup running adsl /meshap/wds---------wds-----meshap
---------wds/wrt.ap
It means that each of the meshap's and the wrt.ap can pull the full adsl bandwidth individually of course.
I've run dd-wrt on various manufacturers kit and they interact with no problems (Broadcom chipsets) Just follow the tips from the individual firmware sites , whether dd-wrt , open wrt sveasoft etc.
Buffaloes are around £30 and come with a wall mount kit :-) :-) .
That's all for now.
Tom
Richard B
1. I have DD-WRT on a couple of Buffalo WHR G54S boxes. Nice lot of
features.
2. A while back Phil demonstrated to us a Linksys/DD-WRT box (set to
use Lazy WDS) to extend the range of a MeshAP. I have tried it (with
a Buffalo) but it only seemed to work intermittently - sometimes
would, sometimes would not connect to the MeshAP though would work
fine to it if set as a client. One point may be significant - the help
implies need for a -70DB signal or better, and the link was close to
this.
3. The Buff can use diversity - one antenna is inside. DD-WRT permits
selecting which antenna to use (or both). From experiment the "right
hand" one is the external one.
4. On the same theme, can a Linksys be set to use one antenna for Tx
and the other for Rx? Then two ends of a link could have a high gain
antenna for Rx ("big ears") but a normal one for Tx ("small mouth").
5. I have a Buff driven directly from an ADSL moden/router as a simple
AP, filling a hole in our LW Mesh coverage. Works fine. By setting the
port numbers for SSH and HTTPS and setting forwarding on the router I
can manage it remotely via the Internet.
6. Re this AP, I upped the power from the default 28mw to 70. It seems
to be more than is needed. Any comments, anyone?
7. One "funny" occurred with the AP. There were two clients fairly
close together (150m?) and both about 300m from the AP. One client has
a Senao CB3+ (the b only model) and one a PheeNet WAP-11A. Both worked
at first, but then the WAP started linking to the CB3 and not getting
an Internet service. (The WAP was not tied to the Buff's MAC).
Probably an issue with the CB£, though I think it is set normally (as
for connecting to LW).
8. There has been at least one suggestions that DD-WRT "inventor" (aka
"Brainslayer") is stretching the Open Source license conditions. (Like
others around?). See http://www.bitsum.com/about-ddwrt.htm for the
view of someone who in the past contributed to it. Certainly the x86
version seems to be "closed". But may be I mis-understand the
situation.
Phil Thompson
> A few comments and questions on DD-WRT:
> 4. On the same theme, can a Linksys be set to use one antenna for Tx
> and the other for Rx? Then two ends of a link could have a high gain
> antenna for Rx ("big ears") but a normal one for Tx ("small mouth").
yes you can select the Tx antenna to be one side and the Rx the other.
Not sure how good the little switch that manages this is, have seen some
stuff about bypassing it with a hardware mod for best performance.
> 6. Re this AP, I upped the power from the default 28mw to 70. It seems
> to be more than is needed. Any comments, anyone?
depends how far you're going and what antenna is attached.
Phil
Dave Phelan
I don't understand why anyone building a fixed network of wireless
nodes wants to use an ad-hoc routing protocol. Sure, it has a purpose
in a dynamic environment of moving nodes, or sometimes-on fixed
connectivity (think One Laptop Per Child mesh networks) but if you
have a stable set of nodes, and a subset of those have wired
connectivity to the internet, how id that any different from a wholey
wired network, which is what non-adhoc routing protocols were design
for (in the days of less stable wan links)?
Dave Ph
Richie Jarvis
Imho, dd-wrt is great, but is far too heavyweight - its essentially
OpenWRT nowadays with plenty of bells and whistles which are not needed
in a WISP environment. Building a custom base which can do this job is
the way to go.
Cheers,
Richie