The LUGRo-Mesh Group announces: "The Nightwing Project: Fast Deployment Networks"
Julio Cesar Puigpinos
Rosario (LUGRo), Argentina (www.lugro.org.ar).
One of the projects of the group is the firmware Nightwing
(http://www.lugro.org.ar/nightwing/en), wich allows the creation of
fast deployment wireless mesh networks with minimal human
intervention. It's licenced under the GPL v3.0.
Currently it's intended for devices that have an Atheros AP51 wireless
chip. Such devices are the La Fonera, Meraki Mini, Ubiquiti
NanoStation, Ubiquiti PowerStation and the Ubiquiti LittleStation
among others. Expecially those devices that have 4MB of Flash memory
and 16MB of RAM memory, wich is the most frecuent configuration found
in the market.
The main features are this:
* 0-config: You only need to power-on the device and it will
configure automatically. It will asume it's rol and conect to others
devices that it founds. If it has Internet access to share it will be
a gateway node, if not it will be a client node. If a node doesn't
have it's own Internet connection but can contact to one or more
neighbors that are gateway nodes, himself can provide Internet access.
It will do it by wireless and ethernet connection.
* Public Connection Interface: This kind of connection is not
encrypted, it's intended for unknown users. This connection is managed
by the captive portal NoDogSplash, wich is in charge of the security
and the administration of the Internet access. The users of the public
network are isolated from them self and from the rest of the mesh,
they can only access to the Internet.
* Private Connection Interface: This kind of connection in
encrypted (WAP2), so to be able to use it you must know the access
key. It's intended for known users and it isn't managed by a captive
portal.
* OpenDNS: The DNS service is based in the free service that the
company provides. This choice adds the possibility to delegate in this
service other configuration aspects like content filtering of web
pages, domain blocking, phising protection and much more (by the
moment it's only used for the DNS services, the implementation of the
others services that OpenDNS provides it's in the project's TO-DO
list).
* Thinked for Security: The development of Nightwing takes account
security from the very beginning of its development. The nightwing
nodes provide security to the internal network and to the clients that
connect to the nodes, so who decides to be a gateway node can trust
that his internal network won't be compromised. So too, who decides to
connect to the nodes through the LAN, can be sure that whoever
connects wirelessly will not be able to access them. To avoid security
problems when two or more clients connects wirelessly, some mechanisms
have been anticipated that will prevent that they can see each other.
This way, if it can't see it, it can't atack it.
* Few Hardware Requirements: Nightwing, besides requiring an
Atheros AP51 wireless chip, only needs a minimun of 4MB of Flash
memory and 16MB of RAM memory. This is why the amount of devices that
can be used is bigger.
To make Nightwing we choose the GNU/Linux distribution OpenWRT
(www.openwrt.org), in it's release Kamikaze 7.09 (at this moment we
are using the unstable version r10736). For the routing protocol we
choose B.A.T.M.A.N (www.open-mesh.net/batman), wich is meant for
wireless mesh networks. We also use, as a starting point, one of the
early versions of Ro.B.In. (http://www.blogin.it/), but currently we
have our own and different design. We are greatful with the ideas
aported by the Ro.B.In. project, sense it allowed us to understand the
basic operation of the implementation of B.A.T.M.A.N. In the design
of the system, we saw that we want it to make things in a simpler
manner and that the source code could be self-explained, that's why we
develop Nightwing.
For more information about the project that originate this
development, you can visit the group's web site:
www.lugro.org.ar/lugro-mesh -----> spanish
www.lugro.org.ar/lugro-mesh/en -----> english
Currently all the info, that is in spanish, is being translated into english.
Saludos, Julio
--
NO A LA MATRICULA!!!: http://noalamatricula.wordpress.com/
www.lugro.org.ar GNU/Linux User Group Rosario, Argentina
Registered GNU/Linux User #358886