Download - Community Mesh Networks Status 2012
Community Mesh Networks
Status 2012
Sebastian Büttrich, [email protected]
NSRC / IT University of Copenhagen
Last edit: February 2012, ICTP Trieste
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
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Agenda
I was asked to present a case study –
but so much is changing in and around community mesh networks
That I will change my agenda
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Agenda
‣ A timeline and historical perspective of community mesh networks
‣ What has changed over the last decade?
‣ Relevant developments in community mesh networks, 2012
‣ A case study from 2008 / revisited
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Timeline
‣ 2002 Freifunk, Germany http://www.freifunk.net
‣ 2002 Djursland, Denmark
‣ 2003 Funkfeuer, Austria http://www.funkfeuer.at
‣ 2004 Guifi, Spain, http://guifi.net
‣ 2005 CuWin Champaign Urbana, USA
‣ 2005 Peebles Valley, South Africa
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Timeline
‣ 2005 Dharamsala, India, http://airjaldi.com
‣ 2005 Ghana Wireless
‣ 2006 Linknet Zambia
‣ 2008 Sengerema Telecenter, Tanzania
… this is neither complete nor unbiased - find more here:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_wireless_community_networks_by_region
a look back in time:
Mesh cases
• Community network started in Berlin/Germany, to fill a gap in broadband (DSL/Fiber) access
Now there is almost no gaps anymore ...
• Home of the Freifunk Firmware
• Number of Nodes: 500+ Berlin, many more with several 100s
The Freifunk movement
Mesh casesThe Freifunk movement
180 nodes (Oct 2005)this = graphviz visualization
Mesh casesCuWin / USA
180 nodes (Oct 2005)this = graphviz visualization
Mesh casesDharamsala / India
180 nodes (Oct 2005)this = graphviz visualization
• Using Linksys WRT54G with OpenWRT firmware
• Using OLSR with ETX
• Connecting non-profit organizations
• Developed by Dharamsala Information Technology Group / TibTec
Mesh casesPeebles Valley, Mpumalanga, South Africa
• Meraka Institute, CSIR Pretoria
• Using FreifunkFirmware
• < 10 nodes right now, but growing
• First node was the Aids care training and support (ACTS) clinic
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Community mesh networks in 2012
Advice I would give a community network project today:
‣ 1) Lay fiber/cable if you can!
‣ 2) If you can not do fiber/cable, do wireless backbones and APs!
‣ 3) If you can not do 1) or 2), do mesh!
Open for discussion!
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What has changed since 2005?
‣ Lots of new (highly mobile!) devices
‣ The stationary desktop computer is disappearing
‣ More bandwidth needed
‣ Mobile data cheaper and more available
‣ Some of the "community" mesh companies went the wrong (evil) way (Meraki, Fonera)
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What has changed since 2005, technically?
‣ The Linksys WRT54 is no longer our "swiss army knife"
‣ OLSR is no longer our one and only choice for routing
‣ Dual (multiple) bands, multiple radios
‣ 802.11n is everywhere
‣ 802.11s, long believed to be dead or inferior, seems to come back to life (OLPC, Google)
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One the other hand ...
‣ Ownership and freedom of networks more relevant than ever
‣ Mobile surveillance and shutdown in times of conflict, from USA to Germany to Egypt to Libya to … (insert your country here)
‣ New political momentum - from Egypt to Occupy (inspires projects like http://openmeshproject.org/, Commotion)
‣ Facebook and Google privacy disasters create support for community owned structures
What to watch in mesh 2012
What to watch in mesh 2012
What to watch in mesh 2012
What to watch in mesh 2012
What to watch in mesh 2012People's data, WSN, citizen scientists
What to watch in mesh 2012
… and here's the case study,
Sengerema, Tanzania2008
Case study:Sengerema TelecenterShared Mesh Network
On behalf of the Sengerema team: Sebastian Büttrich, wire.less.dk
edit: February 2009 @ ICTP
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Mesh casesSengerema, Tanzania
• Sengerema Telecenter• Part of Tanzania Telecenter Network
(TTN)• First shared mesh network in Tanzania• Supported by IICD (Netherlands)
Sengerema MeshBackground
• Sengerema multi-purpose Telecenter: computer services, printing, office, internet, education, FM Radio Station (reach 400,000 people) etc
• Has internet connection - VSAT 128/64 kbps through COSTECH(Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology) – newskies.com as VSAT provider
Sengerema Telecenter
SengeremaTelecenter:Tower
Sengerema MeshRemarkable aspects
• New business models aiming at sustainability independent of funding
• Network creation embedded in capacity building and community growing
• Addressing the “chicken – egg” problem of creating a rural IT environment
• Lakezone Wireless Expert Group
Sengerema Mesh
Customers
Sengerema MeshCustomers / Users
• First round:
• The Union of Disabled Association of Tanzania
• Sengerema Non-Governmental Network-SENGONET
• Sengerema Focal Development College (FDC)
• District Educational Office / DEO
• Sengerema Agricultural Office
• Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Commerce (TCCIA)
• UNDP/SLEM Entrepreneurs office
• Teachers Resource Centre (TRC)
• Tanzania Teachers Association (TTA)
• Home of the Elderly
• KIMOSA enterprises
• Ward
• Upcoming:
• Primary School
• Hotel Lisbon
• And many more ...
CeltelMobileOperatorTower
Sengerema MeshMap
Sengerema MeshWorkshop October 2008
Sengerema MeshTechnology choices
• Low budget (...) Mesh• Wireless routers: Linksys WRT54GL• Firmware: OpenWRT/Freifunk• Antennas: self built (with some
exceptions)• Antenna masts built locally
Sengerema Mesh: BudgetWiFi vs. Motorola Canopy
• Comparison Canopy Wifi
Initial costs per customer [USD]1200 150-200
Speed 54 Mbps 54 Mbps(With a VSAT connection of 128/64 kbps, the speed of the local wireless net will not be the bottleneck, in the foreseeable future)
Life span, expected10 years 5 years
Loss rateHardware failure, Theft, Power fluctuations, Animals, Water/climate
? 25% per year
Mesh cases
Sengerema:Nodehardware
Sengerema Mesh
Node hardware
Sengerema Mesh
Super node:Omni &BiquadAntenna
Sengerema MeshGPS recording of sites
SiteSurvey:
GPS,environment,technical &humanfactors
Sengerema MeshRadio Mobile Planning
Sengerema MeshRadioMobile Planning
Sengerema MeshNetwork Plan
Mesh cases
Sengerema:Installation
Sengerema MeshAntenna Masts
• 6 poles L- shape each six metres• 5 poles normal each six metres
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema Mesh
Sengerema MeshIMAGE
Sengerema Mesh
Opening ceremony
Sengerema MeshChallenges & Next Steps
• 10+ sites (e.g. a school with hundreds of students) getting to use the web via 128/64 kbps ... bandwidth becomes an issue
• Complete Proxy / Cache configurations• Create Local Content• Configure Bandwidth Management
Sengerema MeshChallenges & Next Steps
• Connect the next customers waiting• Upgrade the VSAT bandwidth
Sengerema MeshChallenges & Next Steps
• Usage problems: Lismas, the technician, reports:“A customer told me there is a problem with the internet. When I checked it, I found out he typed only two w’s instead of three to enter the World Wide Web”.
• Virus protection• Tools and techniques
Sengerema MeshFurther Info
• http://telecentre.org• http://iicd.org• Many blogs and articles from Sengerema:• http://www.iicd.org/IICDCorporateBlog/sengerema-community-browsing-the-net
• http://www.telecentre.org/profiles/blogs/people-with-disabilities-hails
• http://www.telecentre.org/profiles/blog/list?user=366s7pcdpwq42
• http://www.iicd.org/articles/launch-of-wireless-internet-in-sengerema-tanzania/
• Flickr.com: search for “sengerema wireless mesh ...” :) e.g. John Kibuuka's stream: http://flickr.com/photos/kjohnah/