AREDN Project Announces Strategic Changes

AREDN forms a non-profit corporation to ensure continuity

The project saw the need for more formal governance and as a result, took the strategic step of organizing as a non-profit corporation. This will help protect the user-community investments in mesh networking by setting up the framework for long-term resource management, research, and development.

Our mission is still focused on providing the Amateur Radio Community with software, education, and support to enable them to aid public safety, emergency response and disaster relief agencies with high-speed multimedia data networks.

Continuing to rely on the financial support of a few individuals is not a sustainable means of supporting the project. Without more widespread support, the community’s growing investment in network equipment and relationships with served agencies is at risk. We expect to obtain contributions primarily from the ham community. We plan to use these funds to cover operating expenses such as web site hosting, setup a test and validation lab, obtain associated test equipment, and address the costs of promoting the project through various marketing channels. We plan to consider grants to fund worthy implementations of AREDN infrastructure as our resources may allow.

AREDN code repositories on GitHub

All AREDN source code has been moved to GitHub at https://github.com/aredn/aredn_ar71xx. GitHub also includes an issue tracking feature to capture enhancement requests and defects.

GitHub is one of the largest open source code repository services with over 40 million users. Anyone with basic knowledge of Linux and Git can now contribute changes and compile AREDN images through an automated build process. If you have a background in application or firmware development, the hurdle to contribute is now substantially lower.

The move to GitHub helps the project stay aligned with the current version of OpenWRT. This is the basis for AREDN firmware and is supported by over one thousand developers worldwide. These developers release a steady stream of advancements and fixes. Contributors may now focus on those features that make the AREDN product unique and pertinent to the ham community.

The move to GitHub is already helping our project. We are pleased to have three new developers already contributing. One of them, Andrew, KK4ZUZ, bought a TP-Link CPE210 v2.0 device and discovered that AREDN did not support it. He rolled up his sleeves, collaborated, started coding, and submitted pull requests to GitHub. Thanks to Andrew, we now have support for the CPE210 and CPE510 v2.0 devices.

Are you interested in contributing? Then become familiar with the GitHub workflow and submit your pull requests. Regular code contributors may take part in periodic developer conference calls.

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Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network, Inc. is a New Jersey non-profit corporation supporting the AREDN open-source software development project.

The project writes and promotes the development of firmware for re-purposing Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) devices for use by licensed radio amateurs. These re-purposed devices - referred to as “AREDN Nodes” - are deployable by radio amateurs to automatically inter-operate and form a high-speed data network. This network is highly useful to emergency responders and disaster relief agencies during times of local and regional disasters.

See the AREDN website for further information and software:
https://www.arednmesh.org

Or, contact:
Randy Smith, WU2S
The AREDN Project
wu2s@arednmesh.org

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Thanks for the post! In my meager decade or so in the hobby, I've never heard of AREDN.

Every time I've looked into "mesh networking", it seemed to have very limited service and a bit of a boondoggle to implement.

Mostly due to limited hardware choices, and very very limited range.
Particularly one must be careful to not have any commecial value. Just surfing the web and seeing ads would violate the "pecuniary interests" regs.

Methinks this is one of those great ideas that's outlived it's usefulness.

 

Mesh networks are being used successfully in industrial, commercial, and public service applications. The communications industry went through "mesh euphoria" about 10 years ago but eventually realized that it's not useful for a large public ubiquitous access network. There is a bit of a craze right now among young techies thinking somehow WiFi mesh will become an alternative to cellular access. And they will be freed of those bills.

Mesh networks do have potential for emergency data networks if networks and their users understand the strengths and weaknesses of such networks. And work to the strengths and around the weaknesses.

Having experience at Motorola developing and deploying mesh networks and mesh radios I do have concerns with groups that modify firmware on existing radios. My experience is that compliance with FCC regulations can be affected by code changes. One has to wonder if open source development of amateur radio mesh code is qualified prior to release.

 

Hams in Southern California counties have built and are utilizing a ~450 node mesh network based on AREDN software, operating in the ham 900 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 3.4 GHz, and 5.8 GHz microwave allocations. It has the potential to support multi-megabit Emcomm traffic from the Mexican border, north to Ventura, and east to Palm Springs/Indio. Hams in most other large metro areas are starting to do the same. This isn't theoretical, its in use daily for VoIP telephone, email, chat, video surveillance/conferencing.etc.

 

Is there a system level document on what is being deployed? If so I'd be interested to look it over.

 

Supported devices include the entire AirMax "M" Series of Ubiquiti and the CPE210 & CPE510 TPLink wireless routers. Specs are available online from their respective manufacturers. Additional manufacturers' devices are in development.

As for the SoCal network topology, it generally follows a 3-tiered (Backbone, Mid-mile, Deployed node) strategy. Nodes are automatically configured with network params, so coordination is not required. Hams simply load the software, enter their callsign along with a few environment variables and it joins the mesh. Part 97 ID requirements are fulfilled automatically by the software.

More info can be found on the project's website at: arednmesh.org

Andre, K6AH
Project Manager
The AREDN Project
k6ah@arednmesh.org

 

I think one thing to keep in mind with AREDN and any other Part 97 based mesh networking solution is, connection to the Internet is not implied. As such, any ads through surfing would be a non-issue. The benefit of a mesh network, over that of older packet technology is the ability to transmit data quickly. This is very important in a disaster situation, where digital images captured from a phone can be in excess of 8MB. As far as range, you certainly have a line-of-site issue but that would be the case for any communication in those bands but mesh also makes it easier to overcome those obstacles.

 

Those who have implemented this technology are getting up to 50 miles between nodes and it's not uncommon for deployed nodes to link up with the network across distances of 15-20 miles. Complaints of limited range hearken to the BBHN days when the Linksys WRT54G was the only box that supported the software. The AREDN Project's broadening the support to commercial Wireless ISP devices has turned an interesting novelty into a viable offering capable of delivering critical network services to disaster agencies.

This isn't to diminish the challenges with microwaves frequencies. Line-of-sight is an absolute requirements (and while I've personally used reflections and knife-edge retractions to make weak-signal contest contacts, to my knowledge no one has successfully used that technique with mesh); any encroachments into the 1st & 3rd Fresnel Zone will cause significant signal degradation; vegetation can all be challenges.

We are fortunate in SoCal to have mountainous terrain in most counties. This bodes well for multi-tier network architecture as I have espoused in QST and TAPR articles. I'm certain this has contributed to the rapid adoption into SoCal. Although flat-landers are still doing well by utilizing water towers, communications tower, etc.

I encourage the ham community to try this out. If there's an AREDN mesh in your area, buy a Ubiquiti NanoStation M for the band supported in your area. The entry price is about $75.

Andre, K6AH

 

With Motorola radios that were at the maximum legal power (30dBm), directional antennas, and radio chip sets very similar to those used in the Ubiquiti radios we could reliably get links of 40kM with maximum modulation rates. These of course were mounted on high locations. Using mounting locations from 14 to 25 feet, the same radios, and Omni antennas we would see only about 750 feet of range to maintain maximum modulation rates. In trees significantly less.

Radios mounted below 20 feet can see "traffic fade" if located adjacent to busy roads.

 

The maximum modulation rate currently achievable across an AREDN RF link is 144Mbps (802.11n). As you point out, this rate can be difficult to achieve in the environment I described in my earlier comment. However, data rates, down to 1 Mbps, or lower, are still useful in passing disaster traffic. So while a network implementation might strive for a maximum throughput, there is no shame in settling for, say, 50 Mbps. I have a 50 mile backbone link running at 50 Mbps.

 

My area is looking into doing a Mesh. I will not be able to reach the main mesh. I was wondering if I can connect via the internet until I am able to connect directly?

I am planning on running web servers with Ham Radio related websites and services on the mesh..

 

Yes you can through what we call a Tunnel (an encrypted channel thru the Internet). Visit our web site at www.arednmesh.org for more information and post any additional questions you may have to our Forum.

Andre, K6AH

 

Ah, yet another round of developer infighting and splitting off to form a new group. Our club started looking at this technology when it was at http://www.broadband-hamnet.org/. When it split off to http://www.aredn.org , we halted efforts to see how everything would stabilize. Now, another developer split with IP rights in the mix and a new site at https://www.arednmesh.org/just as we were starting to look at the technology again. If the groups of developers for this stuff cannot maintain a positive relationship, how can anyone trust that there will be any ongoing support for mesh using these reprogrammed devices? Once again, I will recommend waiting a year or two to see how the situation stabilizes before our club pursues this technology.

 

It really wasn't as you've characterized it. Regardless of what you may have read, a single disgruntled team member left the group with the domain name (aredn.com). The remainder of the team is intact, but was forced to create a new domain name (arednmesh.org).

The team has now organized as a public charity non-profit, 501(c)(3). Going forward the IP rights are held by the corporation. BTW, there was never a question as to the software licensing. It has always been covered by the Free Software Foundation's GPLv3 license.

Andre, K6AH

 

Well, what you see on the inside versus appearances is different. When broadband hamnet came out, we had a lot of people that jumped on the that bandwagon and acquired boxes full of WRT-54 routers to reprogram that were left in somewhat of a deadend when the aredn group split off to chase the more expensive (albeit more capable) ubiquiti hardware. You now have another split with someone that I must assume was somewhat involved in the aredn effort. That leaves me with the perception that you have a number of personalities involved that rather than maintain a cohesive group, are more willing to split up to pursue their own individual focus. Thus, the sense that the reliability of your team of volunteers is still developing and not necessarily all on the same page for the long term. Just because your new cohesion is organized under 501(c)(3) doesn't mean it cannot fall apart again, just that a new group has a sense of control over things. Who is your corporation board, officers, etc. Can others join the corporation to have a substantive voice in proceedings? Or is it just a closely held corporation by a handful of people that can dictate to others without risk of being replaced?

When I look at making investments in the technology, I worry that it may be something whihc looks kinda "free" now, but could have unknown cost and consequences later. I am still impressed by what you have done moving this technology forward and wish you the best in future endeavors with it. But, I feel that you need to all step back, look at yourselves in the mirror, and work to bring the entirety of your mesh developers back into the fold with out cutting each other off at the knees to get what the different factions want. Only then can I look at mesh as a long term viable solution, rather than an interesting experiment.

73
Mark, KV4UC