[Commotion-dev] Better understanding of meshconfig tool in commotion-openwrt

[Ben West]

Hi All,

I see that the boot script /etc/init.d/meshconfig in Commotion OpenWRT
looks to do much of the heavy lifting in configuring a node, and that
this tool is unique to Commotion rather than taken from another source
(like meshwizard).  I fully understand this tool is still under
development, and that issues were just filed today on Redmine asking
for documentation.  Just trying to get a better idea of where to
start.

I was able to get several nodes meshing together using OpenWRT r31639
a few weeks back, but attempts so far with r32002 are falling flat.
So, the original behavior of those functioning nodes is a bit of a
mystery.

>From what I've observed so far, a newly flashed node upon 1st boot
should broadcast the following SSIDs on channel 5, and these are set
by the apply_wireless_defaults() function in /etc/init.d/meshconfig,
correct?

CommotionSetup-ap (public AP)
CommotionSetup-secure (encrypted AP)
CommotionSetup-mesh (adhoc)

After a node receives its unique configuration, whereby it gets a
assigned a unique numerical ID like 2022497, it should then broadcast
these SSIDs instead, which are also set by the meshconfig script,
correct?

commotion_2022497_ap (public AP)
commotion_2022497_secure (private AP)
commotionwireless.net (adhoc)

How is the per-node configuration supposed to occur?  I.e. is the node
supposed to configure itself upon 1st or 2nd boot?  Is the user
supposed to SSH into 192.168.1.20 to issue commands at the prompt?
Or, is the user supposed to connect wirelessly to one of the node's
"CommotionSetup" APs and enter config info thru a web UI?

Likewise, how does a node know whether it is a gateway (e.g. wired
uplink on its LAN port) or just a repeater?  Is it supposed to
automatically detect presence of an upstream DHCP server on its LAN
port, or must these roles be specified explicitly under /etc/...

Thanks.

--
Ben West
me at benwest.name