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

[Ben West]

For follow-up on this thread, here is what I've observed about getting
Commotion nodes to configure themselves and mesh ...

Upon first boot after flashing, the node should broadcast the following
SSIDs on channel 5, and these are set by the /etc/init.d/meshconfig script.

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

Shortly after first boot (how long?), the node will be assigned a unique
numerical ID like 2022497.  I think the node also converts its root
filesystem from squashfs to jffs during this time too, meaning it shouldn't
be powered down.

The meshconfig script will then update the SSID's broadcast by the node as
such:

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

At this point, the nodes should be able to automatically distinguish which
is a repeater and which is a gateway node, meshing with each other over the
"commotionwireless.net" signal.  Likewise, each node will accept wifi
clients on both their public and private APs (WPA key "c0MM0t10N!r0ckS!"),
displaying the Commotion splash page on your first port 80 request if that
was compiled in.

It looks like there was wiki page sneaking around with lots of these
details already, tho I think a bit out of date now:
https://code.commotionwireless.net/projects/commotion/wiki/Newbie_How_it_Works

On Fri, Jun 8, 2012 at 2:09 PM, Ben West <me at benwest.name> wrote:

> 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
>



-- 
Ben West
me at benwest.name
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