[Commotion-discuss] Router brand/model suggestions?

[Andy Gunn]

Great, more thoughts on this below.

On 05/30/2015 09:55 PM, Jared Hoy wrote:
> Thanks for the reply Andy. Good questions!
> 
> The intent was an outdoor network with point to point and omni 
> directional or multi directional down tilt antennas. Though I
> suppose indoor expandability would be a future consideration. So
> the focus would be outdoor at this time, with indoor later on.

Great - there are lots of options for equipment with that. Generally,
for outdoor service you want more centrally located omnidirectional
equipment, but you can also use wall-mounted omni or directional
access points for coverage.

> I would like to have the option of buying antennas or experimenting
> with my own. For point to point it seems easier, cheaper, and
> better to just purchase a small dish. I would like to use an omni
> or patch on one connector with a dish on the other (any thoughts?)

Building antennas can be a lot of fun, but can also be pretty fiddly -
there are lots of resources, especially from amateur (Ham) radio
operators. Search for resources on biquad and amos/quados antennas,
such as:
http://www.qsl.net/yu1aw/ANT_VHF/Amos_Ant/amos_antennas.htm
http://www.scribd.com/doc/121631287/AMOS-Antenna-With-Semicircular-Radiation-Diagram-For-2-4-GHz

I also wrote a blog post about AlterMundi's work using 2x2 MIMO
equipment to provide a directional signal, coupled with an omni signal
out of a single router:
https://commotionwireless.net/blog/2014/11/05/do-it-yourself-antennas-for-community-networks/
There original documentation is here, and is great:
http://docs.altermundi.net/RedesMiniMaxi/MontajeDeUnNodo

> The initial intent of the network will be multipurpose, but my
> thoughts are this:
> 
> * redundant point to point connection between campus locations.
> 
> * Wireless community backup communications network for emergency 
> situations, community based information for a decentralized
> internet style network. Similar to the Red Hook project and
> others.
> 
> * Other than that, it would serve as an experimental platform for 
> leaning and local communication for those who are in range and
> wish to cooperate.

Sounds good - wireless is a great platform for those things. Think
about how / where you can provide wired connections as well - either
Ethernet or fiber - the performance and reliability can't be beat!

> I understand the basic limitations of wireless communications such
> as channel capacity and interference, but I would really like to
> see this system implemented on a large scale.   If only we had
> larger frequency bands to work with. I would really like to see a
> community supported mesh with backhauls which approach the scale of
> the cellular network. Maybe that's going way to far, but that's my
> dream! I really like the idea of the ubiquiti air fiber for long
> distance backhauls. Gotta start somewhere.

I highly recommend using 5GHz for backhaul and point-to-point in this
day and age - 2.4GHz is pretty crowded. It can be used for small mesh
networks and Access Points, but you can definitely take 5GHz backhauls
to a large scale - the very big Wireless Internet Service Providers
(WISPs) use it pretty extensively.

Point-to-point links provide great performance, and can bridge
different types of networks at each end (point-to-multipoint or mesh).
For this, I would look at something like the Ubiquiti NanoBeam series:
https://www.ubnt.com/airmax/nanobeam-ac/
The lower-gain (shorter range) models are fairly affordable:
http://streakwave.com/Itemdesc.asp?ic=NBE-M5-16-US&o1=0

For Do-It-Yourself point-to-point links, the AlterMundi method works,
and you could use two dishes to provide the full MIMO capacity through
(just orient the antennas in front of the dishes at 90 degrees from
each other - i.e. one vertically polarized and the other horizontally
polarized). The TP-Link routers work well for this - the WDR3600 would
be my first choice, as it is fairly affordable ($50 or so). You can
also re-flash the firmware to use just about anything else - Commotion
/ LibreMesh / qMp or whatever else for meshing.

For omni-directional mesh routers, I recommend the Rocket M2 or M5
(depending on which band you want to use), or TP-Link WDR3600 (or
WDR4300) routers. For the TP-Links, you will need to find an outdoor
enclosure to weatherproof them. The antenna you use can be anything
you want - the high-performance Ubiquiti AirMax omnis:
https://www.ubnt.com/airmax/airmax-omni-antenna/
More reasonably priced but shorter range omnis:
http://streakwave.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=OARDSBX244&eq=&Tp=&o1=0
http://streakwave.com/itemdesc.asp?ic=OARDSBX55&eq=&Tp=&o1=0
(Note, with these you don't gain the benefits of dual-polarity, but
there will still be a 2x2 MIMO signal)

Streakwave and other distributors have just about every type of
antenna you could dream of, but you can also play with making your own!

For directional mesh routers, you can't beat the Ubiquiti NanoStation
M2 or M5, or the TP-Link routers with custom antennas.

> Thanks, Jared

Sure thing - I recommend going through some of our group activities
that are focused on wireless planning as well, to think and work out
router type and placement:
https://commotionwireless.net/docs/cck/planning/design-your-network-every-network-tells-story/
https://commotionwireless.net/docs/cck/networking/wireless-challenges/
https://commotionwireless.net/docs/cck/networking/types-of-wireless-networks/
https://commotionwireless.net/docs/cck/networking/guidelines-for-mesh/

Good luck!
-A


> On Wed, May 27, 2015 at 11:39 AM, Andy Gunn 
> <andygunn at opentechinstitute.org
> <mailto:andygunn at opentechinstitute.org>> wrote:
> 
> Hi Jared - I'm hoping a lot of people chime in on this one, as
> there are lots of possibilities!
> 
> Are you planning an indoor network, an outdoor
> (building-to-building) network, or both?
> 
> Are you planning on building your own antennas, or purchasing
> pre-made antennas?
> 
> What will the network be used for?
> 
> 
> 
> On 05/26/2015 11:19 PM, Jared Hoy wrote:
>> I've been interested in Commotion and meshing for a while, but 
>> until now haven't really had time to pursue it. Recently I've
>> been discussing it with fellow students and teachers at my school
>> and it seems many are interested in putting up some nodes. Also
>> sounds like my school may be interested in hosting some nodes on
>> top of the campuses as well.
> 
>> I told them I'd like to get 3 or 4 routers on my own so we can 
>> experiment before promoting it formally. That being the case, I 
>> need to determine the best brand and model. I see Ubiquity, 
>> Mikrotik, and TP-Link brands listed on commotion along with the 
>> many models. I was leaning toward the Ubiquiti Rocket M2 as it 
>> seems to be quite reliable and I like having the two external
>> coax connections.
> 
>> Is the Rocket my best option at this time? I'd like something
>> that offers reliability and has external antenna connections
>> (hopefully more than one) while still being relatively
>> inexpensive. I'd rather spend a little more to get something that
>> offers expandability in the future though.
> 
>> Most people don't want to contribute unless they see what it
>> offers and how it works, so I figure I'll purchase the first
>> batch to kick things off.
> 
>> Any suggestions? Any thoughts on the other brands and models?
> 
>> Thanks, Jared
> 
> 
> 

-- 
Andy Gunn, Field Engineer
Open Technology Institute, New America
andygunn at opentechinstitute.org | 202-596-3484
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