Mpumalanga Mesh:Project Progress - Revision history

Ajay: /* July 21, 2006 Firewall and Wikipedia installed */

2007-08-30T13:02:15Z

July 21, 2006 Firewall and Wikipedia installed

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:02, 30 August 2007
Line 142:		Line 142:
	Hopefully, in the future, it will be the farmers who depend on the school link making the phone call, asking the teacher to keep the node up. Then we will truly see the symbiotic vision of mesh networking becoming a reality.		Hopefully, in the future, it will be the farmers who depend on the school link making the phone call, asking the teacher to keep the node up. Then we will truly see the symbiotic vision of mesh networking becoming a reality.

	== July 21, ~~2006~~ Firewall and Wikipedia installed ==		== 21 July 2006, Firewall and Wikipedia installed ==

	Finally David gets an Avis car with a large boot (Nissan Almera). Leave Pretoria with my wife and kids, Nula, Samuel and Luke. Arrive in White river at about 3:00PM. Nula drops me at clinic and heads back to B&B.		Finally David gets an Avis car with a large boot (Nissan Almera). Leave Pretoria with my wife and kids, Nula, Samuel and Luke. Arrive in White river at about 3:00PM. Nula drops me at clinic and heads back to B&B.

Ajay: /* July 22, 2006 I can support this network now from my own lounge */

2007-08-30T13:02:02Z

July 22, 2006 I can support this network now from my own lounge

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:02, 30 August 2007
Line 130:		Line 130:


	== July 22, ~~2006~~ I can support this network now from my own lounge ==		== 22 July 2006, I can support this network now from my own lounge ==

	I arrive at the clinic at 8:30AM and my good night sleep helps me realise that the link between the firewall and the server should be a cross over cable (this is a PC-to-PC link) luckily, I have one of these in my armoury of equipment. Then I realise that the internet port on the Linksys wireless router was set to 10.3.1.2 and not 10.2.1.2. I change the script on the firewall and reconfigure the interface to 10.3.1.1 – now the link to the wireless router is working. So all the networking stuff is working fine. I login to the Wikipedia server and I can reach the outside world via the clinic VSAT. I phone John and ask him to check if the reverse port forwarding is working from Pretoria – he checks and all is well.		I arrive at the clinic at 8:30AM and my good night sleep helps me realise that the link between the firewall and the server should be a cross over cable (this is a PC-to-PC link) luckily, I have one of these in my armoury of equipment. Then I realise that the internet port on the Linksys wireless router was set to 10.3.1.2 and not 10.2.1.2. I change the script on the firewall and reconfigure the interface to 10.3.1.1 – now the link to the wireless router is working. So all the networking stuff is working fine. I login to the Wikipedia server and I can reach the outside world via the clinic VSAT. I phone John and ask him to check if the reverse port forwarding is working from Pretoria – he checks and all is well.

Ajay: /* 5 August, 2006 Things going wrong in the mesh */

2007-08-30T13:01:45Z

5 August, 2006 Things going wrong in the mesh

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:01, 30 August 2007
Line 121:		Line 121:
	Looks like the power supply is bust, Dumisani checked the PC and couldn't power it up - OK we need to place on our next trip. Again this was due to remote management - noticed the PC wasn't responsive		Looks like the power supply is bust, Dumisani checked the PC and couldn't power it up - OK we need to place on our next trip. Again this was due to remote management - noticed the PC wasn't responsive

	== 5 August, 2006 Things going wrong in the mesh ==		== 05 August, 2006 Things going wrong in the mesh ==

	Agnes computer is not connecting to the mesh - Dumisani discovered that the driver for the Ethernet interface is not working. Hopefully we can move Dumisani to an advanced level of Linux support so that he can fix driver problems soon. I suggest an advanced Linux course to him - I sure he will drink it up and enjoy the challenge.		Agnes computer is not connecting to the mesh - Dumisani discovered that the driver for the Ethernet interface is not working. Hopefully we can move Dumisani to an advanced level of Linux support so that he can fix driver problems soon. I suggest an advanced Linux course to him - I sure he will drink it up and enjoy the challenge.

Ajay: /* 7 August, 2006 Wikipedia PC down */

2007-08-30T13:01:38Z

7 August, 2006 Wikipedia PC down

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:01, 30 August 2007
Line 117:		Line 117:


	== 7 August, 2006 Wikipedia PC down ==		== 07 August, 2006 Wikipedia PC down ==

	Looks like the power supply is bust, Dumisani checked the PC and couldn't power it up - OK we need to place on our next trip. Again this was due to remote management - noticed the PC wasn't responsive		Looks like the power supply is bust, Dumisani checked the PC and couldn't power it up - OK we need to place on our next trip. Again this was due to remote management - noticed the PC wasn't responsive


	== 5 August, 2006 Things going wrong in the mesh ==		== 5 August, 2006 Things going wrong in the mesh ==

Ajay: /* 2 April, 2007 Monday Lightening strikes the firewall again */

2007-08-30T13:01:25Z

2 April, 2007 Monday Lightening strikes the firewall again

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:01, 30 August 2007
Line 31:		Line 31:
	By know my body was really aching from the Cold I had caught the day before, so we headed back to the accommodation block, packed up our stuff and I tried to complete my final task of getting the Reverse ssh tunnel working from my Linux server. After struggling for about 2 hours with public keys and authentication problems, I eventually hacked together a solution that would work only until the next reboot or until the VSAT reset itself, I gave up trying to get it to work through a reset and hoped that it would still be running by the time I got back to Pretoria to finish the task. By now Nula was not happy with me, it was 8PM and we were going to drive back to Pretoria in the dark and in the rain and arrive back at midnight. So we packed the car and headed back in terrible weather, the rain was so thick that I sometimes had drive at about 40 km/h because my wipers couldn't get enough water off the windscreen. We arrived back in Pretoria at about 1:00AM having achieved the impossible.		By know my body was really aching from the Cold I had caught the day before, so we headed back to the accommodation block, packed up our stuff and I tried to complete my final task of getting the Reverse ssh tunnel working from my Linux server. After struggling for about 2 hours with public keys and authentication problems, I eventually hacked together a solution that would work only until the next reboot or until the VSAT reset itself, I gave up trying to get it to work through a reset and hoped that it would still be running by the time I got back to Pretoria to finish the task. By now Nula was not happy with me, it was 8PM and we were going to drive back to Pretoria in the dark and in the rain and arrive back at midnight. So we packed the car and headed back in terrible weather, the rain was so thick that I sometimes had drive at about 40 km/h because my wipers couldn't get enough water off the windscreen. We arrived back in Pretoria at about 1:00AM having achieved the impossible.

	== 2 April, 2007 Monday Lightening strikes the firewall again ==		== 02 April, 2007 Monday Lightening strikes the firewall again ==

	Arrived with my car and trailer and family at the ACTS clinic at about 11:30AM. My first set of tasks was to tackle all the problems at the ACTS clinic itself. Harry had moved the firewall and server down to the main clinic building and had no luck getting the firewall up and running. Harry had done a good job, everything was connected up correctly but the firewall was not responding at all. The next thought was to reach the firewall via the serial port, no serial port cross over cables were lying around, so my next task was to hack together a cross over from bits and pieces of modem serial cables I could find. This proved a long and arduous task with my primitive soldering iron – but after about an hour and a half I finally connected up the firewall with my shiny new cross over to the firewall. I poked around in the firewall and found that all the Ethernet ports were down, I later discovered that lightening was the culprit again.		Arrived with my car and trailer and family at the ACTS clinic at about 11:30AM. My first set of tasks was to tackle all the problems at the ACTS clinic itself. Harry had moved the firewall and server down to the main clinic building and had no luck getting the firewall up and running. Harry had done a good job, everything was connected up correctly but the firewall was not responding at all. The next thought was to reach the firewall via the serial port, no serial port cross over cables were lying around, so my next task was to hack together a cross over from bits and pieces of modem serial cables I could find. This proved a long and arduous task with my primitive soldering iron – but after about an hour and a half I finally connected up the firewall with my shiny new cross over to the firewall. I poked around in the firewall and found that all the Ethernet ports were down, I later discovered that lightening was the culprit again.

Ajay: /* 3 April, 2007 Tuesday All mesh nodes working and support and maintenance handed over to Compuright */

2007-08-30T13:01:16Z

3 April, 2007 Tuesday All mesh nodes working and support and maintenance handed over to Compuright

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:01, 30 August 2007
Line 16:		Line 16:
	It's just a demonstration of how even a badly made rusted can pointing in the wrong direction still works really well - there is hope for community built networks! Viva the rusty Can!		It's just a demonstration of how even a badly made rusted can pointing in the wrong direction still works really well - there is hope for community built networks! Viva the rusty Can!

	== 3 April, 2007 Tuesday All mesh nodes working and support and maintenance handed over to Compuright ==		== 03 April, 2007 Tuesday All mesh nodes working and support and maintenance handed over to Compuright ==

	Woke up wondering how it was going to be possible to get through all the sites I had to visit and possibly do some major repair work at some of them. So I had a double bowl of ProNutro to prepare me for the big day. First stop was US Aid, I found and that Jan and Alan were on holiday but their house sitter, a lovely old welsh lady by the name of Diane, helped me out. I was expecting the worst because the node was not responsive but simply rebooting it again proved to do the trick and I got it up and running within a few minutes – another one of those to flag for Sven Ola. I quickly hooked up her PC to the network and she said it was much faster than the slow Telkom line she uses at home.		Woke up wondering how it was going to be possible to get through all the sites I had to visit and possibly do some major repair work at some of them. So I had a double bowl of ProNutro to prepare me for the big day. First stop was US Aid, I found and that Jan and Alan were on holiday but their house sitter, a lovely old welsh lady by the name of Diane, helped me out. I was expecting the worst because the node was not responsive but simply rebooting it again proved to do the trick and I got it up and running within a few minutes – another one of those to flag for Sven Ola. I quickly hooked up her PC to the network and she said it was much faster than the slow Telkom line she uses at home.

Ajay at 13:27, 22 August 2007

2007-08-22T13:27:00Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:27, 22 August 2007
Line 1:		Line 1:
	{{Mpumalanga_Mesh nav bar}}		{{Mpumalanga_Mesh nav bar}}

	~~=Dissemination=~~

	During the course of the project there have been a number of opportunities to present the events of Peebles to others. While some could be considered accidental if you examine these in line with the outcomes mapping you will see that many could be considered the 'love to sees'.

	~~==Print & Web==~~

	* Lowvelder - as a results of the SABC screening of the Cantenna the local Mpumalanga newspaper ran a story on the clinic and the mesh network.
	* [http://southafrica.info SouthAfrica.info] - [http://www.southafrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/scitech/cantenna2107.htm 'Tin-can-do' connects rural areas]
	* Tectonic - [http://www.tectonic.co.za/view.php?action=view&id=532&topic= Coffee can connects rural world to Internet]
	* Engineering News - [http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article.php?a_id=74454 Tin-can bridge to digital society]
	* GautengOnline newsletter - [http://www.gautengonline.gov.za/newsletter/issues/02/st.htm Bridging the communication divide]
	* GoOpenSource.org - [http://www.go-opensource.org/campaign/partners/meraka_cantenna/4/ First Meraka Cantenna connects!]

	~~==Television==~~

	* Associated Press Television News (APTN) - the first filming session that created the famous cantenna story and picture
	* BBC's [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/default.stm Click] technology program flighted the [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/6646469.stm#3 Tin cantenna] story that created many opportunities locally for media exposure.
	* SABC - as a result of the BBC documentary, SABC3 flighted a news story about the cantenna

	~~==Events==~~

	~~WSIS (Tunis) - Dwayne and Ajay presented on the IDRC stand about wifi and cantennas. The Meraka Institute was present on the South African stand presenting in part about FMFI.~~

	~~==Images==~~

	* Lassy and the Can
	** Appeared on the South African WSIS stand

Ajay: /* Events */

2007-08-15T13:17:46Z

Events

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:17, 15 August 2007
Line 22:		Line 22:
	==Events==		==Events==

	WSIS - Dwayne and Ajay presented on the IDRC stand about wifi and cantennas. The Meraka Institute was present on the South African stand presenting in part about FMFI.		WSIS (Tunis) - Dwayne and Ajay presented on the IDRC stand about wifi and cantennas. The Meraka Institute was present on the South African stand presenting in part about FMFI.

	==Images==		==Images==

Ajay: /* 15 August, 2007 300KB/s on a 4.5km link to a rusty can pointing the wrong way!! */

2007-08-15T13:15:53Z

15 August, 2007 300KB/s on a 4.5km link to a rusty can pointing the wrong way!!

← Older revision		Revision as of 15:15, 15 August 2007
Line 32:		Line 32:
	=Progress Reports=		=Progress Reports=

	== 15 August, 2007 ~~300KB~~/s on a 4.5km link to a rusty can pointing the wrong way!! ==		== 15 August, 2007 300kb/s on a 4.5km link to a rusty can pointing the wrong way!! ==

	I just have to share this with you, I was busy gathering all the throughput stats in the Peebles mesh project for a conference paper (ICTD in india) and the measurement that just blew me away was this one.		I just have to share this with you, I was busy gathering all the throughput stats in the Peebles mesh project for a conference paper (ICTD in india) and the measurement that just blew me away was this one.

Ajay: /* 15 August, 2007 300KB/s on a 4.5KM link to a rusty can pointing the wrong way!! */

2007-08-15T12:53:56Z

15 August, 2007 300KB/s on a 4.5KM link to a rusty can pointing the wrong way!!

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:53, 15 August 2007
Line 32:		Line 32:
	=Progress Reports=		=Progress Reports=

	== 15 August, 2007 300KB/s on a 4.~~5KM~~ link to a rusty can pointing the wrong way!! ==		== 15 August, 2007 300KB/s on a 4.5km link to a rusty can pointing the wrong way!! ==

	I just have to share this with you, I was busy gathering all the throughput stats in the Peebles mesh project for a conference paper (ICTD in india) and the measurement that just blew me away was this one.		I just have to share this with you, I was busy gathering all the throughput stats in the Peebles mesh project for a conference paper (ICTD in india) and the measurement that just blew me away was this one.