The more I think about it, This is about the dumbest supposedly smart thing I have ever seen....
I like it when I see someone trying and learning, but when they think they are brilliant and they actually don't know jack squat, then I have to sit back and laugh my ass off...
LMAO!!!
All I care about is achieving the goal and getting this task accomplished, so I actually have to give a round of applause for trying, to Marc Johnson for spending the time and thought on it.. I think he will eventually come around when he sees the real deal working.. And it is in progress in the background...
Then he can tell everyone that HE HAD A GREAT IDEA!!! whatever.......
wo-fo
Last edited by wo-fo on Fri Nov 24, 2006 19:39; edited 1 time in total
After startup executes nvram set wl_ssid="" the repeater gets on the network dynamically connecting to any available SSID (without using the autoap script).
Once the autoap script is downloaded, additional fitness metrics are used to choose the connection, such as signal strength (thanks to autoap).
This network bootstrap approach does work, I've tried it. And, if there is no autoap script at all, it still associates dynamically. Just not as optimally and deterministically.
If there is a better way to get the autoap script onto Buffalo routers using the mainline dd-wrt images, I am interested.
That's one thing you have touched on that has merit and has peaked my interest..
the ssid wildcard of ssid="".......
BrainSlayer suggested this setting right in the beginning, but I could not get it to connect to anything with it.. V24 Repeater mode is really just V23 client mode with a WLAN output also, so why doesn't the same setting work with client mode as it supposedly does with repeater mode.. I imagine it must, and I just had something wrong in my config...
That is the one key setting you mention there, and primarily the reason I am giving you such a hard time about it.. Because we could actually use your help here with this and you obviously have some knowledge to share on the subject, but you are way ahead of yourself and you need to back up and get a grip on these basic requirements for the device to really work in the field and really make it easier to get on the internet, rather than run off on a tangent with the cart way ahead of the horse....
Now that I know you have gottne some results from the ssid wildcard, I am going to backtrack and play with that some and see what I can learn about it...
Other than that, I am sticking to solving the other issues that surrond this effort, so when we get a new revision of the entire pre-compiled firmware, we will be ready to hit the ground running with the Watchdog working, the Blocked Services working, and ideally NoCatSplash working also...
If we get all of that going and preflashed into the firmware, THEN WE WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO CELEBRATE!!!
Take care, we really do want your help and would like to learn from you.....
wo-fo
Last edited by wo-fo on Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:03; edited 1 time in total
Basically it's for a self-healing auto-meshing network.
To summarize:
Ultimately each access point will automatically decide if it's an access point (connection to network through ethernet) or if it's a repeater (no ethernet connection, but it's found another access point via Wifi, so is repeating it via WDS).
The beacon interval variable is used to try to establish which access point is the "master" one, and which ones are repeaters, so you don't say get a street each with a box. They could all see the main AP, but they've just set themselves up in a long chain due to signal strength.
The repeating SSID would be identical, since there would be no possibility of the box talking back to itself (it will have tested the WDS node prior to becoming an AP for connection), therefore laptops, etc, could just roam around the network not knowing what goes on behind the scenes.
I've done a bit of a script, then got stuck unfortunately. But the idea is that it does all the stuff that's been done so far - find an AP (but it would need to decide based on beacon interval too, shorter intervals are preferred), then associate as a client, check it can ping internet, then turn into AP with WDS, check that can ping. If it's all OK, it sits as client with WDS. If not, it keeps looking.
First though it would try a ping with radio off to see if it's got an ethernet connection.
The only reason that I hesitate to do this is because the AP now relies on WDS functionality to provide internet access.
I suppose the script could fall back on strict client mode if WDS functionality is unavailable but an open AP with internet connectivity _does_ exist....
The advantage though would be that it could be used on V23 too because it would just be a script, therefore all the Linksys stuff could use it (due to the micro build).
Plus it would lock onto one particular access point through WDS, rather than just locking onto SSID, therefore it would be more suited as a repeater sending out the same SSID, giving meshing capabilities...
I think sometime in the future what you're talking about may be possible, but my understanding is that currently multiple wi-fi support only includes AP mode. We'd need WDS or client mode to implement the multiple networks.
I knew you and JP would have things to talk about.. Bird333 has something there too, but I personally do not quite understand it..
I look forward to seeing how this plays out, but this is also why I said we will need to get the first program finished before we rush into other variations...
Super smart Idea there, shunt010... Awesome job.... Love it...
Marc Johnson too... He needs to stick with his development path and debug it and he will have something going there too.. these are all great ideas...
Keep up the good work.. I know we're going to get this nailed down, and then as you can see, the possibilities are endless...
JP, did you ever recieve the routers wo-fo sent you?
I've been running autoap for a couple weeks now. The biggest problem by far for me is I have 3 open connections avilable. for some reason I can't explain all of them periodically drop their internet connection. Basically your script is doing exactly what it was written to do(Stay Connected to the strongest signal). Unfortunatly that signal while the strongest does not always have internet access. I attempted the wds/conection watchdog feature suggested by wo-fo, but It does NOT reboot the router. I even tried a sceduled reboot, but that does not seem to work either as my router states it has been up and running for several days.(should be rebooting every hour)
I can't thank you enough for the work you have done so far, and I don't want to sound like I'm rushing you (I'm just very excited and salavating like a dog with a steak dangling just out of reach) will you be releasing an update soon?
I did recieve the dev platforms, and I'll absolutely have an update that addresses as many of the concerns posted so far as possible. The internet connectivity is amongst the highest priorities.
