Title: MESH NETWORKING
1MESH NETWORKING
- LABORATORY OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
- George Sergiadis
- Associate Professor
- sergiadi_at_auth.gr
2Characteristics of the mesh networks
- Wireless by definition, infrastructure
independent - Formed in a spontaneous way, few to plan
- New nodes become routers to expand the network,
scalable system - Not only for internet access
3THE FAB LAB SCOPE
4A TYPICAL urban MESH
- Source Microsoft Research
5The announced Urban Mesh
A Spanish firm is to sell subsidized routers as
part of a plan to turn domestic wi-fi networks
into public hotspots. Fon will sell wi-fi
routers, which allow people to surf the net
wirelessly, for 5 The company, which has
financial backing from Google and Skype, aims to
create public wi-fi networks street by street
across the US and Europe.
Tuesday, 27 June 2006
6Africa Calling a highway to follow
The number of mobile subscribers in 30
sub-Saharan African countries, not including
South Africa, rose from zero in 1994 to more than
82 million in late 2004
7Rural mesh model - main components
- Hardware
- Routers
- Antennas, cables
- Power supplies - Solar
- Structural solutions
- Software
- Networking and dynamic multihop routing
- QOS control
- Management
- Security and privacy
8Routers
- Many vendors
- Many low cost solutions from 25 to 60 US , but
- Most of them are not suitable for efficient rural
meshes with few gateway points
9Mesh network Protocols
- Dynamic rerouting
- Efficient package management
- Additional services
10Antennas
Price 349.90
11Fab Lab mesh network approach
12Routers on trial
- Roofnet, an unplanned, multiroute mesh network
developed at MIT's Computer Science and
Artificial Intelligence Laboratory
13Fab Lab WiFi Antenna Projects
- Target
- Very low cost, 1 or 2 US
- Low manufacturing sensitivity
- Fab Lab easily reproducible, by unskilled
Fablabers, using the Fab Lab tools
14Fab Lab WiFi Antenna Projects
- Glass Antennas
- Quasi-isotropic antennas, mostly for interior use
- Arrays for higher gain, for internal or low
distance external use - Corner reflector antennas for point to point
longer distance links
15Glass Antenna Ingredients
- Window Glass
- Self adhesive cooper
- CAD file
- Flexible low-loss cable, or no cable
16 Isotropic Antennas
Gain 3 dbi
17 Higher gain Arrays
Directivity 1200 H / 300 V- Gain 9 dbi
18Corner reflector antennas
Directivity 600 H / 300 V - Gain 12 dbi
19 Very high gain systems New approaches
- Planar structure
- Gain gt20 dbi
- Low cost glass dielectric
- Higher frequencies ( 5 GHz)
20 Very high gain systems New approaches
Planar structure - Gain gt20 dbi
21Potential contribution of the mesh networks,
especially in developing countries
- In business prosperity
- In employment
- In information spread
- In medical services
- In distance learning
- In natural disaster management
- Even in politics and democracy protection
22Conclusions
- Fab Lab reduces dramatically the cost of the mesh
networking by producing the most expensive
components, instead of buying them - Fab Lab plans to design and manufacture also
other expensive parts of the supporting
infrastructure, by implementing its collective
know-how
23Thank you for your attention
- LABORATORY OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS
- George Sergiadis
- Associate Professor
- sergiadi_at_auth.gr