An Experiment in Community Wireless Networking

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• An Experiment in Community Wireless Networking

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What is SeattleWireless

• A project to build a city-wide self sufficient
  wireless network.
• Built and maintained by those who use it.
• Not reliant on Internet or current
  telecommunications infrastructure
• Experiment in network building

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Why?
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It is possible

• Price and availability of gear
• Standards based equipment (802.11b)
• Technologically savvy population
• More people see value in computer based networks

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Alternative Means of Communication

• Alternative to telecommunications monopoly
• Much more efficient for local communication
• Emergency communications

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Local Communications

• Local calls vs. Long distance
• Local loop connectivity provides people with
  essential service that is important to their
  daily lives.
• Communicating over the Internet to get to local
  sources isnt necessarily efficient.
• Internet infrastructure is set up for reliable
  communications, but does not necessarily provide
  the shortest route. It is possible that your
  packets will cross the globe to get to a local
  destination.
• Wireless infrastructure gives us the ability to
  dwarf broadband speeds.
• Local Area Network (LAN) connection speeds are
  10-100MB
• Standard consumer connections to the Internet
  over copper are 56k-256k. Wireless currently
  allows us to connect at speeds up to 10MB.
• Upcoming wireless technology allows speeds up to
  54MB
• Local audience for content / services
• Flyer on Bulletin Board / Ad in USA Today

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This is something we like doing

• Education through doing.
• Jobs only allow so much insight into the guts of
  a network
• Architecting large scale networks is generally
  not something everyone gets to be a part of
• Connecting computers is interesting
• Many of us already have home networks
• Setting up large networks is much more
  interesting than small networks
• Running wire through the entire city is
  difficult.
• City regulations / laws

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Community Networking?

• Infrastructure built by the community for the
  community
• The builders of the network determine the scope
  of the network.
• Communications are not at the mercy of government
  or large corporation
• This is not a business to consumer environment
• Focus is on user to user communications
• Scope only limited by ambition of community
• Although our scope is networking computers, the
  Internet was not originally designed for selling
  overpriced beanie babies on ebay.
• Human Networking and Computer Networking
• Requires communication of participants in a real
  setting
• Requires knowing your peers and discussion of
  technology and issues related to network building

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Influencing the future

• Current telephone infrastructure is a 100 year
  old idea. What is the next step?
• Raise awareness of community building through
  technology and innovation
• Building a portable model that we can drop in
  anywhere in the world

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How does all of this work?
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Wireless Components

• 802.11b / WiFi radios
• 802.11b / WiFi is Standards based
• Guarantee of Interoperability between
  manufacturers
• Brand agnostic
• Equipment is available everywhere
• Wireless components are sold at office supply
  stores / computer chains
• Internet or .COM auctions have lowest prices
• Antennas
• Antennas that come with consumer wireless are not
  enough. We use commercial grade antennas.

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Software Components

• Open Source Software
• Specifically Networking software
• Operating systems of network routers
• UNIX
• Routing software
• Internet Routing as our model
• Freely available source code
• If you have the source, you can manipulate it.
• No black boxes
• Total insight into how everything works.
• Ensures sustainability of design
• In proprietary models, if the company that
  supports the software dies, the software dies. In
  OSS models, the software can outlive the
  original author
• Global developer base

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Wireless Nodes?

• All networks are made up of nodes
• A node on our network consists of
• At device with at least one wireless interface to
  the the network
• Multi-Tiered approach
• Infrastructure node
• Client node

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Development Environment

• Website http//seattlewireless.net/
• WikiWikiWeb
• Mailing Lists
• 4 mailing lists. Talk, Dev, Support, Announce
• Monthly Meetings
• Second Sunday of the Month
• Barbeques in summer

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What is the project status?

• Research and Development Phases
• Pushing the limits of 802.11b
• Issues relating to repurposing 802.11b equipment
  from local area to a metropolitan area network
  environment
• Routing in dynamic environments
• Evolving Standard Kit to foster growth

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Where else is this happening?

• Pretty much everywhere

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Countries that we know have community wireless
projects (January 2002)
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December 2000

• Meeting 4 of SeattleWireless was the first
  meeting that discussed Internetworking with other
  wireless groups
• Bay Area Wireless User Group
• BC Wireless
• Consume.net trip report

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June 2001

• Portland Summit was the first official
  freenetworks.org event.
• SeattleWireless
• BC Wireless
• BAWUG
• Personal Telco (Portland)
• NYC Wireless
• NoCat (Sebastopol, California)

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January 2002

• The second official freenetworks.org event.
• SeattleWireless
• BC Wireless
• BAWUG
• PersonalTelco
• NYC Wireless
• NoCat
• Consume.net
• Austin Wireless
• SCN

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Questions?

• http//seattlewireless.net/
• http//freenetworks.org/
• mattw_at_seattlewireless.net