[MLB-WIRELESS] Building the MW Network

[Lee Honan]

OK- I've parsed the archives and see the challenges re below.  Looks 
like an impasse... I'll focus on interconnecting with my friends nearby 
and check back with MW later...

Lee

rick wrote:

> im no longer on the committie previous growth ideas where installfests 
> with the linux community and going to lans no idea what future ones 
> will be email the committee
>
> Lee Honan wrote:
>
>> Rick,
>>
>> Thanks for responding.  I wasn't suggesting that Internet access 
>> should be offered as commercial-grade or the only reason to join.  I 
>> guess your point re MP3s implies that Universities no longer route 
>> Internet traffic.  Obviously the only way to protect against nodes 
>> shifting is to have redundancy in the network (which requires it to 
>> grow in the first place).  Being new to MW, I haven't been privy to 
>> past discussions on this topic (will look in archives)- did any 
>> constructive ideas come of it?  Is there a strategy to grow MW?
>>
>> Lee
>>
>> rick wrote:
>>
>>> lee the points you made have been brought up before, if we offer 
>>> Internet we cant supply it to all the areas and can offer any QoS or 
>>> any garentee that the person will even get a link, with costs of 
>>> equipment going up to 500$ for a good setup, unlimited Internet for 
>>> a year will be about the same costs.
>>>
>>> if we use a university network and you transfure a mp3 well the uni 
>>> can be sued, so its a can of worms they dont want to be a carrier for
>>>
>>> as for the core network when we had GUR for example shift location, 
>>> the network nearby collapsed as we where to dependent :(
>>>
>>> Lee Honan wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hi,
>>>>
>>>> I've been fiddling around for the last month, trying to get a 
>>>> routing node up in Carlton (JDS).  After putting up an 8m rooftop 
>>>> mast with a 25dbi parabolic and a 15dbi Omni, figuring out the 
>>>> vagaries of OpenWRT etc, I have been looking for a node to connect 
>>>> to.  While I have found a lot of APs, I could only find one MW node 
>>>> (HVC) and am at too oblique an angle to get a good signal.
>>>>
>>>> So despite being in a central location with good line-of-sight 
>>>> North and South, a high mast, decent antennae etc, I can't find a 
>>>> node to link to.  Looking at the link maps, there are a lot of 
>>>> isolated nodes with relatively few operating links.  That got me 
>>>> wondering if MW is in danger of being limited to a clique of 
>>>> enthusiasts, and what needs to happen for MW to achieve critical 
>>>> mass.  If this navel-gazing topic hasn't been broached recently, it 
>>>> would seem to be a worthwhile discussion.
>>>>
>>>> Some possibilities I've thought of (my relative ignorance may mean 
>>>> these are infeasible):
>>>>
>>>>     * Provide a more compelling offer for people to join.  I don't
>>>>       understand why providing Internet access seems to be poo-pooed
>>>>       on the MW site; while it has obvious challenges (e.g. finding an
>>>>       ISP- APANA?), it's the most obvious reason for people to invest
>>>>       the time and $.
>>>>     * Identify tall structures that members have access to and invest
>>>>       in panels etc to create perhaps 5 'core nodes' (perhaps fund
>>>>       with higher member fee that includes free access as above- e.g.
>>>>       I think most would happily pay $50 pa; maybe higher fees for
>>>>       those acting as a leaf only).
>>>>     * (maybe a bit far out) Approach Universities etc to act as
>>>>       wireless.org.au routing nodes- similar to their role in forming
>>>>       the core Internet.  I'm next to Melbourne University, which has
>>>>       a lot of 802.11 infrastructure.
>>>>
>>>> Thoughts? Sorry for dropping such a huge eMail in the festive 
>>>> season...
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>>
>>>> Lee
>>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>>   
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>
>>
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