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AREDN Release Candidate Available


Nightly build 20250415 has been designated the release candidate for the next production release.

In it the AREDN® team is introducing Babel as a replacement for the older OLSR routing technology.   It's been seen to improve network stability and throughput.  In this release Babel and OLSR will run side-by-side, with Babel routing used where available, and OLSR used otherwise.  Already 25% of the nodes on the network are running a Babel-enabled nightly build and we've seen and heard anecdotally of significant improvements in network stability.

Additionally this release adds PtP (point to point) and PtMP (point to multipoint) RF modes to complement our existing AdHoc mode.  We’ve see notable throughput and latency improvements when using these modes, especially with 802.11ac devices. This  holds true even when mixing radios from different manufacturers.

Assuming no big issues arise (and it's been very calm the last couple of months of nightly builds) we expect the production release to occur early next month.

We believe this is a great release candidate.  But we encourage you to install it on your nodes where you can; we want to hear from you what you think of it!

The AREDN development team
 
Updated date: Wednesday, April 16, 2025 - 09:09


New Experimental Radio Modes and SSID


Following on the heels of the inclusion of the Babel routing protocol to the AREDN software is another significant enhancement: nightly build 20250219 adds PtP (Point to Point) and PtMP (Point to MultiPoint) configurations. These protocols can be found in the Radio section of the AREDN UI:

 

 

Here's a brief explanation of each of them:

 
  • Mesh PtMP: This makes a node act like your common access point, where Mesh Station nodes can connect to it, but not to each other, and the Mesh PtMP can only connect to Station nodes.

 
  • Mesh PtP: Same as above except only a single Station is permitted to connect, specified by a MAC address.

 
  • Mesh Station: Can connect to a Mesh PtMP or, if it’s the authorized node, a Mesh PtP. It cannot connect to anything else.

 

The new modes also require a new SSID. This changed SSID is a necessary by-product of how these modes are implemented. Our current Mesh uses the WiFi Ad-Hoc radio...

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Updated date: Wednesday, February 19, 2025 - 12:37


Introducing a New Network Protocol


The AREDN team is introducing a new networking technology into the nightly builds with the ultimate long term goal of replacing OLSR.

OLSR has many faults which AREDN has lived with for a long time. For the last couple of years we’ve been looking at alternatives and making incremental steps in the codebase to allow us to introduce something new. We can finally do that by adding Babel (https://www.irif.fr/~jch/software/babel/) to AREDN.

Babel has a number of qualities which make it good for AREDN. First, it’s a loop free protocol so, regardless of how the network is changing, routing loops will never form in the network. Second, it’s primarily a reactive protocol which sends changes to neighbors when needed rather than broadcasting its state continually. Third, the protocol understands the difference between wired, wireless, and tunneled links –  the three link types AREDN utilizes. Fourth, it’s a layer-3 routing protocol, which integrates easily with how AREDN already operates. Fifth, it’s highly configurable which will allow an optimal setup for our use case. Finally, it’s simple.

We considered a number of options, and another contender was B.A.T.M.A.N. Advanced. Unfortunately this protocol is not a good fit for AREDN as it primarily focuses on level-2 wireless networking. AREDN needs a protocol which can do more. We...

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Updated date: Monday, February 17, 2025 - 18:31


AREDN Production Release 3.25.2.0


AREDN Production Release 3.25.2.0 is now available for download.    Here's an overview of the fixes and enhancements in this release.  All of these changes have been thoroughly tested through via the nightly builds and our intrepid band of testers!

Features

  • New Mobile UI

  • Ability to backup and restore node configurations

  • Responsive design for desktop UI on smaller screens

  • Improved logged-out experience to provide more information

  • Improved WiFi Signal tool which shows SNR at both ends of link

  • Added support for ARDC’s 44-Net

  • Upgraded to the latest OpenWRT release: 24.10

Notes

  • By default LAN devices are no longer permitted to access the Internet over the mesh. This can be re-enabled if required.

  • The old UI is no longer available.

  • We recommend the High Contrast theme when using the mobile UI outside.

  • The new WiFi Signal tool requires both ends of a link be running the latest firmware.
     
  • ​Any node...
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Updated date: Wednesday, February 12, 2025 - 11:09

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Announcements


AREDN Radio Selection

Steve KC0EUW produced a short video to help you select the right AREDN mesh radio for your needs. He explains the use of the Supported Platform Matrix to verify the types of suitable devices. Steve then walks you through the types of operational situations you may encounter. He completes the selection process by using the Device Selection Spreadsheet created by Andre K6AH to make well-informed choices about radios that meet your requirements.

You can view Steve's video here.

Yuma Hamfest 2020 AREDN Update

Andre Hansen K6AH presented an update on the status of the AREDN Project at the Yuma Hamfest on Saturday, February 15, 2020 

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