AREDN Release Notes v3.18.9.0 – 26 September 2018

The AREDN team is pleased to announce the general availability of the latest stable release of AREDN firmware.

This release includes many significant improvements in the underlying OpenWRT code during the last 4 years, from July 2014 to August 2018. It also introduces a major upgrade in OLSR from version 0.6.7 to version 0.9.6.2.

Details of the OpenWRT changes are found at the following links:
OpenWRT 18.6.0 – First Stable Release – July 2018
OpenWRT 18.06.1 Service Release
OpenWRT Version History
 

List of Changes

1. AREDN firmware is now based on the most recent...

​ARRL Awards 2018 Microwave Development Award to AREDN Team

​The ARRL announced that The Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN) project team was named as recipient of the 2018 ARRL Microwave Development Award for its initiatives to utilize Amateur Radio’s microwave bands. These included extending the network’s high-speed multimedia capabilities from solely 2.4 GHz to 900 MHz, 3 GHz, and 5.8 GHz, and adding 802.11n protocol to improve data throughput. The Board also acknowledged the efforts of the many AREDN implementation groups around the country who are building networks based on this technology and who stand ready to utilize them to serve the needs of their communities in times of disaster. 

​AREDN Project Announces Strategic Changes

AREDN forms a non-profit corporation to ensure continuity

The project saw the need for more formal governance and as a result, took the strategic step of organizing as a non-profit corporation.  This will help protect the user-community investments in mesh networking by setting up the framework for long-term resource management, research, and development. 

Our mission is still focused on providing the Amateur Radio Community with software, education, and support to enable them to aid public safety, emergency response and disaster relief agencies with high-speed multimedia data networks.

Continuing to rely on the financial support of a few individuals is not a sustainable means of supporting the project. Without more widespread support, the community’s growing investment in network equipment and...

AREDN code repositories on GitHub

The AREDN source code repositories are now accessible on GitHub at https://GitHub.com/aredn/aredn_ar71xx .   GitHub is one of the largest open source hosting services with over 40 million users.   Anyone with basic knowledge of Linux and git can now compile AREDN images and contribute changes.   If you have a background in application or firmware development, the hurdle to get started and contribute to the ham community is now much lower.

GitHub also includes an issue tracking feature to capture feature requests, bug reports, and other issues.  This immediately replaces our former defect tracking tool (Bloodhound).
 

​AREDN GitHub Activity

The GitHub setup is intended to jump AREDN forward to stay current, and benefiting from, the 1000+ developers of Linux and...

​AREDN Donates Mesh Networking Equipment to ARRL

High-Speed Multimedia Mesh (HSMM) technology has evolved rapidly in recent years due to the development efforts of the Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN) open source project. This has changed the complexion of mesh implementations from an experimental, hobby-oriented, novelty into a viable alternative network suitable for supporting high-speed emergency communications and Internet connectivity when “all else fails.”

The AREDN project team recently donated the following equipment to the ARRL Laboratory:

• Two Ubiquiti Nanostation M3’s for 3.4 GHz
• Two Ubiquiti Nanostation Loco M5’s for 5.8 GHz
• One PowerBeam PBE-M5-300-ISO for 5.8 GHz
• One AirRouter HP (combination 2.4 GHz and Ethernet switch)

The AREDN (pronounced “r-den”) project is working with ARRL, the national...

​Hamvention® 2018 Theme Promotes Community Service

As reported by the ARRL, the theme for Hamvention® 2018 is “Amateur Radio...Serving the Community.” Ron Cramer, KD8ENJ, Hamvention General Chairman, said the theme acknowledges the role that ham radio operators play in their communities, especially in times of emergencies.
 
“During recent disasters, hurricanes in Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico and wildfires in the West, Amateur Radio operators were once again called upon to provide emergency communication assistance when regular services failed or were overtaxed,” Cramer said.
 
He said that in keeping with the theme, Hamvention is planning to have forums on emergency communication and displays of Amateur Radio emergency communication vehicles. Disasters are not the only times that Amateur Radio operators contribute to their communities. 

For more information see the...

Release Candidate 3.17.1.0 Is Withdrawn

The AREDN team has elected to withdraw its version 3.17.1.0 release and take its feature-set back to Development.  The rationale is based on a few outstanding and difficult issues that are contributing to the lengthy delay.  During this time, Ubiquiti has released and begun to ship devices with OS changes incompatible with the “frozen” 3.17.1.0 release.  Our development standards prevent the introduction of new features (such as new hardware support) to a “frozen” release branch.

Please look for our upcoming release some time in the new year.  Continuing the firmware development in this way will enable us to get early fixes and features to you faster through the nightly build process for the upcoming release candidates.We will leave version 3.17.1.0RC1 posted on the download page to preserve support for Ubiquiti XW products as identified on the Supported...

​AREDN Group in South Africa Responds to Fire Disaster

A group of amateur radio operators in South Africa known as the the Mossel Bay Mesh Network responded to a call for emergency communications assistance in the recent fire disaster in the Western Cape area. 

After the fires began on 7 June, a call went out for amateur radio assistance on 8 June when cell phone, landline and Internet services were lost.Hams responding to the call include: ZS2I, ZS1Q, ZS1ZS, ZS1HB, ZR1AOC and ZS1I. These radio amateurs worked around the clock to assist their local communities. Johan Terblanche, ZS1I, an administrator of the AREDN Mossel Bay Mesh Network reports that disaster communication links remained active until normal telecommunication service was restored on June 11, while the local hams remain on high alert.

It has been reported that the widespread fire caused a number of fatalities, destroyed over...

QST Magazine Article - AREDN A High-Speed Data Network

Andre Hansen, K6AH wrote an article, published in the June 2017 edition of QST, offering a thorough discussion of a high-speed multimedia network for public service applications..

​We present the full article here, which was reprinted with permission from the June 2017 issue of QST, a publication of the ARRL, the national association for Amateur Radio^®

Announcing the Availability of Release Candidate #1 of Our Upcoming v3.17.1.0

AREDN encourages users to load (http://www.arednmesh.org/content/software click Release Candidates) and test version 3.17.1.0RC1 and report any issues to the Forum.
 

​Release Notes 3.17.1.RC1

These notes accompany our 3.17.1.0 Release Candidate-1 and describe changes since our last major production release, v3.16.1.0.
 

New Device Support

Added support for additional Ubiquiti devices which are now flagged as “In testing”:

• AirGrid M5 (XW)
• NanoBeam M5-16 (XW)
• NanoBeam M5-19 (XW)
• NanoStation Loco M5 (XW)
• NanoStation M5 (XW) (in 3.16.1.0)
• Rocket M5 (XW)
• Rocket M5 (with GPS)
• PowerBeam M2-...

CQ Magazine Article - Mesh Networking and AREDN

Don Rotolo, N2IRZ wrote an article, published in the January 2017 edition of CQ Magazine, updating readers on the world of mesh networking.

​We present the full article here, which was reprinted with permission from the January 2017 issue of CQ magazine, copyright CQ Communications, Inc.
 

Development Code Branch Now Available

The AREDN™ Project announces its release of version 3.16.1.1 firmware

This release is a security patch release from our previous 3.16.1.0 release. It is recommended to upgrade all AREDN nodes to 3.16.1.1.

OTA Upgrade Note
In a future release tunnels will be required to be disabled prior to upgrades being permitted on a mesh node.
If you are running a tunnel server or client it is recommended the following steps be performed as in the future similar steps will be mandatory.

1. Disable all tunnel server/client connections
2. Reboot
3. Apply the 3.16.1.1 upgrade
4. Re-install tunnels packages
5. Enable previously disabled tunnel connection

 
The following changes have been made from our previous, v3.15.1.0, production release:
Notable Security Patches
 

• SCS-2017-001 – High...

The AREDN Project Announces the Release of its Beta Test v3.16.1.0b02

This is the second beta release of the anticipated v3.16.1.0 which focuses on improving data rates and node manageability.  The following changes have been made from our previous beta v3.16.1.0b01 release:

• Improved the operation of the distance parameter Kilometers / Miles entry
• Added a “busy spinner” on the SNR Chart to indicate data is being collected and to wait for results
• Added a disclosure statement on what gets uploaded with the optional LAT/LON “push” and how it will be used in publishing the public AREDN map
• Fixed an intermittent upgrade failure...

HTML Map Contest

Hi AREDN Meshers!

The AREDN Team is looking for a few good men (and ladies)!  The new mapping feature that is in 3.16.1.0 needs your help.
As some of you have seen, we have a good, workable KML map file.  We would like to hold a contest to use that KML to create the best HTML based map that we can host on the www.arednmesh.org website.

CHALLENGE:
To create an HTML embedded map that utilizes the AREDN kml files that can be hosted on www.arednmesh.org.

SKILLS REQUIRED:
Front-end web development: Javascript, CSS, etc.

AREDN PROVIDED SERVICES/FILES:

• Full map with all bands:   http://data.arednmesh.org/map.kml
• 900Mhz band map: ...

The AREDN Project Announces the Release of its Beta Test v3.16.1.0b01

This release focuses on improving data rates and node manageability. The following changes have been made from our previous, v3.15.1.0, production release:

• 802.11n has been added to the RF protocol.  This improves the maximum data rate capability from 54 Mbps to 130 Mbps and allows AREDN nodes to take advantage of the Ubiquiti MIMO (concurrent data channels in both the vertical and horizontal polarization domains), although proportional data rate increases can also be achieved on non-MIMO devices
• Added support for the Ubiquiti AirRouter HP, a desktop device with an embedded a 5-port Ethernet switch we have preconfigured for WAN, LAN (ports 1-3) and DtD (port 4)
• Added ability for packages, such as iPerf, to open firewalls ports at the time of installation
• The distance parameter entry...

New Paper on AREDN Published by TAPR

The Proceedings of the 2015 Digital Communications Conference include a paper, The AREDN Project by Andre Hansen, K6AH, which introduces AREDN, describes implementation techniques and concludes with a roadmap for the future.

Abstract

Mesh technology has been around for ten years or more. Over the past two years a team of developers has advanced the art by porting Broadband‐Hamnet’s extremely popular mesh firmware to the Ubiquiti airMAX line of commercial Wireless ISP routers and expanded its utility across a wide range of microwave bands. This has literally changed the complexion of mesh technology from an experimental, hobby‐oriented, novelty into a viable alternative network suitable for restoring some degree of Inter/intra‐net connectivity “when all else fails.”

In the midst of...

​ARRL Awards 2018 Microwave Development Award to AREDN Team

​The ARRL announced that The Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN) project team was named as recipient of the 2018 ARRL Microwave Development Award for its initiatives to utilize Amateur Radio’s microwave bands. These included extending the network’s high-speed multimedia capabilities from solely 2.4 GHz to 900 MHz, 3 GHz, and 5.8 GHz, and adding 802.11n protocol to improve data throughput. The Board also acknowledged the efforts of the many AREDN implementation groups around the country who are building networks based on this technology and who stand ready to utilize them to serve the needs of their communities in times of disaster. 

​
AREDN Team Receives ARRL 2014 Microwave Development Award

Members of the AREDN Project accept  the 2014 ARRL Microwave Development Award for the microwave mesh networking...

Beta Test Announcement

The Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN™) Project Announces an Important Upcoming Firmware Release

On May 28th, the AREDN Project released to its team of volunteer testers, a new beta-version of its upcoming release, v3.15.1.0.  This is the most significant and important release since this development team introduced support for the Ubiquiti AirMax line of hardware back in 2013.

Here is a list of some of the new features:

• Over the air, remote firmware upgrades – this allows node owners to upgrade a node’s firmware release without going out to the site.  It accomplishes this by saving the node’s configuration settings and automatically reloading them after the upgrade has taken place.

• Support for NanoStation M5 with the new XW boards – many have purchased these devices unaware that Ubiquiti made a hardware change to...

AREDN™ - The Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network

Mesh technology has evolved over the years.  Most notably, Broadband-Hamnet™ (BBHN) has made substantial progress over the past 2 years in expanding their unique approach to environmentally robust, commercially available, Ubiquiti, hardware.  This has changed the complexion of mesh implementations from an experimental, hobby-oriented, novelty into a viable alternative network suitable for restoring some level of Inter/intra-net connectivity when “all else fails.”

Recently, the developers of BBHN software have kicked-off a new project focused on taking this technology to the next level.  Comprised of the project manager, developers, and several of the testers who brought BBHN to Ubiquiti hardware, this team is geared to pick up where BBHN left-off.

The AREDN Project mission is to provide the Amateur Radio Community with a quality solution for...