Re: [Sugar-devel] Using ad hoc network, was Re: XO laptop as wireless remote terminal for Internet-in-a-Box

2019-12-03 Thread Tony Anderson
Thanks for that, I will try to get it working with the laptops I have at 
the moment. This hardware issue will have to be checked on every

laptop at the schools we are working with.

Tony

On 03/12/2019 12:38, James Cameron wrote:

G'day Tony,

I've just tested with OLPC OS 13.2.10, and this method is working fine
with XO-1.5, XO-1.75, and XO-4.  It does not work properly with XO-1.

The shared or private switch does not block the communication at all,
since the HTTP connection does bypass Telepathy.

Most likely causes of what you describe are;

1.  wireless radio electrostatic discharge damage to one of the
laptops in the room,

2.  break of antenna cable to one of the laptops in the room.

When either of these occur, there can be two ad hoc networks formed
with the same name, but containing different laptops.  This will give
errors in Browse when you try to load the content via port 8000.

Both of these conditions are highly likely as the laptops age; ESD is
cumulative, and the plasticiser evaporates from the cable insulation
making it brittle.

It only takes one laptop in a room to cause this.

A quick test depends on the Network Neighbourhood.  If the other
laptops can be seen, then they do share the same ad hoc network
network.  If they cannot be seen, they might not share the same
network.

Another test is to "ping IP" where IP is the IP address you mentioned
as being shared.  If this does not respond with "64 bytes from ..."
repeatedly, then there is something fundamentally wrong with the ad
hoc wireless network.

It does not work the same way with XO-1 because XO-1 offers IEEE
802.11s mesh channels instead.  XO-1 can join an ad hoc network if one
is already formed by XO-1.5 or later, but cannot form a new one.

With an unlocked laptop you can test the antennas using firmware;
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Antenna_testing

Should you need a laptop unlocked, send me the serial number.

(removed CC support-gang, as I'm not subscribed.)

On Tue, Dec 03, 2019 at 09:40:41AM +0200, Tony Anderson wrote:

The dicussion below  appears to refer to the use of an XO to administer a
schoolserver. I urgently need help at the other end: using an XO toserve
content in a classroom using 'SimpleHTTPServer'. This is an installed Python
module that enables an XO to serve content via an ad-hoc network. The
content is put on a usb pendrive or an sd card. It is mounted on an XO which
acts as the server. This XO connects to an ad hoc network The system moves
to the pendrive as the working directory. Note: XO laptops in Rwanda have at
most 2GB storage.  It issues python -m SimpleHTTPServer. The XO serves
content on a selected port (by default 8000). The provider notes the url
shown on the Frame network widget (right-click). This IP adddress is written
on a blackboard.

The client XOs connect to the same ad hoc network. They open Browse and
issue an http request such as http 169.258.9.16:8000 where the address is
the IP address on the blackboard. The return is a list of files and folders
in the pendrive root or the index.html page in the root. That page can
display an index to the content, a subset of the IIAB content (e.g. pdfs
from Rachel or Sugar activities or Phet simulations). This technique has
proven very valuable in classrooms that cannot be reached by a router from
the schoolserver or in schools which do not have a school server. It costs
only the price of the usb device. An 8gb device provides 4 times the storage
capacity of the XO.

My problem is that this no longer works (13.2.9 Sugar 0.112). The server XO
does not see the http requests from the clients XOs. My suspicion is the
shared|private switch in private mode blocks the communication over the
ad-hoc network. It would help lots of students and teachers if this problem
can be resolved. Perhaps there is a way to enable the network without
becoming dependent on the collaboration system.

Tony



On 02/12/2019 19:00, support-gang-requ...@lists.laptop.org wrote:

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Today's Topics:

 1. XO laptop as wireless remote terminal for Internet-in-a-Box
(Nathan Riddle)


--

Message: 1
Date: Mon, 2 Dec 2019 11:35:44 -0500 (EST)
From: Nathan Riddle 
To: support-g...@lists.laptop.org
Subject: [support-gang] XO laptop as wireless remote terminal for
Internet-in-a-Box
Message-ID: <1214647805.1373408.1575304544...@email.ionos.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

An XO(*) laptop can 

Re: [Sugar-devel] Using ad hoc network, was Re: XO laptop as wireless remote terminal for Internet-in-a-Box

2019-12-03 Thread James Cameron
G'day Tony,

I've just tested with OLPC OS 13.2.10, and this method is working fine
with XO-1.5, XO-1.75, and XO-4.  It does not work properly with XO-1.

The shared or private switch does not block the communication at all,
since the HTTP connection does bypass Telepathy.

Most likely causes of what you describe are;

1.  wireless radio electrostatic discharge damage to one of the
laptops in the room,

2.  break of antenna cable to one of the laptops in the room.

When either of these occur, there can be two ad hoc networks formed
with the same name, but containing different laptops.  This will give
errors in Browse when you try to load the content via port 8000.

Both of these conditions are highly likely as the laptops age; ESD is
cumulative, and the plasticiser evaporates from the cable insulation
making it brittle.

It only takes one laptop in a room to cause this.

A quick test depends on the Network Neighbourhood.  If the other
laptops can be seen, then they do share the same ad hoc network
network.  If they cannot be seen, they might not share the same
network.

Another test is to "ping IP" where IP is the IP address you mentioned
as being shared.  If this does not respond with "64 bytes from ..."
repeatedly, then there is something fundamentally wrong with the ad
hoc wireless network.

It does not work the same way with XO-1 because XO-1 offers IEEE
802.11s mesh channels instead.  XO-1 can join an ad hoc network if one
is already formed by XO-1.5 or later, but cannot form a new one.

With an unlocked laptop you can test the antennas using firmware;
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Antenna_testing

Should you need a laptop unlocked, send me the serial number.

(removed CC support-gang, as I'm not subscribed.)

On Tue, Dec 03, 2019 at 09:40:41AM +0200, Tony Anderson wrote:
> The dicussion below  appears to refer to the use of an XO to administer a
> schoolserver. I urgently need help at the other end: using an XO toserve
> content in a classroom using 'SimpleHTTPServer'. This is an installed Python
> module that enables an XO to serve content via an ad-hoc network. The
> content is put on a usb pendrive or an sd card. It is mounted on an XO which
> acts as the server. This XO connects to an ad hoc network The system moves
> to the pendrive as the working directory. Note: XO laptops in Rwanda have at
> most 2GB storage.  It issues python -m SimpleHTTPServer. The XO serves
> content on a selected port (by default 8000). The provider notes the url
> shown on the Frame network widget (right-click). This IP adddress is written
> on a blackboard.
> 
> The client XOs connect to the same ad hoc network. They open Browse and
> issue an http request such as http 169.258.9.16:8000 where the address is
> the IP address on the blackboard. The return is a list of files and folders
> in the pendrive root or the index.html page in the root. That page can
> display an index to the content, a subset of the IIAB content (e.g. pdfs
> from Rachel or Sugar activities or Phet simulations). This technique has
> proven very valuable in classrooms that cannot be reached by a router from
> the schoolserver or in schools which do not have a school server. It costs
> only the price of the usb device. An 8gb device provides 4 times the storage
> capacity of the XO.
> 
> My problem is that this no longer works (13.2.9 Sugar 0.112). The server XO
> does not see the http requests from the clients XOs. My suspicion is the
> shared|private switch in private mode blocks the communication over the
> ad-hoc network. It would help lots of students and teachers if this problem
> can be resolved. Perhaps there is a way to enable the network without
> becoming dependent on the collaboration system.
> 
> Tony
> 
> 
> 
> On 02/12/2019 19:00, support-gang-requ...@lists.laptop.org wrote:
> > Send support-gang mailing list submissions to
> > support-g...@lists.laptop.org
> > 
> > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> > http://lists.laptop.org/listinfo/support-gang
> > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> > support-gang-requ...@lists.laptop.org
> > 
> > You can reach the person managing the list at
> > support-gang-ow...@lists.laptop.org
> > 
> > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> > than "Re: Contents of support-gang digest..."
> > 
> > 
> > Today's Topics:
> > 
> > 1. XO laptop as wireless remote terminal for Internet-in-a-Box
> >(Nathan Riddle)
> > 
> > 
> > --
> > 
> > Message: 1
> > Date: Mon, 2 Dec 2019 11:35:44 -0500 (EST)
> > From: Nathan Riddle 
> > To: support-g...@lists.laptop.org
> > Subject: [support-gang] XO laptop as wireless remote terminal for
> > Internet-in-a-Box
> > Message-ID: <1214647805.1373408.1575304544...@email.ionos.com>
> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
> > 
> > An XO(*) laptop can be used as a wireless remote terminal for Internet-in-a