I've gotten a couple private responses to this thread, so I'd like to throw out a few more things:
The overwhelming advice though, seems to be to avoid mesh. ( Also, Tony Morella of demarctech pointed out that I misunderstood the olsrd literature.. sheesh. ) So, I'm basically working in a pretty dense, suburban/urban area, sitting in a valley. From where I'm typing, I've basically got clear LoS to the major areas I'm trying to cover, maybe 20 square miles. My logic was that to provide consistent coverage over all of it, I'd need 3 or 4 overlapping APs.. which seems ideal for a mesh setup. If I'm using a dual radio backhaul/AP setup, am I going to get interference between the units? What's the difference between WDS and mesh? A few people have mentioned that the standard for free access is to have users pass through a portal with some sort of legal disclaimer. Is there actually any legal precedent for suing a hotspot provider over the actions of a user? I guess I'm just being naive, but that seems.. silly. Regarding CALEA - I understand recording VoIP for the authorities, but what are your responsibilities before you receive s request for that? Just to have the tools in place? A lot of people mention using DSL instead of a T1. There is a very large international corporation headquartered here, renting their internet T1s for $20/mo (!!!). Most likely, as a service to the community, they'll be able to negotiate a similar price for me. At a rate that low, it just makes a lot of sense, but I am getting quotes from the DSL providers. On Thu, Apr 3, 2008 at 8:05 PM, Chuck McCown - 2 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > My question for you is "why"? 100 users are enough to be a headache and use > up all your free time but not enough to even pay you for your time or > investment. (Did I mention I'm writing a grant proposal for this? Cue the strings :) It's not really about money. As a state, Michigan is fighting to keep people from moving away, and as a city Benton Harbor is struggling to retain or attract the kind of talented people that can sustain some sort of economy. In the meantime, most of our citizens are poor/unemployed and uneducated. Providing internet access is a good way (imho) to at least open some doors for them, and put another bullet point in the list of reasons to come visit/live. Anyhow, thanks a ton for putting up with stupid questions. The advice from this list is invaluable. Japhy > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Japhy Bartlett" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > To: "WISPA General List" <[email protected]> > Sent: Thursday, April 03, 2008 5:44 PM > Subject: [WISPA] Feasibility of a "non-profit" WISP > > > > Hi all- > > > > I'm finishing up a grant proposal to build a wireless network for a > > smallish (2 sq. mile) neighborhood. My only real experience is having > > read this mailing list for a year or so, and independently researching > > via the internet, so I'm hoping some of you veterans can offer some > > insight before I get in too deep! > > > > The basic, mile-high premise is to build a 2.4ghz mesh network, using > > Linux, or at least Open Source Software, wherever possible. I'm > > pretty comfy with Linux, and it seems like the route a non-profit > > should take. > > > > Since the idea is to be providing access not only to locals, but also > > to people visiting (it's a mixed commercial/residential area), > > sticking to the 802.11b/g protocol seems like a good way to make sure > > strangers can get on with whatever gear they've already got. > > > > Specifically, I'm looking at gear that would run olsrd > > (http://olsr.org); more specifically, demarctech.com's RWR HPG units > > (https://www.demarctech.com/products/reliawave-rwr/rwr-hpg-15a.htm). > > > > The "business" model is to offer capped speeds for free, and uncapped > > speeds to subscribers. So, presumably I'm going to need to do some > > traffic shaping. > > > > the RWR unit lists both "OLSRD Mesh" and "Bi-Directional Traffic > > Shaping with QoS (VoIP) via IP or MAC" , so it would seem to be ideal! > > But how do those features play together? Can I assume that the unit > > is running some sort of *nix with a shell? More importantly, am I > > going to be able to script something that will link the traffic shaper > > with a database of MAC Addresses? (Or script something to assign IP > > address subgroups based on MAC!) > > > > Anybody ever done this before, or have a better solution for a tiered > > network? > > > > I'm estimating that we'll have 100 users tops. A while back I looked > > up ratios and figured that a T1 would probably be enough bandwidth for > > something that size, but what else do I need in my NOC? Can I get by > > with a Linux box, or do I need a heavy-duty router? > > > > I suppose a lot of this is best answered by the vendor, but it's nice > > to hear from someone who isn't simultaneously trying to sell you > > something. Any criticisms/anecdotes/advice are greatly appreciated! > > Who's going to sue me and for what?! > > > > Cheers, > > > > Japhy > > > > Benton Harbor, MI > > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > > > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > > > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > > > > > > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > WISPA Wants You! Join today! > http://signup.wispa.org/ > > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] > > Subscribe/Unsubscribe: > http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless > > Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/ > -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wants You! Join today! http://signup.wispa.org/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WISPA Wireless List: [email protected] Subscribe/Unsubscribe: http://lists.wispa.org/mailman/listinfo/wireless Archives: http://lists.wispa.org/pipermail/wireless/
