BerlinRoofNet

The MIT Roof Net project has demonstrated that it is possible to provide an 802.11b-based wireless network backbone infrastructure in a city like Boston (MA). The Berlin Roof Net project tries to determine if a similar network can be setup in Berlin/Germany.

The Boston network consists of approximately 40 nodes that are mounted on the roofs of buildings (hence the name ’roof net’) and is operated by students and other volunteers. RoofNet nodes discover each other automatically and create a mesh network, which, with the help of proper routing protocols, allow for transmission of IP packets between any two nodes of the network, with data rates of about 1Mbps.

Berlin has unique properties that make the establishment of such a roof network challenging:

• Berlin has generally higher buildings with more metal structures than Boston.
• Distances between project participants tend to be larger in Berlin than in Boston.
• It is yet unknown whether the mounting of RoofNet nodes/antennas on buildings is practicable in Berlin.
• Radio interference may be more intense in Berlin due to more systems that are simultaneously operated at 2.4 GHz.
• The acceptance of radio-based communication by the general public may be less pronounced in Berlin than in Boston.

Overview

Realtime Map

Tools

Project Status

FAQ

Thesis Proposals

See [1] for a list of currently available thesis proposals that are related to the Berlin Roof Net project.

See BRN Sub Projects for current (ongoing) thesis work/projects.

Further Information

Technical Papers:

• Programming the Linksys WRT54GS Wireless Broadband Router (Tutorial)
• WiMax's technology for LOS and NLOS environments (pdf)
• Using Standardized Development Environment for OpenWRT (Tutorial)
• Upgrading the Linksys WRT54GS antenna
• Hacking the Netgear wgt634u (obsolete) / BRN:Software:Build and Distribution (WiP)
• OpenWGT http://openwgt.informatik.hu-berlin.de/
• How to share your internet access

Known Hardware:

• BRN:Hardware:WPNT843 Netgear WPNT834 (uses MIMO)
• Meshnode
• alternative Hardware RouterBOARD 532A

General Press:

• Intel has unveiled proposal for 802.11s, a new mesh wireless networking standard. ZDNet UK, Mach 2005 (cached pdf)
• Utopien aus Sauerkrautdosen. Spiegel (German), March 2005. (cached pdf)
• Breitband zwischen Deich und Düne. Spiegel (German), March 2005. (cached pdf)
• DSL-Alternativen – Schnelles Internet per Satellit und Funk. NDR (German), February 2006. (cached pdf)

Similar projects in other cities:

• MIT RoofNet in Boston
• New York Wireless
• Austin Wireless
• Seattle Wireless
• http://wavelan-berlin.de -- Freies Netz in Berlin
• http://freifunk.net -- Freie (Wlan)Netze in Dtl., Österreich und der Schweiz
• http://www.funkfeuer.at/ -- Freies Netz in Wien
• WlanHain (Wireless LAN in Berlin Friedrichshain)
• WlanHSH (Wireless LAN in Berlin Hohenschönhausen / Weißensee)
• wireless DSL in Niederbayern

Related Projects:

• Click Modular Router

Working Groups

• Microsoft Mesh
• Intel Mote (Self-Organizing Sensor Networks)

Other:

• Berlin Roof Net History
• Meshcom
• Die Struktur net_device im Detail

Development

• BRN-Doxygen [2]
• BugZilla [3]
• Click-Tutorials [4]
• BRN:OpenWrt:Files