BerlinRoofNet

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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.


Real-time Map

  • Real-time status of the indoor testbed [1] (Adobe SVG plugin [2] required)
BRN Viewer

WGT Device List

Name Room IP eth0 ath0 Net Status Pos FW Details
wgt21 3.328 192.168.3.21 00:0F:B5:3F:3E:D8 00:0F:B5:3F:1B:BF BRN1 active -7.5,-26.5,0.5 0.06b
wgt22 3.325 192.168.3.22 00:0F:B5:0E:4D:6A 00:0F:B5:3F:1E:EA BRN2 defect -7,-10,0.5 hardware defect? PCI+IRQ failed
wgt23 3.418 192.168.4.23 00:0F:B5:3F:49:7C 00:0F:B5:3F:42:62 BRN2 defect -5,12,3 Not reachable
wgt24 3.326 192.168.3.24 00:0F:B5:3F:4E:72 00:0F:B5:3F:21:3C BRN1 active -7.5,-14,0.5 0.06b
wgt25 3.206 192.168.3.25 00:0F:B5:0B:3C:CE 00:0F:B5:0B:95:29 BRN2 active 7.5,-6.5,-1
wgt26 3.325 192.168.3.26 00:0F:B5:97:40:B5 00:0F:B5:97:19:5A BRN1 active -7,-10,0.5 0.06c
wgt27 3.326 192.168.3.27 00:0F:B5:3D:41:FE 00:0F:B5:97:19:62 BRN2 active -8,-14,1.5 0.06d
wgt28 3.201 192.168.3.28 00:0F:B5:3F:32:08 00:0F:B5:97:25:82 BRN2 active 5.5,-22.5,-1 0.06d
wgt29 3.328 192.168.3.29 00:0F:B5:3F:15:9C 00:0F:B5:3F:30:1F BRN2 active -8,-26.5,1.5 0.06d
wgt30 3.324 192.168.3.30 00:0F:B5:97:22:EF 00:0F:B5:3D:5F:05 BRN2 active -7.5,-10,1.5 0.06f
wgt31 3.310 192.168.3.31 00:0F:B5:97:22:13 00:0F:B5:97:33:6C BRN2 active 5.5,0,1.5 0.06f
wgt32 3.107 192.168.3.32 00:0F:B5:97:23:03 00:0F:B5:3F:22:E1 BRN2 Esther 99,99,99
wgt33 3.106 192.168.3.33 00:0F:B5:97:23:75 00:0F:B5:3F:1E:C7 BRN2 Esther 8,-1,-3.5 0.06f
wgt34 3.418 192.168.4.34 00:0F:B5:97:16:52 00:0F:B5:3F:22:E9 BRN1 active -6,12,4 0.06f No neighbours? -> Restarting!
wgt36 4.??? 192.168.3.36 00:0F:B5:97:1B:3B 00:0F:B5:97:36:7C ---- disabled 99,99,99
wgt37 3.??? 192.168.3.37 00:0F:B5:3D:4C:00 00:0F:B5:97:33:D2 ---- Robert 99,99,99
wgt38 3.??? 192.168.3.38 00:0F:B5:97:22:AF 00:0F:B5:97:25:7B ---- Robert 99,99,99
wgt39 2.319 192.168.3.39 00:0F:B5:3D:55:0E 00:0F:B5:97:38:5A ---- active 99,99,99 0.06f No Ethernet connection / SDP-only
wgt40 2.314 192.168.3.40 00:0F:B5:11:20:EC 00:0F:B5:97:37:FC ---- active 99,99,99 0.06f No Ethernet connection / SDP-only
wgt41 3.206 192.168.3.41 00:0F:B5:3F:4D:C4 00:0F:B5:3F:21:60 BRN1 active 6.5,-6.5,-2
wgt42 3.201 192.168.3.42 00:0F:B5:3F:3E:98 00:0F:B5:3F:20:D6 BRN1 active 4.5,-22.5,-2 0.06f
wgt43 3.106 192.168.3.43 00:0F:B5:3F:4D:58 00:0F:B5:3F:21:81 BRN1 defect 7,-1,-4.5 0.06f
wgt44 3.310 192.168.3.44 00:0F:B5:3F:49:80 00:0F:B5:3F:56:B1 BRN1 defect 5,0,0.5 0.06f
wgt45 3.107 192.168.3.45 00:0F:B5:3F:49:EE 00:0F:B5:3F:58:49 BRN1 active 4,13,-4.5
wgt46 3.316 192.168.3.46 00:0F:B5:97:1B:2B 00:0F:B5:97:36:77 ---- disabled 99,99,99 0.06f No Ethernet connection / SDP-only
wgt47 ?.??? 192.168.4.47 00:0F:B5:97:1B:3F 00:0F:B5:97:36:83 ---- disabled 99,99,99 0.06f No Ethernet connection / SDP-only, Assigned to C. Krueger
wgt51 4.316 192.168.20.51 00:0F:B5:3F:1B:48 00:0F:B5:3F:45:72 BRN1 active -37,12,0.5 0.06d
wgt52 4.307 192.168.20.52 00:0F:B5:97:32:59 00:0F:B5:97:34:E9 BRN1 active -25,-7,0.5 0.06d
wgt53 4.323 192.168.20.53 00:0F:B5:97:3C:FF 00:0F:B5:97:36:D9 BRN1 defect -37,-26.5,0.5 0.06d Not reachable
wgt54 4.418 192.168.20.54 00:0F:B5:3D:4C:12 00:0F:B5:97:35:86 BRN1 defect -35,12,3 0.06d Not reachable
wgt55 4.410 192.168.20.55 00:0F:B5:3D:4C:32 00:0F:B5:97:35:8C BRN1 defect -24.5,0,3 0.06d

http://www.informatik.hu-berlin.de/~jeschke/openwgt/wgt.html

MSC Tracer for BRN

  • MSC Tracer provides on-line behaviour of a Click router embedded NS2 simulator.
    Description

Project Status

File:Roadmap.png
BRN-RoadMap

Frequently Asked Questions about the Berlin RoofNet Project

Q: What is Berlin Roof Net?

A: 'Berlin Roof Net' is a project run by volunteer students of the Computer Science Department at Humboldt University Berlin. The goal is to construct a network of nodes (access points) which share Internet access over wireless radio connections. The access points are run independently by the students with their own equipment.

The project was inspired by the MIT RoofNet project in Boston, USA.


Q: Which wireless communication technologies are used?

A: One technology that is economically feasible for our purpose is IEEE 802.11b, also known as WiFi or Wireless LAN. However, the communication range of this technology is rather limited, especially in cities with no line of sight (NLOS) between the participating nodes. We would like to augment our system with 802.16a (WiMax) technology, which provides longer communication ranges and higher data rates, as soon as such equipment becomes available at a reasonable price.


Q: Is it safe for my health?

A: WaveLAN operates at 0.25 watts in a bursty mode (i.e. only when data is actually transmitted). Cellular phones go up to 3 watts and microwave ovens leak even more - and they are generally considered 'safe enough'.

All devices on the US market are approved by the FCC, which has a good public document on RF Safety.


Q: What is the vision?

A: This is a research project. Researchers often take a simple good idea and push it to its logical extreme. From this they learn a lot and finally understand what's possible and what is not. Then, taking one step back from the extreme approach, real good practical systems can be built. Here is our extreme story:

Traditional communication networks are owned by operators; i.e. companies who invest money into the deployment of cables and devices, and who operate and maintain those resources in order to offer services to users. To recover their investments (and to make some profit) they charge their customers.

This may change: Falling hardware prices combined with ever increasing functionality may make it feasible to outsource the function of an operator (company) to the service users. The software that normally runs on operator-owned computers may be split into components that are executed at end-user owned equipment (such as computers, access points or mobile phones). Cables may be replaced by wireless links - which are even free if operated in an unlicensed frequency spectrum, such as 2.4GHz or 5GHz .

Easy? Not so fast! There is still a lot of plumbing and configuration necessary to build and run a reliable network - just that it has to happen automatically now. And, in the event that something goes wrong, the system has to be able to automatically recover from ANY failure by itself - there is no operator to help. ... and this is exactly where our research comes into play. We want to see how far the idea of 'outsourcing the network operator to the end-user' can go with today's technology. If we are successful, those community owned networks may become a vital component in making Internet communication accessible to more people, for little or no money.

Is this the death of telephone operator companies? By no way! Certain people and businesses will always require high quality communication services - and they are willing to pay for that extra quality. Those services will continue to be provided by commercial operators - at least for now :-)

Thesis Proposals

See [3] 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:


General Press:


Similar projects in other cities:


Related Projects:

Working Groups

Other:

Development

  • BRN-Doxygen [4]
  • BugZilla [5]
  • Click-Tutorials [6]
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