ankh
join:2001-09-08
Albany, CA | reply to DaneJasper
Re: Hosting a WiFi hotspot?
Got a pointer to discussion? I don't want to hijack this, but would like more antenna info. I've got a couple of remote sites in mind now that you mention directional. |
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ankh
join:2001-09-08
Albany, CA | reply to DaneJasper
My next question was going to be about a battery pack to make the mesh portable, but ...
»www.nukees.com/comics/nukees20071116.gif |
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DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| »radar.oreilly.com/archives/2007/···r_w.html
Note also that we've installed Wi-Fi on buses:
»www.busjrnl.com/article/20071105···71104013
They are fed from a 3G network at about one megabit.
-Dane |
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bobrk
You kids get offa my lawn
Premium
join:2000-02-02
San Jose, CA
 ·SONIC.NET
| You guys really really really need to open a satellite branch down here in San Jose. Really. Let me know how I can help. 
--
Iraq Coalition Deaths | bobrk |
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DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs: | We'll keep that in mind. 
-Dane |
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ankh
join:2001-09-08
Albany, CA | reply to DaneJasper
Fantastic! |
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ankh
join:2001-09-08
Albany, CA
| Ok, now, I've got one unit set up, cabled to the switch.
If I buy another unit and give it to a neighbor at the edge of useful reception --- they just plug it in and put it up in a window, I know. Do these mesh units have a different case, or a plug in the Ethernet port, or do they ignore anything else that gets plugged into the Ethernet port if it's not connected to a DSL modem and Sonic?
Just wondering, figuring any port gets something plugged into it eventually, by someone who gets curious.
I told a neighbor's teenager yesterday evening that the Sonic system listed in their wifi menu was ours, really free, and OK to use, nothing weird about it.
Bytes transmitted doubled overnight (grin). |
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ankh
join:2001-09-08
Albany, CA
| Hmmm, looks like Meraki's model -- not Sonic's use of them -- is the same as FON's. From MERAKI's FAQ page on their San Francisco system where they're giving away access points still:
"Should I cancel my current Internet subscription?
Meraki is not an Internet service provider: we are not giving you a DSL line, and we are not guaranteeing service. We cannot promise that your neighborhood will bring enough people together for the system to work. Since the network is dependent on community involvement, if you cancel your own service, you'll become dependent on your neighbors' connections. ..."
Both organizations presumably have some idea what will happens when they get enough load on people's lines that people's ISPs start raising prices or blocking sharing.
Maybe FON and Meraki plan ahead, and intend to become ISPs at that point, having already gotten their wireless network in place at the wired ISPs' expense during the period before the crisis hits? Just speculating. I know nothing about this. |
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DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| reply to ankh
said by ankh  :Ok, now, I've got one unit set up, cabled to the switch. If I buy another unit and give it to a neighbor at the edge of useful reception --- they just plug it in and put it up in a window, I know. Do these mesh units have a different case, or a plug in the Ethernet port, or do they ignore anything else that gets plugged into the Ethernet port if it's not connected to a DSL modem and Sonic? Just wondering, figuring any port gets something plugged into it eventually, by someone who gets curious. I told a neighbor's teenager yesterday evening that the Sonic system listed in their wifi menu was ours, really free, and OK to use, nothing weird about it. Bytes transmitted doubled overnight (grin). The units behave as a gateway if you connect them to your Sonic.net DSL line, or a Wi-Fi repeater if they've simply got power, or a CPE offering Ethernet if you connect a PC. It's one size fits all - very cool stuff.
Note that any units that you add to the mesh do need to come from us. The first one (and a switch and cables) is just $30, additional units are $49.
-Dane |
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ankh
join:2001-09-08
Albany, CA | > any units that you add to the mesh do need to come from us
Ok. I should be on your waiting list from a while back, for an outdoor unit (or if you're not keeping a list, I'll be watching for an announcement that they're available). |
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DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| said by ankh :> any units that you add to the mesh do need to come from us Ok. I should be on your waiting list from a while back, for an outdoor unit (or if you're not keeping a list, I'll be watching for an announcement that they're available). I'm pretty sure we can find one for you in stock. We're doing the pole top deployment in Santa Rosa in about a week, but we have stocked up a bit.
This would be the "Outdoor 1", which is basically a Mini (the unit you have) in an outdoor enclosure.
The other option is an "Outdoor 2" - cost is twice as much, at $199, but it's got a 200mw radio instead of 60mw.
Email me! =)
-Dane |
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ankh
join:2001-09-08
Albany, CA
| Ok, email sent. But I made the mistake of reading on elsewhere, and now I"m really confused. This happens ...
Meraki's giving away gear in SF
»sf.meraki.com/
and
Sonic is rolling out a Meraki-based system in SF, according to this page, or was last month
»www.dailywireless.org/2007/10/07···he-cost/
I'm not sure if this is one and the same, or two competing systems, and wonder if Sonic's hardware is different, or flashed differently, or ... what?
There's a mesh standard coming, with which Meraki hardware won't conform? and
Meraki's open source? or was, isn't any more?
»www.ctcvista.org/node/649 |
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ankh
join:2001-09-08
Albany, CA
| and, um, any worry related to this?
"... LinuxDevices gleaned a few intriguing details with help from a reader who purchased a Meraki Mini. An undocumented back door enabled him to ssh in, using the device's serial number as the password, he said. ..."
»www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4963484100.html |
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JohnInSJ
Premium
join:2003-09-22
San Jose, CA
 ·Comcast
| said by ankh :and, um, any worry related to this? "... LinuxDevices gleaned a few intriguing details with help from a reader who purchased a Meraki Mini. An undocumented back door enabled him to ssh in, using the device's serial number as the password, he said. ..." » www.linuxdevices.com/news/NS4963484100.html Haven't tried sshing in, but not only would you need to know this info in general, you'd need to be able to physically get to the mini, so you could flip it over and read the serial number.
Seems like a fairly low risk, even if sonic didn't change this (or it hasn't changed in Meraki's base image.)
But now I will have to try it on mine |
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DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs: | Yup, you can SSH into the device - the serial number (printed on the bottom) is the password. Don't break anything.
-Dane |
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rsempell
join:2004-12-28
Eureka, CA
| dane,
i have been reading these posts, and this is a great idea. I live in the downtown area of Eureka ca. i dont know how many customers you have up here, but anyways i think i could maybe host one.
![]() View Larger Map |
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ankh
join:2001-09-08
Albany, CA | reply to DaneJasper
Ah, but you've added a Sonic sticker covering it up!
Is it one of the numbers that's also printed on the labels on the outside of the box it came in? |
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DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| reply to rsempell
said by rsempell :dane, i have been reading these posts, and this is a great idea. I live in the downtown area of Eureka ca. i dont know how many customers you have up here, but anyways i think i could maybe host one. ![]() View Larger Map We'd love to see EVERY DSL customer with one of these gateways, that would provide some amazing coverage.
If you have Sonic.net DSL, you can sign up for a 1/2 price Wi-Fi access point kit at »www.sonic.net/wifi/
-Dane |
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DaneJasper
Sonic.Net
Premium,VIP
join:2001-08-20
Santa Rosa, CA
clubs:
| reply to ankh
said by ankh :Ah, but you've added a Sonic sticker covering it up! Is it one of the numbers that's also printed on the labels on the outside of the box it came in? Ya, we did that because Meraki made a design boo-boo - the unit has suction cups and could go in an outside window for best coverage, but then someone outside the window could view the serial number! Doh!
-Dane |
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ankh
join:2001-09-08
Albany, CA
| Okay, assuming I get a poletop unit -- I'm on enough of a hill it's likely worth the higher power for coverage.
Does it make a difference putting it up with only power, so it's picking up the signal from the little internal unit already in place, vs. giving it its own ethernet link? (the switch you provide has my router and the indoor Meraki unit and two empty ports now).
I ask because eventually, it'd be nice to have it with a solar panel/battery and no wires at all -- to avoid any path capable of leading a hypothetical lightning bolt into the home electronics and power system.
I know, low risk.
But a friend just lost his whole home solar system to a nearby lightning strike, fried it all, and I'd feel better with no wire (or a very professionally protected wire) going to a poletop unit, if it doesn't degrade performance for it to be getting its signal via the smaller indoor unit.
Or, advice on proper protection. |
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