Quick Mesh Project

qMp 4.0 Macondo first release candidate (rc1) has just been published. This release candidate is aimed at adventurous users willing to test new features, squash bugs and provide feedback before the final 4.0 release. This new release comes with a number of changes and improvements, is based on LEDE 17.01.2 Reboot, and comes with several new features and improvements.

Changes since the previous stable release (3.2.1)

• Based on LEDE 17.01.2 Reboot
• Updated to the latest BMX6 stable version
• VLANs over wired interfaces are done using 802.1ad - QinQ (read note below)
• Revamped qMp easy setup page (6355b2c5)
• Added support for several devices:
  • Generic support for Mikrotik devices
  • Ubiquiti Unifi AP AC Lite
• 802.11s support is no longer experimental (b4e41b83)
• Candela Tech's ath10k-ct driver (f3a0068a)
• Improved support for certain devices (7616eef3)
• Improved integration with LibreMap (2b9aaba4)
• Improved management of VLANs on top of bridges (4835bf9d)
• ...

Bugs fixed since the latest stable release (3.2.1):

• #414 Non-switched wired network interfaces are shown again on web GUI (c1af65db)
• #393 Asymetric BMX6 link on ethernet bridge interface (8d26005d)
• #392 mdns locks qmp_configure_all (916a7b62)
• #390 annot satisfy the following dependencies for qmp-system during compilation: bwm, ndisc6, rdisc6, ipv6ca
• #388 Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for qmp-system during compilation: bmx6-topology, luci-i18n-english (64bca744)
• #387 Cannot satisfy the following dependencies for gwck-qmp during compilation: fping (c8ed23da)
• #386 File /etc/config/firewall clashes during compilation (06234f8e)
• #384 Hooks deleted in testing branch

Known issues

• #416 ramips targets do not seem to have the qmp-{tiny,small,big}-node package, only qmp-system in qMp 4.0-rc1

• #415 qmp-system depends on luci-base (fixed in 7bac455a)

• #366 Devices based on the Atheros ar71xx (Atheros) platform containing a switch (e.g. NanoStation M5 XW) can not combine untagged+tagged VLANs on the same port. Therefore, switched cable interfaces can't be used for BMX6 meshing (fixed in 82e4e47c and by using 802.1ad QinQ VLANs)

• #633 802.1ad (QinQ) VLANs broken since kernel 4.3 in ramips mt7620 (seems to be fixed in current kernel 4.4.74)

Important note

In order to improve qMp 4.0 uses 802.1ad (QinQ) VLANs on top of wired interfaces, while in previous releases 802.1q VLANs were used. This makes the current release backwards-incompatible with previous ones via cable (compatibility via wireless is unaffected). You can read this blog post for more information.

 

The qMp 4.0-rc1 firmware binaries can be found at http://fw.qmp.cat/Releases/4.0-rc1. Alternatively, you can compile your own images with your preferred options:

git clone -b 4.0 https://dev.qmp.cat/qmpfw.git qmpfw-4.0-rc1
cd qmpfw-4.0-rc1
make J=n T=target

where n is the number of parallel threads to use in the compilation (1, 2, ..., 8...) and targets is the name of the device target to build the image (list them by issuing the command make list_targets).

The Wireless Battle of the Mesh is an event that aims to bring together people from across the globe to test the performance of different routing protocols for ad-hoc networks, like Babel, B.A.T.M.A.N, BMX6/BMX7, OLSR, and 802.11s and static routing. Of course, new protocols (working on LEDE) are always welcome.

Many developers and community networkers will join the event to hack, test, discuss, explain and learn. If you are interested in dynamic routing protocols or wireless community networks you can't miss this event! The Battlemesh is free of charge and open for all.

This year the event will take place from Monday 5^st to Sunday 11^th of June 2017 in Vienna, Austria. It is organized locally by FunkFeuer Wien, Vienna's community wireless network.

The qMp community endorses and supports the Battle of the Mesh v10, and teams with other communities to foster the development of bottom-up community networks.

Many other communities endorse and support the Wireless Battle of The Mesh v10. If you are interested in coming, join the event's Mailing List to stay up to date with the latest news.

Join us now and free the network!

qMp 3.2.1 Clearance stable release has been published. This release comes after the previous 3.2 stable release and is based on the latest OpenWrt 15.05.1 Chaos Calmer release. The main differences from the previous release are the improved support for certain devices introduced in OpenWrt , and also a few bugs and fixes in both. It is recommended to use qMp 3.2.1 Clearance version to deploy new Mesh networks and to upgrade nodes running previous releases that might be outdated. Most likely, this will be the last release based on OpenWrt, as further development in qMp will be based on LEDE.

Before upgrading to this release from older versions, make a backup of all your configuration files in the /etc directory. You can use the command line tool "qmpcontrol upgrade" to automate the upgrade process.

Changes since the previous release (3.2):

• Based on OpenWrt 15.05.1 Chaos Calmer
• Using latest BMX6 stable version
• Added support for Lamobo R1 boards
• Added support for Alfa N5 devices
• Added support for TP-Link TL-WDR3500-v1 devices
• Added support for TP-Link TL-WA7510N devices

Changes since the previous release (3.2-rc3):

• Based on OpenWrt 15.05 Chaos Calmer
• Using latest BMX6 stable version
• Added support for Microduino MicroWrt devices
• A few bugs solved (see below)

Changes since the previous release (3.2-rc2):

• Based on OpenWrt 15.05-rc3 Chaos Calmer
• Using latest BMX6 stable version
• Proper declaration of VLANs for BMX6 in /etc/network/interfaces (backported from Kalimotxo/QinQ)
• Coherent naming scheme for precompiled binary images
• A few bugs solved (see below)

Changes since the previous release (3.2-rc1):

• Based on OpenWrt 15.05-rc2 Chaos Calmer
• Improved support for Ubiquiti XW devices
• Using latest BMX6 stable version
• Improved sysupgrade hash calculation method based on the device name
• 802.11s mesh support
• ...

Changes since the latest stable release (3.1):

• Based on OpenWrt 15.05-rc1 Chaos Calmer RC1
• Support for new devices (Ubiquiti XW devices, TP-Link and Ralink/Mediatek-based devices)
• 802.11s mesh support
• ...

Fixed bugs since the latest stable release (3.2):

• #383 Fixed error in the upgrade system due to image name changes
• #381 Fixed Chaos Calmer's missing packages signature key

Known issues

• #366 Devices based on the Atheros ar71xx (Atheros) platform containing a switch (e.g. NanoStation M5 XW) can not combine untagged+tagged VLANs on the same port. Therefore, switched cable interfaces can't be used for BMX6 meshing

The qMp 3.2.1 firmware binaries can be found at http://fw.qmp.cat/Releases/3.2.1. Otherwise, you can compile your own images with your preferred options:

git clone https://dev.qmp.cat/qmpfw.git qmpfw-3.2.1
cd qmpfw-3.2.1
git fetch --tags
git checkout tags/v3.2.1
git checkout -b v3.2.1
QMP_GIT_BRANCH=v3.2.1 make checkout
cd build/qmp && git checkout -b v3.2.1 && cd ../..
make J=n T=target

where n is the number of parallel threads to use in the compilation (1, 2, ..., 8...) and targets is the name of the device target to build the image (list them by issuing the command make list_targets).

On Tuesday 3^rd May 2016, during the Battle of the Mesh v9, the Linux Embedded Development Environment (LEDE) project was announced.

Citing its website, "The LEDE project is founded as a spin-off of the OpenWrt project and shares many of the same goals. We are building an embedded Linux distribution that makes it easy for developers, system administrators or other Linux enthusiasts to build and customize software for embedded devices, especially wireless routers."

We wish huge success to the LEDE project and we'll be testing it as the base for the qMp firmware in the following days.

Stay tuned!