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 Subject :No Internet Access.. 2011-03-15- 07:42:07 
W2ET
Member
Joined: 2011-03-15- 12:08:29
Posts: 4
Location: Chestertown, MD

I just set up a WRT54GL as a mesh node, using hsmm-mesh-0.4.1-wrt54g.bin.  I see HSMM-MESH listed among the wireless networks.  It's described as an "On Demand" unsecured computer-to-computer network.  The AP is shown as an unsecured wireless network.

I can connect to HSMM-MESH, but have no Internet access!  Attempts to ping the AP router result in a ""destination host unreachable" error message.

Connecting to the AP works fine.

A wired connection to the MESH router doesn't work either.

What did I miss?  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

The techies in our club are really excited about getting this up and running, and at least one other fellow seems to have exactly the same problem.

 

Bill  W2ET
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Last Edited On: 2011-03-15- 08:42:44 By W2ET for the Reason
 Subject :Re:No Internet Access.. 2011-03-15- 09:00:13 
KD5MFW
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Joined: 2010-01-18- 23:02:11
Posts: 104
Location: 

It sounds like you expect to link to a mesh node like you link to a normal Wi-Fi Access Point. A WRT54G loaded with HSMM-MESH firmware and operating as a mess node, is not an Access Point.

A mesh node is not an AP.  They talk different protocols.

An Access Point communicates with a normal Wi-Fi equipped laptop PC, for example in Infrastructure mode. This is a very specific protocol. HSMM-MESH nodes communicate using OLSR protocol, which is very different.

At the very lowest level you can get a RF link from your windows laptop Wi-Fi device, but since you are not talking OLSR mesh protocol, you do not pass useful data.

A mesh node is not an Access Point. They are very different. When you changed the firmware, you changed the operation of the radio in the WRT54G. HSMM-MESH mesh nodes only talk to like configured mesh nodes. Common Wi-Fi Access Points are very different.

 

You need a minimum of 2 mesh nodes to pass mesh data. You plug in your PC to one of the wired LAN ports on the back of a mesh node, and you can talk to devices on the LA N ports of another mesh node, if properly configured. So when properly set up, 2 mesh nodes effectively take the place of a long CAT-5 cable.

What is going out the RF side of the mesh nodes, is a very different protocol than what your normal Wi-Fi devices use, and you should not expect to directly link common Wi-Fi devices to the RF side of a mesh node.

You might want to compare a Wi-Fi Access Point running Infrastructure protocol and a mesh node running OLSR mesh protocol to see how the systems differ.

I hope this is helpful.

-Glenn

KD5MFW
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 Subject :Re:No Internet Access.. 2011-03-16- 02:14:01 
W2ET
Member
Joined: 2011-03-15- 12:08:29
Posts: 4
Location: Chestertown, MD
Hi, Glenn: Thanks your your thoughtful response, which is indeed very helpful. Somehow, I had it in my head that HSMM-MESH was similar to OPEN-MESH with respect to its ability to "daisy-chain" to another router. I'm now trying to back out of HSMM-MESH in order to try DD-WRT or something similar, but the router won't accept the upload of the alternative firmware. Is HSMM-MESH a one-way trip, or can the original Linksys firmware (for example) be reloaded? Thanks, Bill W2ET
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 Subject :Re:No Internet Access.. 2011-03-16- 07:21:23 
KD5MFW
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Joined: 2010-01-18- 23:02:11
Posts: 104
Location: 
You can reload the factory firmware. See the FAQ section here: -Glenn
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 Subject :Re:No Internet Access.. 2011-03-16- 08:42:48 
W2ET
Member
Joined: 2011-03-15- 12:08:29
Posts: 4
Location: Chestertown, MD
Tried that, using firmware downloaded from the Linksys website. Got the following error message: Firmware CANNOT be updated. the uploaded file is not recognized. Bill
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 Subject :Re:No Internet Access.. 2011-03-16- 09:10:11 
KD5MFW
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Joined: 2010-01-18- 23:02:11
Posts: 104
Location: 
In the FAQ section under software there is a description of using TFTP to load Linksys firmware. This involves using a host PC capable of running TFTP and quickly starting the download right after a hard reset (hit the reset button on the back of the router). For a few seconds after boot, the router will listen for a fw update coming in in TFTP protocol. You only have a few seconds to start the fw send on the host PC. If you miss the window, the router continues to boot. You have to reboot and try again and be quick. This method could use firmware from Linksys. The second method describes pulling a copy of the factory firmware off a site we support. You say you used Linksys firmware. If you did, you are not using the second technique described in the FAQ. If you use this second mode, you pick firmware off a list on a site we support - you do not pull the fw down from Linksys. If you simply tried to load a copy of firmware downloaded from Linksys into the fw load option in HSMM-MESH firmware you are not following the instructions correctly and the attempt to load firmware will fail. The problem is that Linksys has different format binary files for different routers, and we have worked out a system that uses the same type of binary file for all fw loads. It is silly to have different version of the same router have different file formats. It also causes problems for those that stick with HSMM-MESH. Once you chose to stay with HSMM-MESH you never have to be bothered with worrying about what binary format the fw file is in. All versions of the router use 1 file for update. This is why we made the change. I have tried both methods described in the FAQ and they work. I hope you can get the firmware you want back into your router without too much trouble. It is possible, I assure you. -Glenn KD5MFW
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 Subject :Re:No Internet Access.. 2011-03-18- 02:42:56 
W2ET
Member
Joined: 2011-03-15- 12:08:29
Posts: 4
Location: Chestertown, MD
Hi, Glenn. Thanks so much for your patient handholding. I followed the instructions to the letter and everything worked fine. Bill W2ET
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 Subject :Re:No Internet Access.. 2011-03-18- 03:06:19 
KD5MFW
Admin
Joined: 2010-01-18- 23:02:11
Posts: 104
Location: 
Glad your got your firmware updated like you wanted. HSMM-MESH may be what you want to work with in the long run, but that is up to you. You mentioned that you might try other firmware. DD-WRT, Open-WRT, Tomato, etc are all good firmware with a variety of features. Please note that all have to deal with various technical challenges and loading and unloading any firmware may get tedious very quickly. All those writing firmware for these routers with firmware that can be changed, have to deal with the same issues. I have had to do some rather tedious things to update various versions of firmware. Once you get more practice with it, the easier it is, but I just wanted to point out, it is easy to get into a situation to were a new firmware load may take more than simply providing a file name to a menu choice. Good luck with your firmware research. -Glenn KD5MFW
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