Re: Reminder -- MEETING THIS SATURDAY: Feb 21 at Noon at the CWN Office.

On Thu, Feb 19, 2004 at 09:44:32AM -0600, Sascha Meinrath wrote:
> Hi everyone,
> 
> Just to remind everyone, there will be a Community Wireless Network
> meeting this Saturday Feb 21 at Noon at the CWN Office (Second Floor of
> 115 W. Main St. in downtown Urbana).  The meeting will start on time (so
> plan to arrive a few minutes early) and last for one hour (though working
> groups might wish to meet afterwards).
> 
> Here's the tentative agenda:
> 
> 1. Introductions
> 2. OSI Grant Summary/Update & Funding Disbursement Overview
> 3. Press Conference Follow-ups
> 4. Guaging Participants Interests & Skills
> 5. Finding Programmers

Here are some project ideas. I would like somebody to run with each
of them.

0)  VoIP R&D for wireless.

    Research and develop a VoIP solution for ad hoc wireless networks.

1)  There are utilities that I use or that I would like to use in the
    build script for C-U Wireless boot media that needlessly require
    root privileges. These programs are

        mkisofs(8)
        pkg_add(1)
        pkg_remove(1)

    I have already done the research leg-work to program a privilegeless
    alternative to mkisofs. It is best to ditch mkisofs(8), imho, and
    start from scratch inside the framework that the makefs(8) utility
    gives us.

    I have a copy of a nascent pkg_* replacement that is a great starting
    point for privilegeless versions.

2)  Adapt the C-U Wireless software Realtek's RTL8181, an 802.11b
    System-on-a-Chip (SoC).

    The RTL8181 integrates a 200MHz MIPS CPU, two ethernet controllers,
    an 802.11b MAC/baseband, a PCI bus controller, and lots of I/O on the
    same piece of silicon. It's intended for use in APs, but it could be
    used to make a low-cost rooftop router. The RTL8181 (google for it)
    is famously used in the Minitar AP, which runs Linux.

    I am working on an open-source driver (the first!) for the radio bits;
    someone in Australia is working on a port of NetBSD/MIPS to the SoC.
    I would like to see the C-U Wireless software running on the Minitar
    AP or some other RTL8181 implementation, since that could lower our
    costs a lot.

3)  Port NetBSD to Atheros' 802.11a/b/g System-on-a-Chip.

    The Atheros SoC is also a MIPS CPU with integrated 802.11a/b/g
    MAC/baseband. It
    could be used to make an inexpensive and featureful rooftop
    router. Your mission is to find out the peculiarities of Atheros
    MIPS implementation so that you can get NetBSD/MIPS to run on it.

    There is a part open-, part closed-source driver for Atheros'
    802.11a/b/g chipsets. You need to persuade Atheros to release a
    version of the closed-source portion that suits the SoC. If that
    does not already exist, it is probably in development.

I will think of more....

Dave

-- 
David Young             OJC Technologies
[email protected]      Urbana, IL * (217) 278-3933

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