From 2bf73ea6299d73ac287fc583bfa28fd3efa0c847 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Bob Mottram Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2017 11:56:52 +0100 Subject: [PATCH] mesh usage documentation contents links --- doc/EN/mesh_usage.org | 14 ++++++- website/EN/mesh_usage.html | 84 ++++++++++++++++++++++---------------- 2 files changed, 62 insertions(+), 36 deletions(-) diff --git a/doc/EN/mesh_usage.org b/doc/EN/mesh_usage.org index 3e4c16c4..4a410ac9 100644 --- a/doc/EN/mesh_usage.org +++ b/doc/EN/mesh_usage.org @@ -14,6 +14,18 @@

Mesh Network: How to use it

#+end_export + * [[Boot trouble]] + * [[Set the Date]] + * [[Check network status]] + * [[Connecting to the internet]] + * [[Connecting two meshes over the internet via a VPN tunnel]] + * [[Mobile devices (phones, etc)]] + * [[Chat System]] + * [[Collaborative document editing]] + * [[Social Network]] + * [[Sharing Files]] + * [[Blogging]] + When you first boot from the USB drive the system will create some encryption keys, assign a unique network address to the system and then reboot itself. When that's done you should see a prompt asking for a username. This username just makes it easy for others to initially find you on the mesh and will appear in the list of users. After a minute or two if you are within wifi range and there is at least one other user on the network then you should see additional icons appear on the desktop, such as /Other Users/ and /Chat/. @@ -26,7 +38,7 @@ After the system has booted successfully the problem should resolve itself on su On the ordinary internet the date and time of your system would be set automatically via NTP. But this is not the internet and so you will need to manually ensure that your date and time settings are correct. You might need to periodically do this if your clock drifts. It's not essential that the time on your system be highly accurate, but if it drifts too far or goes back to epoch then things could become a little confusing in regard to the order of blog posts. *Right click on the date* in the top right corner of the screen. Select *preferences*, then click the *Time Settings* button. You can then select the date from the calendar and set the time, then click the *Set System Time* button. Enter the default password, which is /freedombone/. -** Check network status +* Check network status Unlike with ordinary wifi, on the mesh you don't get a signal strength icon and so it's not simple to see if you have a good connection. Select the wifi icon on the desktop and enter the password '/freedombone/'. The network configuration will go into a monitoring mode and in the bottom right side of the window you will be able to see signal strength and other parameters. This can help you to locate systems or adjust antennas to get the best wifi performance. diff --git a/website/EN/mesh_usage.html b/website/EN/mesh_usage.html index af286f54..656a9ecc 100644 --- a/website/EN/mesh_usage.html +++ b/website/EN/mesh_usage.html @@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> - + ‎ @@ -246,6 +246,20 @@ for the JavaScript code in this tag.

Mesh Network: How to use it

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When you first boot from the USB drive the system will create some encryption keys, assign a unique network address to the system and then reboot itself. When that's done you should see a prompt asking for a username. This username just makes it easy for others to initially find you on the mesh and will appear in the list of users.

@@ -254,9 +268,9 @@ When you first boot from the USB drive the system will create some encryption ke After a minute or two if you are within wifi range and there is at least one other user on the network then you should see additional icons appear on the desktop, such as Other Users and Chat.

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Boot trouble

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Boot trouble

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If the system doesn't boot and reports an error which includes /dev/mapper/loop0p1 then reboot with Ctrl-Alt-Del and when you see the grub menu press e and manually change /dev/mapper/loop0p1 to /dev/sdb1, then press Ctrl-x. If that doesn't work then reboot and try /dev/sdc1 instead.

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Set the Date

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Set the Date

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On the ordinary internet the date and time of your system would be set automatically via NTP. But this is not the internet and so you will need to manually ensure that your date and time settings are correct. You might need to periodically do this if your clock drifts. It's not essential that the time on your system be highly accurate, but if it drifts too far or goes back to epoch then things could become a little confusing in regard to the order of blog posts.

@@ -277,9 +291,10 @@ On the ordinary internet the date and time of your system would be set automatic Right click on the date in the top right corner of the screen. Select preferences, then click the Time Settings button. You can then select the date from the calendar and set the time, then click the Set System Time button. Enter the default password, which is freedombone.

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Check network status

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Check network status

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Unlike with ordinary wifi, on the mesh you don't get a signal strength icon and so it's not simple to see if you have a good connection.

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Connecting to the internet

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Connecting to the internet

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If you need to be able to access the internet from the mesh then connect one of the peers to an internet router using an ethernet cable, then reboot it. Other peers in the mesh, including any attached mobile devices, will then be able to access the internet using the ethernet attached peer as a gateway. Freifunk works in a similar way.

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Connecting two meshes over the internet via a VPN tunnel

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Connecting two meshes over the internet via a VPN tunnel

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Maybe the internet exists, but you don't care about getting any content from it and just want to use it as a way to connect mesh networks from different geographical locations together.

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Mobile devices (phones, etc)

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Mobile devices (phones, etc)

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To allow mobile devices to connect to the mesh you will need a second wifi adapter connected to your laptop/netbook/SBC. Plug in a second wifi adapter then reboot the system. The second adaptor will then create a wifi hotspot which mobile devices can connect to. The hotspot name also contains its local IP address (eg. "mesh-192.168.1.83").

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Chat System

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Chat System

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Ensure that you're within wifi range of at least one other mesh peer (could be a router or client) and then you should see that the Chat and Other Users icons appear. Select the users icon and you should see a list of users on the mesh. Select the Chat icon and once you are connected you should see the status light turn green. If after a few minutes you don't get the green status light then try closing and re-opening the Tox chat application. Select the plus button to add a friend and then copy and paste in a Tox ID from the users list.

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Collaborative document editing

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Collaborative document editing

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The mesh system includes the ability to collaboratively edit various sorts of documents using CryptPad. CryptPad is an almost peer-to-peer system in that it is designed for a client/server environment but that the server aspect of it is very minimal and limited to orchestrating the connected clients. With CryptPad installed on each mesh peer it effectively enables peer-to-peer collaborative editing. Documents are ephemeral and forgotten unless they're exported or copy-pasted to permanent storage.

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Social Network

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Social Network

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Patchwork is available as a social networking system for the mesh. Like all social network systems it has a stream of posts and you can follow or unfollow other users. You can also send private messages to other users with end-to-end encryption.

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Sharing Files

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Sharing Files

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You can make files publicly available on the network simply by dragging and dropping them into the Public folder on the desktop. To view the files belonging to another user select the desktop icon called Visit a site and enter the username or Tox ID of the other user.

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Blogging

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Blogging

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To create a blog post select the Blog icon on the desktop and then use the up and down cursor keys, space bar and enter key to add a new entry. Edit the title of the entry and add your text. You can also include photos if you wish - just copy them to the CreateBlog/content/images directory and then link to them as shown.