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radio:mesh [2025/11/17 09:59] – [MeshCore] cocoradio:mesh [2026/03/31 12:54] (current) – [OLSR] Humphrey Boa-Gart
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 [[https://syncthing.net|Syncthing]] is an open-source, peer-to-peer file synchronization tool that continuously keeps folders identical across multiple devices //(phones, laptops, servers)// without relying on any central cloud server. It normally uses the internet for discovery and relaying, but when devices are on the same local network //(ie: Wi-Fi or Bluetooth)// or when internet is unavailable, it can automatically fall back to direct local connections and even route traffic through other nearby Syncthing nodes, effectively creating an ad-hoc mesh for file transfers. [[https://syncthing.net|Syncthing]] is an open-source, peer-to-peer file synchronization tool that continuously keeps folders identical across multiple devices //(phones, laptops, servers)// without relying on any central cloud server. It normally uses the internet for discovery and relaying, but when devices are on the same local network //(ie: Wi-Fi or Bluetooth)// or when internet is unavailable, it can automatically fall back to direct local connections and even route traffic through other nearby Syncthing nodes, effectively creating an ad-hoc mesh for file transfers.
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 +==== Open Routing Protocols =====
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 +There are several //"open source"// mesh routing protocols out there too. Since they exist as a set of rigidly defined standards, anyone can build a network around them. Since these standards have been field-tested across the world, they are a safe architectural bet if you are building a serious custom network. Some options include:
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 +=== Babel ===
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 +[[https://docs.arednmesh.org/en/latest/arednHow-toGuides/babel.html|Babel]] is a modern open routing protocol built for networks that are messy in the real world: mixed wired and wireless links, changing topology, and nodes that may come and go without much warning. In standards terms it is a loop-avoiding distance-vector protocol, but the practical takeaway is simpler: Babel is designed to be lightweight, fast to adapt, and unusually good at coping with unreliable links, which is why it has become one of the better-known open protocols for wireless mesh networking. Read [[rfc>8966|RFC 8966]] for more information.
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 +=== OLSR ===
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 +OLSR, or Optimized Link State Routing, is an older open routing protocol for wireless mesh networks. It came out of the mobile ad hoc network (MANET) world, where devices form a network on the fly by connecting directly and relaying traffic for one another without fixed infrastructure. OLSR’s key idea was reducing routing chatter by designating certain nodes as relays, so not every device had to repeat every update.
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 +That made OLSR one of the defining early open protocols in the history of mesh networking. It is less modern and efficient than newer options like Babel, but it remains an important example of how decentralized networks learned to keep themselves stitched together. Read [[rfc>3626|RFC 3626]] for more information.
  
  
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 ==== Local Area Mesh ==== ==== Local Area Mesh ====
  
-While the above applications & protocols make some types of mesh networking easier, you do not need any of them. Any **LAN** or **local area network** can be set up as a type of mesh network. Pretty much every major operating system has LAN support, meaning all you have to do is plug your computer into the LAN and it will usually autodetect. There is nothing stopping you from running miles of LAN cables and wifi repeaters with your friends to create a city-wide LAN. In fact, residents of cities like Havana, New York, Barcelona, Berlin, Rome, Toronto and more, have done exactly that to varying degrees of success.+While the above applications & protocols make some types of mesh networking easier, you do not need any of them. Any **LAN** or **local area network** can be set up as a type of mesh network. Pretty much every major operating system has LAN support, meaning all you have to do is plug your computer into the LAN and it will usually autodetect. There is nothing stopping you from running miles of LAN cables and wifi repeaters with your friends to create a city-wide LAN. In fact, residents of cities like Havana, New York, Barcelona, Berlin, Rome, Toronto and more, have done exactly that to varying degrees of success. Toronto's local mesh for example uses Babel as we just described above.
  
 If your mesh requires persistent connections, fast speeds and the ability to transfer large files, this is the type of mesh you will want to build. If your mesh requires persistent connections, fast speeds and the ability to transfer large files, this is the type of mesh you will want to build.
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-{{tag>Communications}}+{{tag>Communications Networking}}
radio/mesh.1763373566.txt.gz · Last modified: by coco

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