Hi!
Here comes my test report.
I used the following topologies for testing:
Topology #1
internet1
~wifi~
dual_band#1
~wifi~
dual_band#2
-cable-
single_band#1
~wifi~
single_band#2
-cable-
internet2
Topology #2
internet1
-cable-
dual_band#1
~wifi~
dual_band#2
-cable-
single_band#1
~wifi~
dual_band#3 (non-dsa)
-cable-
dual_band#4
~wifi~
dual_band#5
-cable-
single_band#2
-cable-
internet2
In Topology #2, the first two, middle three and last two nodes were configured as 3 seperate mesh-clouds (seperate ssids and layer 2 domain).
I left the ethernet interfaces connecting to other routers inside br-lan ("lime proto lan"). batadv has a feature called Bridge Loop Avoidance that can handle this.
This is the hardware that was used:
single_band#1 TP-LINK TD-W8970
single_band#2 TP-LINK TD-W8970
dual_band#1: Xiaomi Redmi Router AX6S
dual_band#2: TP-Link RE650 v1
dual_band#3: TP-Link Archer C20i
dual_band#4: TP-Link Archer C6 v3
dial_band#5: MERCUSYS MR70X v1
The following experiments were conducted:
i) Automatic switching of default gateway: I checked that when internet1 is down, internet2 is used. When internet2 is down, internet1 is used. Each for both wifi and cable clients.
ii) Lease sharing: The dhcp-leases are distributed in the network. I checked that a node does not give an ip address to a client that another node has given to another client.
iii) Roaming: Roaming was triggered with wpa_cli roam command, while pinging the default gateway (anygw address). Sadly, the connection was interrupted for about 1100ms every time. I then placed the two routers at distant places and walked back and forth between them. Still the connection was interrupted for at least 1100ms when switching APs. I tried intel 7260, RTL8814AU and a shift5me smartphone as client device, with similiar results. I don't know why this is. Maybe my devices are just crappy. Even without 802.11r, it shouldn't be more than 200ms. I don't know for sure if any of my wifi client devices support 802.11r fast transition. 802.11r should, with the right settings, reduce the interruption to below 50ms.
iv) Local DNS: DNS resolution of hosts in the network worked fine.
To enable 802.11r fast transition support on a node, it should be sufficient to put
option ap_ieee80211r '1'
option ap_reassociation_deadline '20000'
option ap_ft_psk_generate_local '1'
option ap_ft_over_ds '0'
into the "config lime wifi" section inside the lime-node or lime-community file.
Attached you find
- all lime-node and lime-community files that I used.
- pack lists for imagebuilder that I used to make up to date images.
- some logs
- a python script that I wrote to measure connection interruption times during roaming using ipv6 ping.
Have I forgot something? Let me know if there are any questions.
Liebst
Pony
