Dear all,
After the good results of the last testing grant [1] that eased a lot
the recent release of LibreMesh 2024.1 based on OpenWrt 23.05.
Since a few months, OpenWrt 24.10 has been released, so it is time to
prepare a new LibreMesh release also :)
In the past project meetings, we defined a testing grant for giving some
good use to the money the project receives as donations on
OpenCollective [2] and helping the development.
Please find the grant text below.
If you are interested, just write so on this mailing list, on the chat
[3] or say so during the next project meeting that will happen on
Saturday the 7th of June 2025 at 13:00 UTC (15:00 CEST, 10:00 ART).
[1]:
https://lists.autistici.org/message/20231101.163202.5a0742ed.en.html
[2]:
https://opencollective.com/libremesh
[3]:
https://libremesh.org/communication.html#chatroom
*Goal definition:*
Help the release of a LibreMesh release based on OpenWrt 24.10: testing
with a realistic setup, acquiring the needed hardware, reporting issues
and, if enough time is available, fixing blocking issues.
*Clauses:*
1) the grant recipient will justify 30 hours of work with a short report
sent on the official project mailing list and the official chatroom;
2) the work of the recipient will have to be aimed to the grant goal
defined above as "Help the release of a LibreMesh release based on
OpenWrt 24.10: testing with a realistic setup, acquiring the needed
hardware, reporting issues and, if enough time is available, fixing
blocking issues.";
3) specifically, the receiver is required to check if the observed
issues are already reported in the project bug tracker on Github, add
there any useful information gathered, and file a new bug report for
issues that are not yet properly described. The recipient is not
required to fix the observed bugs, but they are strongly encouraged to
use their work-hours for fixing the issues that they perceive as useful
in pursuing the grant goal;
4) the recipient of the grant will have to build a setup matching the
following minimum requirements:
*The minimal simple topology is a linear one, represented here:*
internet1 --wire-- dual_band#1 --wifi-- dual_band#2 --wire--
single_band#1 --wifi-- single_band#2 --wire or wifi-- internet2
If the topology is going to be different, it is fine, as far as it is
useful to test the release in a realistic setup.
*General requirements for routers*
* at least one router with DSA-supported switch
* at least one router without DSA-supported switch (supported via swconfig)
*Requirements for dual_band router:*
* at least 1 radio at 2.4 GHz
* at least 1 radio at 5 GHz
*Requirements for single_band router:*
* maximum 1 radio at either 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz
The recipient of the grant is strongly encouraged to employ part of the
grant money for buying modern OpenWrt-compatible routers that fulfil
these criteria (e.g. an OpenWrt One) new or second hand.
*Requirements for internet connections:*
* internet1 and internet2 should preferably be two different internet
connections (P.S. either wireless WAN or ethernet WAN, both are fine),
but if they are the same it is ok
5) the minimum scenarios to test are:
* checking if the internet connection internet1 goes down, if the wifi
clients (common AP name) still have connection
* checking if the internet connection internet2 goes down, if the wifi
clients (common AP name) still have connection
* checking if the internet connection internet1 goes down, if the cabled
clients (on dual_band#2) still have connection
* checking if the internet connection internet2 goes down, if the cabled
clients (on dual_band#2) still have connection
6) On the running network, check the main functionalities of the
lime-app web interface.
7) Some additional interesting things to inspect are included here but
are not required:
* check if hostnames in the network can be resolved to IP-addresses (DNS);
* split the test network in two different clouds (setting two different
ap_name values) and checking the connection via wireless and via cable;
* test batman_V routing algo. Are vlans actually needed on wifi mesh
interfaces? See also:
https://github.com/libremesh/lime-packages/issues/1009
8) The LibreMesh project meeting will send 800 $ to the recipient of the
grant as soon as they send their report to the mailing list. The
received amount could be smaller due to the bank transfer expenses.
9) For every problem encountered during testing, at least one detailed
issue report must be created in the project's bug tracker. The report
should reference the related testing report and include as much relevant
information as possible. This information should include, but is not
limited to:
* lime-report command outputs,
* lime-* configuration files,
* relevant system logs,
* any other data that can help diagnose and address the issue effectively.
10) Since part of the grant funds is recommended for hardware
acquisition, the recipient of the grant must:
* Provide a detailed report on the purchased devices, if any, including
model names and specifications.
* Ensure these devices are updated with the latest LibreMesh code
compiled on top of OpenWrt 24.10.
* Report any issues encountered during upgrades, even if exhaustive
testing is not performed.
* These upgrade-related reports should at least include evidence of the
upgrade process (e.g., logs or screenshots) and a brief description of
any issues encountered.
* Maintain these devices as part of a global, distributed testbench,
contributing to the long-term stability and reliability of LibreMesh
releases.
Or, in alternative:
* Send the devices to other testing locations when identified.
