4.7 KiB
naxalnet
naxalnet is an experiment to create a wireless mesh network for communicating with each other during an internet shutdown, using existing software and tech as much as possible. Currently you can only communicate with other peers running naxalnet or using the same network as naxalnet. It uses B.A.T.M.A.N. Advanced, an implementation of the B.A.T.M.A.N. routing protocol to communicate with peers.
The name naxal comes from Naxalbari, a village in Darjeeling, West Bengal.
Requirements
- systemd{,-networkd} v248 or more (for batman support)
- Linux kernel with batman-adv module (if
modinfo batman-advshows no error then you already have it) - iwd (for starting ad-hoc network)
- python3
- python-dasbus
- wifi adapter with ad-hoc support
- two or more computers with wifi adapter
- systemd-resolved (optional, for DNS)
- batctl (optional, for debugging)
Installing
Arch Linux
Install naxalnet-git from the AUR with your favourite helper:
yay -S naxalnet-git
Optionally, setup systemd-resolved if any of the computers have internet access.
Manually
Clone the repo and cd into it.
Run sudo make install to install naxalnet. This will install naxalnet in
/usr/bin/naxalnet.
After installing, reload systemd so that you can enable naxalnet.service
without rebooting:
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
How to use
You need more than one computer running for the connection to work.
Communicate between peers
Connect a wifi adapter to all the computers you intend to run naxalnet. Start the naxalnet service on all of them:
sudo systemctl start naxalnet.service
To test if it works, run ip addr to find out your address.
Note the inet or inet6 address of bridge0. Ping the address
from another computer (example: ping 169.254.62.90) to find out
if it is online. Press Ctrl-C to stop.
Getting internet access
Connect an ethernet to any of the peers and start naxalnet.
Now all the peers should be able to connect after renewing
their DHCP connection (sudo networkctl renew bridge0).
Tethering via WiFi AP
Connect two wifi adapters on a device and start naxalnet.
Now an ap will be created on one of the devices with
SSID NaxalNet and password naxalnet256.
If you had set up internet access on one of the peers, internet
can be accessed from the AP.
Running at boot
Starting the service will stop NetworkManager.service and
wpa_supplicant.service if it is running. If you start either of these
services after naxalnet is started, systemd will stop naxalnet.
To run naxalnet at boot, enable the service:
sudo systemctl enable naxalnet.service
Now naxalnet will configure a batman interface on every boot. Disable the service to stop running at boot:
sudo systemctl disable naxalnet.service
How it works
The program naxalnet copies predefined systemd-networkd configuration into networkd's runtime configuration directory. It uses iwd to start an ad-hoc network named "HelloWorld". See the systemd-networkd directory to see how systemd-networkd configures the network. You can now use services like IPFS, Jami, Secure Scuttlebutt and others which can work without internet access.
Uninstalling
Currently there is now way to uninstall naxalnet than manually removing the files:
sudo rm -rf /usr/{bin,share}/naxalnet \
/usr/lib/systemd/system/naxalnet.service
License
This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
See LICENSE for the complete version of the license.
This project is in alpha stage. Documentation is incomplete.