I have a 5.9GHz link to the AMPRnet thru HamWAN, and am using my BBHN mesh to access the internet thru the link. 

However, I am unable to access anything on the AMPR network.  Do I need to put an additional router in between the link and the BBHN gateway node or something?

I have been assigned a small (5 addresses) AMPR subnet.   I have seen where some people have modified the OLSR settings to change from a 10.x to a 44.x network, but I only have 5 addresses, and want to use one, maybe two for the HamWAN/BBHN gateway, and reserve the others for devices in front of the BBHN mesh.

Can I just put routing rules in the BBHN gateway node (the one that's connected to the HamWAN modem)??

The wireless modem that is used for HamWAN is a Mikrotik Metal and has full router functions as far as I can tell.

Thanks!

I have it partially working, have assigned one of my AMPRNET assigned IP addresses to the Gateway BBHN node that is connected to the AMPRnet.

Devices attached TO THAT NODE are able to access the AMPRnet, even though they are using the DHCP addresses assigned by the BBHN node in the 10.x.x.x range.

Devices on the mesh that are NOT directly on that GW node are NOT able to access the 44 net.

I am trying to figure out what kind of creative routing has to be manually entered into the mesh nodes so they will know how to route that traffic.   I also have another mesh node configured as a GW thru the ISP to access the Internet at large. 

The final plan is to have the mesh route Internet traffic out the GW node that is connected to the Internet, and AMPRnet traffic out the node that is actually a GW to the AMPRnet.

I assume this will have to be manually entered in a console, as there are very limited settings in the configuration page.

Any ideas?

Thanks!

Try adding a static route 44.0.0.0/8   gateway={IP of WAN port/VLAN}. If that works, The drawback is you would have to add that route to any node on your mesh you want able to see the 44's, pointing the gateway setting to the node able to talk to the 44 net.

Thats the same way I tell my PC on my LAN how to access the 10.x.x.x mesh, through a node on the LAN (LAN/Mesh GW node).

Thanks Jim,

I figured I would have to add that route to ALL nodes, but how to make it persistent when the node reboots?

to make any changes persistent across reboots, it usually goes into /etc/config.mesh/blah

So for this I think it would be:

/etc/config.mesh/network

Add a blob:

config route
option interface lan
option target 44.0.0.0
option gateway {IPofWANinterface}

Give that a shot and see what happens.

73

Thanks Jim.

So to get dual routing working, the Mesh node the PC is connected to also has a default route out to the Internet.   So adding a route such as:

route add -net 44.0.0.0 netmask 255.0.0.0 gateway W5LMM-HSMM-1 dev wl0

Will allow the node to know where to route the packets destined for the 44 net.

W5LMM-HSMM-1 is the node that is connected to the AMPRnet on the WAN port.

So I am able to access BOTH the Internet, and AMPRnet from a PC connected to the 2nd mesh node.

Now I have to figure out how to tell the first mesh node (the one with AMPRnet) to route Internet traffic out through the 2nd mesh node!  Without screwing up the mesh routing.   UGH.

Then, the other issue is, how is DNS handled?   If I set my DNS server on the PC to be automatic (gets it from DHCP as supplied by the mesh) then I can connect to anything in the mesh just fine.  However, it forgets the Internet/AMPRnet routing!

I had assumed that setting the DNS to the AMPRnet nameservers (which also include Internet at large) that the mesh would use it's internal DNS for mesh purposes, and tack on the external DNS info as needed.  This does not seem to work.  If it does, it's sporadic.

Is that not how DNS is supposed to work across the mesh?

Any ideas on routing the other way, so a PC connected to the AMPR connected node knows to go out (Internet) thru the 2nd node that is Internet GW??

Thanks Jim.

So to get dual routing working, the Mesh node the PC is connected to also has a default route out to the Internet.   So adding a route such as:

route add -net 44.0.0.0 netmask 255.0.0.0 gateway W5LMM-HSMM-1 dev wl0

Will allow the node to know where to route the packets destined for the 44 net.

W5LMM-HSMM-1 is the node that is connected to the AMPRnet on the WAN port.

So I am able to access BOTH the Internet, and AMPRnet from a PC connected to the 2nd mesh node.

Now I have to figure out how to tell the first mesh node (the one with AMPRnet) to route Internet traffic out through the 2nd mesh node!  Without screwing up the mesh routing.   UGH.

Then, the other issue is, how is DNS handled?   If I set my DNS server on the PC to be automatic (gets it from DHCP as supplied by the mesh) then I can connect to anything in the mesh just fine.  However, it forgets the Internet/AMPRnet routing!

I had assumed that setting the DNS to the AMPRnet nameservers (which also include Internet at large) that the mesh would use it's internal DNS for mesh purposes, and tack on the external DNS info as needed.  This does not seem to work.  If it does, it's sporadic.

Is that not how DNS is supposed to work across the mesh?

Any ideas on routing the other way, so a PC connected to the AMPR connected node knows to go out (Internet) thru the 2nd node that is Internet GW??

Nope.  That didn't work.  :(

I hate to have to put in the route command every time the power cycles. 

I guess I could add it into a script that's run at the end of booting.

OK, so the DNS stuff is getting very irritating.

If I set ALL the mesh nodes to use the AMPRnet DNS (in setup, under WAN), I would think that they should pass this info.

BUT apparently not, because when I have the PC set to get DNS from DHCP, the nodes supply their internal DNS server address (which is fine, otherwise I would only be able to interact with the mesh by knowing IP addresses)

However, for some mysterious reason, it is passing INTERNET DNS information, but NOT AMPRnet DNS, so I cannot access AMPRnet hosts unless I specifically use their IP address. (so routing is working)

Now, if I set DNS in Windows to the AMPRnet DNS server, I get AMPRnet AND Internet DNS info, but obviously lose the Mesh DNS stuff, so I can't access nodes by name.

Where in the heck is BBHN getting external DNS info from?  Did someone hardcode google's DNS server info into the firmware or what?

Yes, Google DNS servers are in the firmware...

in /etc/config.mesh/_setup, you will find...

wan_dns1=8.8.8.8
wan_dns2=8.8.4.4

In theory, you should be able to change the wan_dns2 to whatever dns that you want, then, go into the GUI and hit SAVE

You can verify by looking at /etc/config/network (where 99.99.99.99 is your DNS)

#### LAN configuration
config interface lan
option ifname    "eth0"
option proto    static
option ipaddr    10.1.2.3
option netmask    255.255.255.240
option dns    "8.8.8.8 99.99.99.99"

Shouldn't the 44net be reachable by just being a meshgw? It is a public address space isnt it? If so why don't they publish a public DNS domain as well?  

All that asides as for DNS: there is a bigger item involved here in that dnsmasq by default sends all querieie to the fastest DNS server of the two configured in the list, this means you have no real control over which of the two will be used.  You would likely need to consult the dnsmasq config files and go in and manually add a forced forwarded for a domain entry to each node to force the DNS to always lookup against a specific DNS server as It sounds like that the ampernet is not in a public DNS space by your comments.

Edit: or just put ampernet in both slots.  In both cases remember to save and reboot when done.

Thanks Conrad.

1.  Not all AMPRnet subnets are accessible via Internet at large.

2.  The AMPRnet DNS servers (at least the ones I am using) INCLUDE both AMPR and Internet  resolution.

With the two gateways set, And specifying the AMPRnet DNS in Windows, I have BOTH AMPR and Internet DNS.   But I LOSE DNS resolution for the Mesh itself. (for obvious reasons)

However, if I allow the mesh node to auto set the DNS thru DHCP, it points to the DNS served by the Mesh node, and I KEEP Internet DNS, Mesh DNS works, but lose AMPR resolution!

Very odd.. Very odd indeed.

So I had to dig the code a bit more,  seems the DNS servers set by a WAN DHCP lease are also added to the list of DHCP servers as well. I'm not sure if I should that as a bug, design flaw, or a feature at the moment. (I'm half inclined to call it "bug" since we call the DNS servers the "WAN_DNS" in the config but we apply it to the LAN interface in the config. Not sure I would say we would drop this 'feature' as it makes sense from a deployment standpoint to use what DHCP gives us on top of w hat we know plus I have to set some DHCP for the mesh to work when there is no WAN port but is an internet link.)

Short Version:

This means the only option is A) static IP assignment on WAN interface to inhibit DHCP lease or B) Go with the hard forward entry (see dnsmasq manual about search roots to specific forwarders as noted before)

Ok,  That makes sense,  That should probably change to an option in further firmware.

So on the WAN interface, I will change that to static for that node, and force the DNS to the AMPRnet hosts.   

Thanks!

Still not working.  Same behavior as before.

If I let Mesh provide DNS it is obviously getting Internet DNS from some source, but certainly not the source I want.

I have set WAN to static, correct GW and correct DNS, and I get the same deal.  Maddening.

It is obviously using a DNS server somewhere else. 

If I look at /etc/resolv.conf on the node, it points to the correct DNS servers!

What the heck?

I suggest going with the forced forward option than.

Edit: I just checked on my Ubiquiti node and the setting worked as designed when in static mode on WAN it did not go to any other DNS servers.

/etc/resolv.conf should be 127.0.0.1  /tmp/resolv.conf.auto holds the actual nameservers used by dnsmasq.

This might be different on Linksys due to older code I haven't checked that device, either way, a forced dns forward is probably your best bet especially on your your remote nodes. 

Well, typical Micro$oft crapware strikes again.    IP stack went to hell, so after a reboot of Win7, everything is working as it should. 

I am able to access AMPRnet, Internet, and hosts on the Mesh.

Drove me crazy, should have rebooted on a whim anyway.  Something got scrambled I guess.  Funny thing is, DNS would halfway work, and change behavior.

Stupid windows.