802.11ac SOWN Zepler

This is a project to build a new SOWN Zepler node that provides wireless access using the 802.11ac, as well as the 802.11n Wi-Fi standards. It also now has has a couple of USB SDRs added to it that can be viewed on Sown-data1 as the Zepler WebSDR. Currently this is only available if you are connected to the ECS network at the University of Southampton.

Task List

• Configure interfaces, Hostapd and RADIUS for Wi-Fi.
• Label coax cables

Serial Console

The serial console is a DB9 male, set to 115200 baud, and needs a null modem cable.

Component List

This lists all the items we already have for building the new 802.11ac Zepler node.

• APU2c2 board
• APU case (excluding lid)
• Metal IP56 box (240x190x90mm) - something like this.
• 30GB MSATA SSD disk
• 16GB SD card
• 802.11n mini-PCIe card
• 802.11ac mini-PCIe card from an Archer C7
• mini-PCIe extender
• 802.3at PoE splitter (capable of providing 2A at 12v) (comes with power connector cable suitable for the APU2c2)
• 2 x N-Female to N-Female bulkhead connector
• 3 x N-female dust cap
• 4 x N-Female to u.Fl pigtail
• 2 x 50cm (or less) Cat5e network cables
• 1 x 2mm Aluminium sheet to mount IP56 metal box to Unistrut framework inside external plant room on roof of Zepler.
• 1 x 2mm Aluminium sheet with fastenings to make shelf inside IP56 metal box.
• 4 x small countersink screws to attach APU2C box to shelf.
• 2 x USB SDRs suitable for 2m band
• 2 x 25cm USB extenders with ferrite chokes (for SDRs)
• 2 x SMA-Male to N-Male
• 2 x Lightning arresters (up to at least 2.4GHz)
• 2 x Lightning arresters (up to 6GHz)
• 2 x 2 metre N-make to N-male cables.
• 1 x 1.5 metre (approx) Ethernet cable for connecting base unit to roof network socket.
• 1 x Discone antenna
• 1 x AC26 - 2" x 2" Mast Clamp for attaching discone antenna to the mast
• Enough velcro to cover one side of internal plate of IP56 metal box.
• 1 x 10ml bottle of Loctite 222 for securing discone spokes and mast clamp nuts.
• 5 x 60mm-80mm Jubillee clips for securing masts to roof superstructure

Firmware

To make it easier to install and configure the SDRs, a 64-bit version of Debian 8 (Jessie) has been installed on the MSATA SSD.

Installing the Operating System

Netbooting Debian

Netbooting is the easiest method to install debian on the APU board. This is because it allows for easy modification of the installation files to force the board to install over a serial cable rather than using a video output. The APU board we were using is a difficult one as it also has a graphics processor with no display connector. Hence, the installer tries to use this and we get no idea what's going on.

To netboot the board, I used instructions from this link. [1]

During the installation, select the following options at the package selection stage:

• DISABLE Debian Desktop Environment (extra overhead for a server device)
• ENABLE SSH Server
• ENABLE Standard System Utilities . Seemed like we could need them at some point.

Remember to install grub.

Post-installation setup

Check everything's up to date

su root
<password entered during setup>
apt-get update

If you used the guide I suggested above, you've now ended up with Debian 7 (Wheezy) installed. Let's update it to Debian 8 (Jessie) Now, edit /etc/apt/sources.list, replacing all instances of 'wheezy' with 'jessie' Then,

apt-get update
apt-get upgrade
apt-get dist-upgrade

Now, install a newer kernel. In this case, we upgraded to 4.9 from 3.2. I used this [2]

Edit sources.list to include backports

deb http://ftp.debian.org/debian jessie-backports main

apt-get update
apt-cache search linux-image
apt-get install -t jessie-backports linux-image linux-image-amd64

And now we're running a really recent kernel.

Now, add non-free to each of the items in /etc/apt/sources.list (I did this for the first two (jessie) and also the (jessie backports) entry)

Now to install the drivers for the Broadcom NIC

apt-get install broadcom-sta-dkms wireless-tools

It's likely time for a reboot now....

sudo reboot

(Hopefully it'll come back up)

ssh user@<sown-zepler-ip>

It lives! Let's just check it's running the new kernel we installed...

uname -r
    4.9.0-0.bpo.2-amd64

Ok so the kernel upgrade broke the broadcom firmware. Install these things first and then reinstall the firmware.

Basically, install as many headers as you can, (sudo apt-cache search linux-headers) and it works

Then:

sudo apt install broadcom-sta-dkms

Now to install ath10k with associated firmware.

??

Configuring as a SOWN node

To be completed

The steps required to configure the system to work as a SOWN node should be saved as Puppet scripts, so that these can be reused if we want to build a second node or need to rebuilt this node after a failure.

The general day-to-day configuration should still be manageable through the SOWN admin system. Therefore, the configuration needs to include a script that can pull down configuration files to update aspects of the system, such as wireless channels to use.