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If you have LineOfSight to one or more other Personal Telco nodes, it is possible to "piggyback" off of their connection. In this case, you node is what we would call a "Repeater Node" because it extends the signal of another node. This type of setup is more complex than those described in PotentialNodeOwner --- if you are considering this, please let us know so we can help you! |
One exception to the "you need an internet connection to share" is if you happen to be close to an existing Personal Telco network. In that case, you might be able to piggyback off of that network. Extending a SkyPilot network is a good example of this scenario. If you are close to one of our existing SkyPilot networks (currently just NodeArborLodge, but perhaps near "restaurant row" along 28th on the eastside coming this Spring), then hosting a SkyPilot on your building could extend the signal. This is still unusual, so don't get your hopes too high. |
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| There is a distinction between being on the personal telco network and getting Internet access. Going "all wireless" is a useful and needed project, even if no internet access is involved. What you can provide is local content. You might have a web server or file server of your own that would be made available to others who are on the same wireless network. Its this LocalContent that creates a participatory environment and makes your piece of the network unique and valuable. | |
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| If you are concerned about such things, and many people are, you want a CaptivePortal. There is some information on the PotentialNodeOwner page about [[CaptivePortal]]s [[http://wiki.personaltelco.net/index.cgi/PotentialNodeOwner#head-11208b29f070375486dd36cc438bf967b956f727|here]]. | The Electronic Frontier Foundation has written about this, and concluded that you are not liable for the bad actions of others. Does that mean that the cops won't wrongly kick down your door? No. However, if they do and you are innocent, then you might have cause to sue them. We aren't lawyers, so this isn't legal advice. The good news is that the local police seem slightly more clued than others. A child-porn case in Milwaukie Oregon led investigators to a home, but they checked the wireless and discovered the illegal activity was eminating not from the service address of the internet connection, but from a neighboring home. The police knocked on that door instead. |
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| === What about Bottlenecking? How do I make sure people play fair with my internet connection? === | Our experience is that, across 60-odd networks we manage, we see a DMCA takedown letter a few times a year. We check the indicated network for the indicated abuse, and write back. Usually, the delay between the alleged infringement and the arrival of the letter means that the infringing activity is no longer occurring. We report what we found (usually nothing), and reiterate our willingness to block infringing activity, given timely notice, and then never hear another thing about it. |
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| This is a very common concern, and a very logical one. If people start using your connection, what's to keep the otaku next door from downloading a continuous stream of anime videos and sucking up all your available bandwidth? Well, I find that while this is a reasonable concern, it is much less common in practice then you would expect. Typically, I recommend that people go ahead with the install without dealing with this, and then, if it gets congested, you can always cross that bridge when it comes. When it does come time to do this, there are a couple of options: | We are not aware of any cops-breaking-down-the-door incidents at any Personal Telco nodes, ever. |
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| ==== Use Linux ==== | |
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| If you have a CaptivePortal box as part of your network, you can use it to do this for you. It requires that the NuCab have an additional network card installed (for a total of three) and for you to put it at the front of your network (directly behind your DSL modem). Then, we can use the power of Linux (and things like WonderShaper) to give your traffic priority over the wireless users'. This works pretty good - the main problem is that it puts a server at the front of your network which may go down, and if we set it up for you, you might not know how to fix it. | === How do I make sure people play fair with my internet connection? === |
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| ==== Get a Seperate DSL Line ==== | This is a very common concern, but in our experience it turns out to not be very prevalent in practice. If you notice a problem on your network at all, it is likely to be bittorrent or another peer-to-peer networking application soaking up all your upstream bandwidth. We try to dissuade people from using bittorrent on Personal Telco networks for this reason, both using automated means (by detecting and auto-blocking them, temporarily), but also manually, by monitoring network usage and logging in remotely, identifying the user and blocking them more permanently (at least until we can have a discussion about why they were blocked and to ask them to stop). |
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| Several of our nodes have a seperate DSL line just for the wireless network. This is certainly not the cheapest route, but it does the trick - your two connections will be completely isolated. | It is possible to limit the bandwidth available to the wireless network, but for obscure technical reasons it can be difficult to make it work well. Firstly, you can really only effectively shape outbound traffic. You have essentially no control over whose traffic gets sent to you by your ISP. In order to prioritize your traffic, it is usually necessary to know the total capacity of your network connection, so that you can cause queuing to occur under your control. We are often installing our equipment in a place that doesn't know the capacity of the network, because the node host's private traffic is outside its vision. So, it *is* possible, but in practical terms, we've found that there are easier solutions (outlined above) to reach an acceptable compromise. |
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| === How many city blocks will my outdoor node cover? === | The "bittorrent" problem has been recently identified by some as a problem of "buffer bloat". It is conceivable that mitigating the buffer bloat problem might also make this problem largely go away. |
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This is a hard question to answer with any certainty. A simple, and possibly wrong, answer goes something like: Typically, a 100mW radio mounted on a three-story roof with a 9dBi antenna serves a 2-3 block radius comfortably, a 5-6 block radius with some kind of client-side signal boosting, and maybe 3 miles radius for those who are really dilligent and have line-of-sight and highly-directional client antennas. What makes this answer simple, and possibly wrong, is that radio propogation is greatly affected by the environment in which it transmits. On days with high humidity, for instance, the signal propogates poorly. Clients who are behind a tree, or worse, a building, may be completely shadowed in spite of proximity. Those with excellent proximity and line-of-sight, but behind low-E glass may recieve no signal at all. Users with poor wireless client devices can find a network unusable in all but ideal circumstances. The way radio waves reflect and refract off surfaces in urban environments is very complex and can't be predicted with any certainty. Etc... The only real way to answer this with any certainty, is to do it experimentally after the node is up. WarDriving with [[Kismet]] is one way to accomplish this. |
If it is essential that your network stays fast but you are still feeling generous enough to host a node, consider getting a seperate internet connection just for the wireless network. This is certainly not the cheapest route, but your two connections will be completely isolated. |
I still want to be a Node, but, I have more questions
Following are answers to questions that individuals and businesses asked after they read the PotentialNodeOwner page. Perhaps you will be left with the same question. If your question isn't answered here - ask us!
What does "node" mean? How does a "node" differ from an "access point" or a "wireless router"?
"Node" is just a generic term for one component in a larger network. Access Points and Wireless Routers are network components, and hence, they are nodes on a network. In other words, they are "types" of nodes. For Personal Telco, "Node" has a specific meaning as defined in NodeStandards and NodeTypes.
I must have a DSL Connection? What about going "all wireless"?
One exception to the "you need an internet connection to share" is if you happen to be close to an existing Personal Telco network. In that case, you might be able to piggyback off of that network. Extending a SkyPilot network is a good example of this scenario. If you are close to one of our existing SkyPilot networks (currently just NodeArborLodge, but perhaps near "restaurant row" along 28th on the eastside coming this Spring), then hosting a SkyPilot on your building could extend the signal. This is still unusual, so don't get your hopes too high.
What about liability? What if someone uses my node for bad things?
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has written about this, and concluded that you are not liable for the bad actions of others. Does that mean that the cops won't wrongly kick down your door? No. However, if they do and you are innocent, then you might have cause to sue them. We aren't lawyers, so this isn't legal advice. The good news is that the local police seem slightly more clued than others. A child-porn case in Milwaukie Oregon led investigators to a home, but they checked the wireless and discovered the illegal activity was eminating not from the service address of the internet connection, but from a neighboring home. The police knocked on that door instead.
Our experience is that, across 60-odd networks we manage, we see a DMCA takedown letter a few times a year. We check the indicated network for the indicated abuse, and write back. Usually, the delay between the alleged infringement and the arrival of the letter means that the infringing activity is no longer occurring. We report what we found (usually nothing), and reiterate our willingness to block infringing activity, given timely notice, and then never hear another thing about it.
We are not aware of any cops-breaking-down-the-door incidents at any Personal Telco nodes, ever.
How do I make sure people play fair with my internet connection?
This is a very common concern, but in our experience it turns out to not be very prevalent in practice. If you notice a problem on your network at all, it is likely to be bittorrent or another peer-to-peer networking application soaking up all your upstream bandwidth. We try to dissuade people from using bittorrent on Personal Telco networks for this reason, both using automated means (by detecting and auto-blocking them, temporarily), but also manually, by monitoring network usage and logging in remotely, identifying the user and blocking them more permanently (at least until we can have a discussion about why they were blocked and to ask them to stop).
It is possible to limit the bandwidth available to the wireless network, but for obscure technical reasons it can be difficult to make it work well. Firstly, you can really only effectively shape outbound traffic. You have essentially no control over whose traffic gets sent to you by your ISP. In order to prioritize your traffic, it is usually necessary to know the total capacity of your network connection, so that you can cause queuing to occur under your control. We are often installing our equipment in a place that doesn't know the capacity of the network, because the node host's private traffic is outside its vision. So, it *is* possible, but in practical terms, we've found that there are easier solutions (outlined above) to reach an acceptable compromise.
The "bittorrent" problem has been recently identified by some as a problem of "buffer bloat". It is conceivable that mitigating the buffer bloat problem might also make this problem largely go away.
If it is essential that your network stays fast but you are still feeling generous enough to host a node, consider getting a seperate internet connection just for the wireless network. This is certainly not the cheapest route, but your two connections will be completely isolated.