Improved community network node design using a DLEP based radio-to-router interface

Using a static link state routing metric in wireless mesh and mobile ad hoc networks without major efforts in optimizing the physical link properties has proven to be inefficient. It does not take into account link quality information. While some link metrics try to estimate channel properties based on layer-3 observations, more sophisticated metrics need to access layer-2 information directly. The new 802.11 netlink interface provides a common local interface for Linux based systems and thus the basis for practical usage in community networks. However, a standardized radio-to-router communication protocol to access layer-2 information will allow to go beyond the limitations of having all radio interfaces built directly into the router device. While the PPPoE protocol generally can be applied to this scenario, it has some drawbacks when used in wireless mesh networks. The new DLEP protocol is supported by the IETF MANET group to fill this gap. In this paper we describe the advantages of a flexible node design for community networks based on the DLEP protocol. In addition, we present our implementation of the DLEP protocol and discuss some important deviations from the current draft version of the standard.