Ninux.org Frequently Asked Questions

See also the TuscoloMesh FAQ (italian)

What is ninux.org?

ninux.org is a wireless community network: a network of computers connected without wires, created by a community of geeks, radio amateurs and fans in Rome.

What you mean?

Think about deploying a telephone line from your house to your neighbour. Now imagine that your neighbour would do the same with his neighbour, until the process covers a full neighbourhood or a city. And now imagine, thanks to these cables, to have the opportunity to freely speak with the people of the whole city, using a community network. Now imagine, in addition to speaking for free, to be able to share pictures and movies using your PC. At last, imagine to get rid of all the cables (so without need of construction work) and to use the radiowaves. In particular we use 802.11 technology, also known as Wi-Fi. There exist Access Points (or Wireless Routers) that use 802.11 technology that using a Linux Firmware allow to realize this kind of networks at a reasonable price.

Where this idea comes from?

Wireless Community Networks do exist in the whole World since many years. At the beginning we took inspiration from Seattle Wireless but now we have a conception of a wireless network community very close to the one of Freifunk.
Here and here you can find a list of free networks all over the World. Some of them are inspired by the WirelessCommonsManifesto, the same that inspired our ninux.org manifesto.

When will ninux.org reach me, so that you can give me an Internet connection?

The aim of ninux.org is the creation of an urban intranet for experimental purposes only, so no Internet.

Can I help?

Sure! You can contribute in many ways. You may want to subscribe to our mailing lists, or if you are in Italy you can come to our meetings, or help by editing this wiki (please read WikiEditingGuidelines), partecipate to Events, or help in the translation of Wireless Networking in the Developing World. See also "Can I create a network node?"

Do you have a forum?

No. The majority of us prefers the MailingLists + [[|wiki]] approach, i.e. no forum. But you can find the Web archive of the mailing list here or use the rss feed.

Can I create a network node?

Unfortunately in Italy, unlike the rest of the World, the law doesn't seem to allow to freely create 802.11 (Wi-Fi) radio links on public spaces. The legislative situation is very unclear (at least for us!), but it seems that a radio-amateur license is necessary (but it costs money and getting through an exam), or a wi-fi license (that costs money and must be "updated" at every change). But the 2.4GHz frequency should be free and open to everybody, like bluetooth, that operates on the same spectrum of Wi-Fi, but without the need of licenses or fees. Getting back to the question, we cannot tell you to create a network node.

But what is a "network node"?

A network node may be defined as the Hardware and software required to interconnect to other nodes in a network.

How do I create a network node?

There are many ways to do it. Read the HowToInEnglish and the Hardware pages. Usually a node is made of an Access Point, with an antenna, powered through the PowerOverEthernet technique. You can also find information in the WNDW book.

What is the topology of the network? Which routing protocols are you using?

Is a mesh network based on OLSR. You can find the OLSRTopology here.

What does "ninux" mean?

The name comes from Nino, the founder of the project, but for many of us the meaning is No Internet, Network Under eXperiment.