[Babel-users] Babel for use in a dense disconnected mesh network

[Denis Ovsienko]

> Are there any obvious settings that are required for babel to work in dense mesh networks? Would increasing the hello interval reduce the load on the network (though babel already appears to have a relatively low overhead).
>

As it was noted, the issue is likely to be rooted not in babeld, but rather in lower-level wireless. One way of troubleshooting this would be replacing the Pis with an equal amount of any other PCs and confirming that the mesh builds up OK using the same USB adapters. If it goes well, the replacement may be the straightforward solution, starting from Pi-sized alternatives and going up to cheap nettops with built-in wireless, Atom CPU and no need for cross-compiling.

But if it doesn't, the problem is likely in the adapters themselves or the band they are trying to use. My personal observation is that the old 802.11b is slower, yet notably more robust than the newer g/n bands. Consider borrowing a pack of different brand adapters and trying them. Eventually you may figure out specific component that fails this network.

-- 
    Denis Ovsienko