StarV3 1.0.0(beta-8) build 765 (WAR Edition) is ready for testing

[tony]

The new release is on-line and ready for public testing. Please download it from the www.star-os.com/starvx (http://www.star-os.com/starvx) website.

There are release notes in the firmware archive which will list the steps needed to upgrade.

Most settings are preserved during the upgrade. For the list of ones that are not, please refer to the release notes.

Any and all comments are welcome.

Changes since the last beta:
*) added telnet and ssh client support
*) txpower option now works as expected
*) rate option now works as expected
*) ping now works as expected
*) problem that could prevent some users from configuring RIP or OSPF has been fixed
*) dhcp client no longer loses it's ip on bootup
*) olsr will now recover correctly after an activate changes
*) plus more

Some common Q&A answers regarding the new release:
Q: Is cloaking supported in this BETA?
A: Yes, cloaking is supported as of beta-7

Q: What kind of performance should we expect?
A: If you disable connection tracking, the performance while routed should be roughly the same, if not better than a bridged StarVX system.

Q: Does this beta contain WEP?
A: No, the first release does not as we are currently investigating some StarVX / StarOS WEP incompatibilities that have recently been reported.

Q: What interface will StarV3 use?
A: It will use SSH, much like StarOS. The current interface borrows much from StarOS, but enhanced for the WAR platform.

Q: Will the same StarVX atheros features be present in StarV3 beta?
A: Most of the basic settings are present, however once we complete the new Atheros configuration dialog, the rest will follow.

Q: Will there be firewall support?
A: Yes, firewall, NAT and CBQ are all available in this release.

Q: Is there WDS support?
A: The first BETA does not have WDS support, so you need to convert your StarVX network to a routed design before upgrading, or wait until this feature is available.

Q: Is there any way to secure a wireless connection in the first BETA?
A: Yes, we have included VDS support which supports AES encryption and can be used to secure your connection, or act as a WDS alternative.

Q: Will there be tcpdump, or some other way to see system traffic?
A: Yes, we have included beacon, a real-time traffic monitor which can be used to see the active connections in your system.

Q: Will the system be field upgradeable?
A: Quite definitely, the system is fully field upgradable.

Please feel free to post any additional questions you may have.

[nelson05]

Wow! What an improvement to OLSR!

I have been testing the addition extensively since you released beta 5 and was impressed from the start at how easy it was to configure and the speed at which routing changes were propagated. However, I was afraid it was too unreliable after my test network exhibited many of the same problems I’d seen posted about OSPF and StarOS v2. Activating changes or restarting a router often caused major disruptions throughout the test network. It appeared to be inconsistent and I couldn’t isolate an exact condition where the problems would occur. Restarting the OSLR service would usually return things to normal, though sometimes the service would have to be restarted on a router that was inaccessible because of the OSLR failure and I would have to connect directly to the affected device’s Ethernet port.

I was actually just about to post some of my problems with the protocol. Instead, I saw the new beta and deployed it to my WARs. Now, I can’t get the thing to fail! All of the issues I was fighting have disappeared. After just a couple of hours, I feel confident enough to put this on our live network. Now, all we need is WEP.

Also, the B issues I reported have indeed been addressed. Congratulations on a great beta release. And one more thing- cloaking is awesome!

[tony]

Thank you for your report. I am pleased to hear the good news regarding this release. We have it deployed on many of our systems and find it quite reliable.

WEP support is high on our list. Keep an eye for it in the next release or two.

[phendry]

Upgraded a point to point link to the latest beta (beta-8) and switched the link to 10MHz (cloaking x2). The thing that doesn't make sense is that I didn't change the transmit rates from 48mbps and both sides have associated at 48mbps. Surely a link at 48mbps isn't possible with cloaking is it? Also, the speed of the link still seems to be equal to that of a normal 20MHz link. Is cloaking definately working in the release?

[tony]

The association rate scaling for cloaking is yet to be done. This is cosmetic only.

[lonnie]

Just divide the rate by the cloaking number for the over air rate. As Tony said it is cosmetic and is a display issue only. It will get fixed.

With compression and a full speed link you can some pretty high values. For instance the x4 cloaking still exceeds the best 802.11b rates, even with noncompressible data. If compression can work then you will see more than 10 mbps.

The way to test and see if cloaking is working is simply try and see the signal on a normal client site survey or even easier try and associate. My guess is that you won't see it and obviously will not associate.