This is pretty much V’s idea for the Banananet. Server provides! Copied from here.
Approved for: GENERAL RELEASE, DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED
UPDATE: Due to a critical bug in Byzantium Linux v0.1a, a file containing the mesh routing and application software was omitted from the .iso image. The code which makes Byzantium, well, Byzantium isn’t there. To fix this, please re-download the .iso image from one of the mirrors linked below and try again. We humbly apologize for our screwup. QA processes are being put in place to ensure that this never happens again.
We’re sorry.
Project Byzantium, a working group of HacDC (http://hacdc.org/) is proud to announce the release of v0.1 alpha of Byzantium Linux, a live distribution of Linux designed to fulfill a crucial role in the evolution of the Internet. That role is a rapidly deployable ad-hoc wireless mesh network which can augment or replace the current telecommunications infrastructure in the event that it is knocked offline (for example, due to a natural disaster) or rendered untrustworthy (widespread surveillance or disconnection by hostile entities). Unlike other mesh networking projects Byzantium was designed to be run on any x86 computer with at least one 802.11 a/b/g/n wireless interface. Byzantium can be burned to a CD- or DVD-ROM (the .iso image is just over 300 megabytes in size), booted from an external hard drive, or can even be installed in parallel with an existing operating system without risk to the user’s data and software. Byzantium Linux will then act as a node within the mesh and will automatically connect to other mesh nodes and act as an access point for WiFi-enabled mobile devices.
THIS IS AN ALPHA RELEASE! Do NOT expect Byzantium to be perfect. Some features are not ready yet, others need work. Things are going to break in weird ways and we need to know what those ways are so we can fix them. Please, for the love of LOLcats, do not deploy Byzantium in situations where lives are at stake.
FEATURES:
Binary compatible with Slackware v13.37, so existing packages can be converted with a single command.
Able to act as a gateway to the Internet if a link is available.
Linux kernel v2.6.38.8
Drivers for dozens of wireless chipsets
KDE v3.5
LXDE (2010 release of all components)
Mplayer
GCC v4.5.2
Perl v5.12.3
Python v2.6.6
Firefox v4.0.1
X.org v7.4
Custom web-based control panel
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (to use)
Minimum of 512MB of RAM
i586 CPU or better
CD- or DVD-ROM drive
BIOS must boot removable media
At least one (1) 802.11 a/b/g/n interface
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS (for persistent changes)
The above requirements to use Byzantium
2+GB of free space on thumbdrive or harddrive
WHAT WE NEED:
Developers.
Developers!
DEVELOPERS!
No more Bill Ballmer impersonations.
People downloading and running Byzantium to find bugs and tell us where the problems are so we can fix them.
People booting Byzantium and setting up small meshes (2-5 clients) to tell us how well it works for you with your hardware. We have a hardware compatibility list on our wiki that needs to be expanded.
People who can help us translate the user interface. We especially need people fluent in dialects of Chinese, Arabic, Farsi, and Urdu.
People to help us write and translate documentation.
R4nger5 Radio episode 76 was made live yesterday. V is han solo in his tent giving us a few stories of interest and a not so subtle kick in the ass to get the content going again. New musical sources have also been found, and if we can get a stable comms system going then these will be a lot more regular.
I’ve taken the liberty of reorganizing a few things around here.
Most significant change is the numbering scheme we are using. The first lot of episodes were simply numbered sequentially. Then we had the bloody long hiatus followed by several false starts, R4nger5 Radio 2.0, couple versions of season 3 and a couple of odd episodes that didn’t fit anywhere. So I have renamed those latest episodes to fit in with the old numbering scheme so we run from episode 0 to 76 (which was released yesterday (and I need to make a post about that)).
On the backend I have rejiggered the directory listing mechanism to be a bit smoother. Still a work in progress but the latest episodes are now appearing at the top of the list.
I also propose that we move away from using Archive.org. Editing information on there is a complete pain, the uploading is slow and there is no way to correct mistakes with filenames etc. Given that we have proper webspace where we can store the content there is no real need to go with a 3rd party host.
Been a long time, several false starts but we seem to have something coming together. V goes solo for a new season of R4nger5 Radio. Listen to the show in the player above or grab it here.
After much technical difficulty, swearing and having a bit of a cry, we have the first episode of the new series of R4nger5 Radio – I think I’ve had enough time off, now and have spent all afternoon trying to get some kind of recording going. The first episode is short (1hour) the next episodes should feature more stuff and be closer to out 2 hour usual length.
Bear in mind, the new studio is in a bell tent in the middle of the woods in Yorkshire – It wasn’t easy being green today! Anyhow, hope you enjoy it and roll on the next one!