[WLANware] GSoC 2010 - Database output for Freimap Update

[Pilla Stefano]

Hello everybody,

GSoC 2010 is going to end and also this year we have participated with a
Freifunk project on the Freimap Software.

Freimap is an Open Source visualization and analysis framework for
(mostly) mesh networks, such as for example Freifunk.net. It can read
many a different data source and display them as different layers in a
map. The network can be browsed and queried in real time, and a time bar
allows to trace back to past events. Some statistics of the topology and
network traffic may also be generated. From the last Google Summer of
Code 2009, Service Discovery with the mDNS plugin [0] is a new feature.
The software itself runs in Java, and smoothly at that. It reads data
from various sources: a database, a file or from a Live Stream (OLSR
Routing Protocol, B.A.T.M.A.N., etc).

This year I've added this feature: the ability of Freimap to store all
visualized data in a MySQL Database.

- How it works

In the current version, Freimap can take data from different datasource:

  1. a file for a simple visualization: js, xml, txt files (static)
  2. a MySQL database (static)
  3. Live stream from an OLSR Daemon (dynamic)

If you want to store Live stream with the new "Database output for
Freimap" feature you have to follow 2 simple steps. These steps are been
simplified with a wizard that appear when you make a choice in the main
GUI page.

In the first step of this wizard you have to insert some basics
information such as:

  1. MySQL Database information: IP/Hostname and port
  2. MySQL Database credentials of an user that have a rw permission
  3. Position of the OLSRd config file
  4. Position of the LatLon.js file of the NameService Plugin
  5. The port of the dotDraw plugin

Once you have entered all the information you can choose a previous
"Freimap" Database or "Create a new Freimap Database". When you choose a
database from a list of available database the application automatically
detect if the selected schema contains Freimap data. This choice read
the data from the selected database and continue to store new live data
in the same tables. With the second choice you can create a new
database. This choice means that you can destroy an old database or you
can create a completely new one.

- Issues and....to do

There is a lot of work to do to improve Freimap Software.

For example, as discussed in the OLSR-Dev Mailing List, there is a needs
to make a simple web interface for the config file (now an xml file) in
which you can change the base settings of the "Database output for
Freimap" feature.

Another thing to do is to find a method to update and generate in a the
fastest way a new "layer id" for the recovery of the correct layer when
requested.

We have to add the possibility to read and store live data from and in
two or more database (also schemas). This can be useful when you want to
simulate in the same environment two networks with two different routing
protocol (BATMAN and OLSR)

Actually the database information crosses the network in plain text.
This means that we have to find a method to encrypt Freimap network data.

Resources:

You can find it here: freimap.googlecode.com

You can also find some screenshots of the Wizard component here:
http://www.stefanopilla.it/Immagini/wizard1.png
http://www.stefanopilla.it/Immagini/wizard2.png
http://www.stefanopilla.it/Immagini/wizard3.png
http://www.stefanopilla.it/Immagini/wizard4.png


[0] http://wiki.ninux.org/olsrd-mdns

-- 

Stefano Pilla

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Web: http://www.stefanopilla.it
E-mail: me[at]stefanopilla.it

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