Ninux.org Frequently Asked Questions

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 Italy.

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 (hence removing any need to hide these cables somewhere) and use the radiowaves. In particular we use the 802.11 technology, also known as Wi-Fi. Currently on the market there are several models of Access Points (or Wireless Routers) that use 802.11 technology, which also enable you to load a Linux Firmware onto it to realize this kind of networks at a reasonable price. Interesting huh?

Where did this idea comes from?

Wireless Community Networks have been around for many years in several parts of the world. 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?

In Italy, since June 2012, private communications among citizens are allowed on 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, 17 GHz frequencies. For further infos read the page LeggiWireless

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 antenna with an Access Point, powered through PowerOverEthernet. You can also find information in the WNDW book.

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

Ninux.org Is a mesh network based on the OLSR routing protocol. 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.