AREDN Services

Jun 7th 2023 — tour

What can one access through an AREDN network?

An AREDN network is an IP based network just like the internet. So effectively anything that runs today on the internet can also be put on an AREDN network.

Typical services that can be found on an AREDN network are web servers and chat servers. Many networks also have at least one Asterisk server running that operators then connect IP phones for phone calls.

There are certainly many more applications that can be provided as services on the network. Many more than what can be detailed here. The following sections will give you a sense of the typical services you would find.

Chat Services

The most used chat service is Mesh Chat. This because the software actually runs on the actual AREDN node itself and all nodes running the software keeps a local synchronized copy of messages. There is no central point of failure unless the network has only a single Mesh Chat running.

Mesh Maps

Usually there is one or two services on the mesh that create maps of all the nodes on the mesh. The most common program is Mesh Map. Mesh Map will walk through all the routing information flowing through the node that it is attached to and detect other nodes on the network. Most of the nodes will have their coordinates set during the initial configuration and this is what Mesh Map uses to show where on the map a node is located.

The counter part to Mesh Map is Mesh Info that in addition to mapping of nodes, it will collect and graph statistics about the mesh and the nodes.

Email Services

Just like on the internet, it is possible to run email servers on an AREDN network. You may not always find an email server on the mesh as much of the time it can take more time to build out the email server and there are complexities to get the server to be able to route/receive email over the internet. One mail server that is gaining popularity is using Winlink as a mail client over the mesh and connecting to a Winlink post office server. This option is particularly of the interest of many EMCOMM groups.

Sharing files across an IP based network has been done since the beginning of the internet. Brought over from the internet, having an FTP server on the mesh is not all that uncommon. FTP makes it easy to see a list and download files from a remote node or server. While not as easy as drag and drop by today's standards, FTP has been the staple of networking for decades.

Another common file sharing service is a Nextcloud server. Nextcloud is an entire suite of applications for collaboration that is accessed through a web browser.

IP Telephony

Running an Asterisk server is a very common to allow users to communicate over IP hardware and software phones. If you have heard the term VOIP (voice over IP) then this is precisely the same technology used on an AREDN network. The phone (hardware or software) converts the audio over to a digital format that then is transmitted over the network to the Asterisk server to be routed to another phone. Actually very similar to the way that modern cell phones work today.

IP Cameras

There are lots of cameras out there on AREDN networks. Some cameras are located at repeater sites so that an eye can be kept on the equipment at the site. Cameras on AREDN networks have even been used to track wild fires in Southern California. There are all sorts of applications and uses for having cameras on the mesh.