[Battlemesh] [OpenWrt-Users] wshaper equivalent and smaller - (making the firmware smaller)

cmsv cmsv at wirelesspt.net
Wed Oct 16 00:42:19 UTC 2013



On 10/14/2013 05:45 PM, Ben West wrote:
> Hi cmsv,
> 
> I can confirm that disabling "Remove ipkg/opkg status data files in
> final images" does indeed interfere with sysupgrade's ability to collect
> and preserve relevant config data.  I've not found this option to save
> much space in the final squashfs image, at least not enough to justify
> the hassle.
> 
> Besides that, I've been using wpad-mini for psk2 IBSS-RSN just fine on
> atheros devices and ar71xx devices (specifically UBNT Nanostations and
> TP-Link MR-3020's).  This is working for me on AA r36669 and now also AA
> r38347, albeit with the beacon_int patch on the latter, mentioned recent
> threads.

I confirmed that beacon_int functionality is working.
Can you confirm that  wpad-mini is working for adhoc using batman-adv ?
> 
> Also, I do configure /etc/config/wireless using vi, rather than via luci.
>  
> Space-saving tips:
> 
>   * Enable General Settings -> Optimize for Size in kernel_menuconfig
>     (may be enabled by default).
>   * Disable IPv6 if you don't need it.
The only reason why i still keep some ipv6 support is due to A.L.F.R.E.D
for batman-adv. The mesh is ipv4 and i wonder how much ipv6 support the
packages need to have to be able to work with A.L.F.R.E.D.
Any feedback is welcome.

>   * Disable USB and autofs4 support if you don't need them.
>   * Try wpad-mini instead of wpad.
>   * In Global Build Settings, disable "Compile packages with debugging
>     info" and "Compile the kernel with Debug FileSystem enabled."

>   * In Advanced Configuration -> Target Options -> Target Optimizations,
>     add the flag "-funit-at-a-time" to tell GCC to work harder at size
>     optimization.
>   * If you need SSL support, i.e. for curl, patch libcurl to use the
>     latest version of cyassl or polarssl instead of openssl.
Only for dropbear at the moment. Any alternative?
> 
>  
> 
> 
> On Sat, Oct 12, 2013 at 11:36 AM, cmsv <cmsv at wirelesspt.net
> <mailto:cmsv at wirelesspt.net>> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>     On 10/08/2013 05:47 AM, Pau wrote:
>     > Another trick is to disable "opkg" since (probably) you are not gonna
>     > use it if the flash memory is so small.
> 
>     I have thought about removing opkg but there are some optional packages
>     that are provided and quite useful for certain situations. what other
>     method could it be used to install a package ?
>     wget get can fetch but what is the mechanism that is used by opkg ?
> 
>     for example removing
>     [ ] Remove ipkg/opkg status data files in final images
>     also helps but seems to break the possibility of installing an upgrade
>     package or a package. Am i correct ?
> 
>     I also wondered if it is a good or bad idea to remove:
>     [*] Compile the kernel with Debug FileSystem enabled
>     > --
>     > ./p4u
>     >
>     >
>     > On Tue, Oct 8, 2013 at 11:39 AM, Bastian Bittorf
>     <bittorf at bluebottle.com <mailto:bittorf at bluebottle.com>> wrote:
>     >> * cmsv <cmsv at wirelesspt.net <mailto:cmsv at wirelesspt.net>>
>     [08.10.2013 10:45]:
>     >>> Total: 169.8 KB
>     >>>
>     >>> Does anyone uses, recommend or know about a smaller equivalent
>     script or
>     >>> package ?
>     >>
>     >> there are a lot of things where can screw to get your image smaller.
>     >>
>     >> first do this:
>     >> disbale debugging stuff in 'make menuconfig'
>     >> -> Global build settings
>     >> -> [ ] Compile the kernel with symbol table information
>     done
>     >>
>     >> (you can even disable wireless-debug for your driver)
>     Has been considered.
> 
>     >>
>     >> additionally, ou can disable printk and swap, which saves ~100k:
>     >>
>     >> make kernel_menuconfig
>     >> -> General setup
>     >> [ ] Support for paging of anonymous memory (swap)
>     done
>     >> -> Configure standard kernel features (expert users)
>     >> [ ] Enable support for printk
>     done
>     what exactly is printk most useful for ?
>     >>
>     >> let us know, if it helps. for 4mb routers, the image
>     >> should not exceed 3.6mb
>     right now and for my testing model:
>     3.8M openwrt-ar71xx-generic-dir-615-c1-squashfs-factory.bin
>     3.2M openwrt-ar71xx-generic-dir-615-c1-squashfs-sysupgrade.bin
>     (includes some extra needed packages and scrips)
> 
>     What other things could be removed without hurting the needed
>     functionality for a batman-adv atheros only based firmware with an
>     average of 400mhz cpu, 32mb ram and 4 mb flash.
> 
>     Although the sysupgrade for my tetsing model is 3.2mb; for other
>     brands/models it goes slightly bigger last time i checked.
> 
>     One other package that is using twice the size that it needs to use is
>     wpad which i have to use if i want ad-hoc to function with psk
>     encryption. I am not able to use the wpad-mini package which is half the
>     size of wpad pad due to this:
> 
>     http://rooter.kyberian.net/tag/adhoc
> 
>     and batman-adv is not able to communicate with other nodes if the
>     firmware uses wpad-mini.
> 
>     I believe that there might be a patch out there but unsure about it or
>     if it has been added to AA.
> 
> 
>     >>
>     >> bye, bastian
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> 
> 
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> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Ben West
> http://gowasabi.net
> ben at gowasabi.net <mailto:ben at gowasabi.net>
> 314-246-9434
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