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

[Pau]

It is right, removing opkg may affect the sysupgrade (w/o -n) by non
providing the config files which are gonna be stored. But you can add
them manually in the directory /lib/upgrade/keep.d

Cheers
--
./p4u


On Mon, Oct 14, 2013 at 11:45 PM, Ben West <ben at gowasabi.net> 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.
>
> 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.
> 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.
>
>
>
>
> On Sat, Oct 12, 2013 at 11:36 AM, cmsv <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> wrote:
>> >> * cmsv <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
>> >> _______________________________________________
>> >> Battlemesh mailing list
>> >> Battlemesh at ml.ninux.org
>> >> http://ml.ninux.org/mailman/listinfo/battlemesh
>> > _______________________________________________
>> > Battlemesh mailing list
>> > Battlemesh at ml.ninux.org
>> > http://ml.ninux.org/mailman/listinfo/battlemesh
>> >
>>
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> Ben West
> http://gowasabi.net
> ben at gowasabi.net
> 314-246-9434