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

cmsv cmsv at wirelesspt.net
Fri Oct 18 00:11:39 CEST 2013


Inline below

On 10/16/2013 11:52 AM, Ben West wrote:
> Inline below ...
> 
> 
> On Tue, Oct 15, 2013 at 7:42 PM, cmsv <cmsv at wirelesspt.net
> <mailto:cmsv at wirelesspt.net>> wrote:
> 
> 
> 
>     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.

Currently fixed.
> 
>     I confirmed that beacon_int functionality is working.
>     Can you confirm that  wpad-mini is working for adhoc using batman-adv ?
> 
> 
> I use olsrd, so no easy way for me to verify batman-adv operation.  wpad
> and wpad-mini do operate independently of routing and addressing schema,
> although I realize that batman-adv also operates at layer 2.
>  

I can confirm that wpad-mini 20130405-1 still does not work with
batman-adv as nodes cannot see each other (batctl o)
> 
>     >
>     > 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?
> 
> 
> Dropbear as packaged with AA doesn't have any dependency on openssl:
> https://dev.openwrt.org/browser/branches/attitude_adjustment/package/dropbear/Makefile
> 
> I've been using dropbear just fine w/o openssl.  What is the openssl
> dependency that you require?
> 
Quite a few such as sftp or tinc and others that depend from zlib. It is
mostly dependencies.

I can get the image down to 3.1mb but the only problem is having to use
wpad instead of wpad-mini
>  
> 
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     > On Sat, Oct 12, 2013 at 11:36 AM, cmsv <cmsv at wirelesspt.net
>     <mailto:cmsv at wirelesspt.net>
>     > <mailto: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>
>     <mailto:bittorf at bluebottle.com <mailto:bittorf at bluebottle.com>>> wrote:
>     >     >> * cmsv <cmsv at wirelesspt.net <mailto:cmsv at wirelesspt.net>
>     <mailto: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
>     >     >> _______________________________________________
>     >     >> Battlemesh mailing list
>     >     >> Battlemesh at ml.ninux.org <mailto:Battlemesh at ml.ninux.org>
>     <mailto:Battlemesh at ml.ninux.org <mailto:Battlemesh at ml.ninux.org>>
>     >     >> http://ml.ninux.org/mailman/listinfo/battlemesh
>     >     > _______________________________________________
>     >     > Battlemesh mailing list
>     >     > Battlemesh at ml.ninux.org <mailto:Battlemesh at ml.ninux.org>
>     <mailto:Battlemesh at ml.ninux.org <mailto:Battlemesh at ml.ninux.org>>
>     >     > http://ml.ninux.org/mailman/listinfo/battlemesh
>     >     >
>     >
>     >
>     >     _______________________________________________
>     >     openwrt-users mailing list
>     >     openwrt-users at lists.openwrt.org
>     <mailto:openwrt-users at lists.openwrt.org>
>     <mailto:openwrt-users at lists.openwrt.org
>     <mailto:openwrt-users at lists.openwrt.org>>
>     >     https://lists.openwrt.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/openwrt-users
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     >
>     > --
>     > Ben West
>     > http://gowasabi.net
>     > ben at gowasabi.net <mailto:ben at gowasabi.net>
>     <mailto:ben at gowasabi.net <mailto:ben at gowasabi.net>>
>     > 314-246-9434 <tel:314-246-9434>
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Ben West
> http://gowasabi.net
> ben at gowasabi.net <mailto:ben at gowasabi.net>
> 314-246-9434



More information about the Battlemesh mailing list