[OLPC-AU] XO 1.5 and Mesh networks

[Sridhar Dhanapalan]

On 7 October 2010 21:14, Peter Williams <pawill at gmail.com> wrote:
> Colleagues
> Just a short question.  Am I correct in saying in a course we are
> developing for OLPC that mesh networks in the XO 1.5s need an access
> point and that meshing between 1.5s without an access point   Is not
> possible as it was with XO 1.0s.?

An important goal of XO design is to cater for the so-called 'under a
tree' scenario. Children should be able to collaborate with each other
whenever and wherever they are, with no supporting infrastructure
(e.g. wireless access points).

XO-1 units address this by being able to form a mesh network. These
XOs can talk with each other in a point-to-point fashion.

XO-1.5 models take a different route. A single XO creates an ad-hoc
network. If you hover the pointer over the network icon in the Frame,
you should see a 'Create New Wireless Network' option. This XO then
becomes the central hub of the ad-hoc network. Other XOs will be able
to see that XO in their Neighbourhood View. XOs connected to that XO
will be able to collaborate with each other.

XOs can collaborate with each other regardless of model, provided that
they are on the same network. Because XO-1 and XO-1.5 models take
these different approaches, they cannot collaborate without something
else being present to let them connect on the same network - e.g. a
wireless access point.

Note that there are only a few hundred XO-1 units in NT and none in
Qld. All units deployed since May have been XO-1.5s.


Sridhar Dhanapalan
Technical Manager
One Laptop per Child (OLPC) Australia
p: +61 425 239 701
w: http://laptop.org.au