The SpectrumManager software improves quality of WiFi networks. Given a set of controlled APs (access points) that interfere with each other and also other networks, it takes statistics on the WiFi channels of each AP and then finds a channel assignment such that interference in the system is minimized. For more details, please look at the slide deck:
On a central server, install mariadb and set up the database with
db_tools/create_db.sh. Populate the database with informations about
their APs and network interfaces. The sample_ap_insert.sql gives an
example for a single AP.
Add the server SSH key to each AP so that it has passwordless login.
Compile wrinfo for the APs (presumably using an OpenWRT SDK), and copy
it to each AP's root home directory.
Also, copy the optimizer/setchan.sh script onto the APs; this script
will be used to switch channels on the fly.
On the server system, install cronjobs to execute run_wrinfo.py
periodically, so that wrinfo is run on each AP periodically, e.g.,
every few minutes. Less frequently (since it is more invasive),
wrinfo should also be run with the -s flag to tell it to perform a
channel scan. Take a look at sample_cron_scripts/wrinfo_periodic.sh
for an example cron script. Also look at the sample_crontab.txt in
the same directory.
Also, run the channel optimizer periodically, e.g. once an hour or once
a day. See the sample_cron_scripts/run_optimizer.sh script for an
example.
For testing, it may make sense to create artificial traffic on the
network; the run_iperf.sh and run_all_iperfs.sh was what we used for
that purpose.
This current implementation is a proof of concept that has been verified on a small system with 3 APs and 15 connected clients. The basic design is workable, but the implementation is not production ready at this point.