Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network AREDN(tm) Firmware

http://www.aredn.org

Build Information

The AREDN firmware is based on OpenWrt with additional packages and patches. A Makefile automates the entire process to create firmware images.

Build Prerequisites

Please take a look at the OpenWrt documentation for a complete and up to date list of packages for your operating system.

On Ubuntu/Debian:

apt-get install git subversion build-essential libncurses5-dev \
  zlib1g-dev gawk unzip libxml-perl flex wget gettext quilt \
  python libssl-dev shellcheck lua5.1

On openSUSE:

zypper install --type pattern devel_basis
zypper install git subversion ncurses-devel zlib-devel gawk unzip \
  perl-libxml-perl flex wget gettext-runtime quilt python \
  libopenssl-devel shellcheck lua51

Building firmware images

To obtain the source and build the firmware locally use:

git clone https://github.com/aredn/aredn_ar71xx.git
cd aredn_ar71xx
vi config.mk # enter your callsign, etc.
make

Building the images may take minutes or hours depending on the machine. For more details see build options.
Review the build options in config.mk: -j <number of cores + 1>. V=s will give more verbose error messages.

An internet connection is required during the build process. A good internet connection can improve the build time.

You need approximately 10GB of space for the build.

Directory Layout

Included in the git Repo:
config.mk    <- build settings
openwrt.mk   <- which openwrt repo and branch/tag/commit to use
feeds.conf/  <- custom package feeds (edit to point to your clone of aredn_packages)
files/       <- file system in AERDN created images, most customizations go here
patches/     <- patches to openwrt go here 
scripts/     <- tests and other scripts called from the build 
configs/     <- definitions of features in the devices' kernel and what packages to include
Makefile     <- the build definition
README.md    <- this file

Created by the build:
openwrt/     <- cloned openwrt repository
firmware/    <- the build will place the images here
results/     <- code checks and other test results in jUnit xml format

Patches with quilt

The patches directory contains quilt patches applied on top of the openwrt git repo defined in config.mk.

If a patch is not yet included upstream, it can be placed in the patches directory with the quilt tool. Please configure quilt as described in OpenWrt Quilt.

Add, modify or delete a patch

Switch to the openwrt directory:

cd openwrt

Now you can use the quilt commands.

Example: add a patch

quilt push -a                 # apply all patches
quilt new 008-awesome.patch   # tell quilt to create a new patch
quilt edit somedir/somefile1  # edit files
quilt edit somedir/somefile2
quilt refresh                 # creates/updates the patch file

Submitting new features and patches to AREDN

The highlevel steps to submit to this repository https://github.com/aredn/aredn_ar71xx are:

1. create a github account and 'fork' this repo
2. git commit a change into your fork, e.g. http://github.com/ae6xe/aredn_ar71xx
3. create a pull request for http://github.com/aredn/aredn_ar71xx to consider your change

Submitting Bug Reports

Please submit all issues to http://github.com/aredn/aredn_ar71xx/issues