In setting up a small personal 802.11s mesh, I found two important options for a well functioning mesh are missing from the LuCI menus. These are:
mesh_hwmp_rootmodemesh_gate_announcements
Both these options are settable in the /etc/config/wireless file and the mesh will work sub-optimally without these settings if a user only uses LuCI.
mesh_hwmp_rootmode defines whether or not the 802.11s node is a root node. The default is set to 0, which defines the router as a non-root node. This is a good default setting as most nodes are not root nodes. Specifying at least one root node will initiate proactive path discovery mechanisms, such as proactive PREQs (Path Request) and RANN (Root Announcement) messages, which help to maintain updated routes throughout the mesh network. This should result in more efficient and faster routing.
The possible settings for mesh_hwmp_rootmodeare:
0 refers to it not being a root node (default)
2 root with proactive PREQ with no PREP
3 root with proactive PREQ with PREP
4 root with implementation of the proactive RANN mechanism of HWMP
Perhaps a pull-down menu would be appropriate
mesh_gate_announcements defines if the node will make gate announcements. When set to true the node will periodically send out announcements that it is connected to a gate to inform the mesh network of its existence and capability to provide external network access. The purpose of these announcements is to help other mesh nodes discover and maintain paths to mesh gates. By receiving these announcements, mesh nodes can update their routing tables and set their mesh_connected_to_gate flags accordingly.
The possible settings for mesh_gate_announcements are:
0 the node does not send out that it is a gate (default)
1 the node announces it is a gate node.
I believe this is typically implemented with a check-box.