Help Needed to Set Up a Dynamic OpenWrt Mesh Network with Batman-Adv

Installing and Using OpenWrt
1

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to set up a dynamic mesh network using four TP-Link Archer C7 v5 routers. My goal is to use OpenWrt with the Batman-Adv protocol to create a flexible and self-healing network. Here’s what I aim to achieve:

  • The mesh network should operate on both the 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz bands.
  • Additionally, there should be a Wi-Fi network for clients available on both 5 GHz and 2.4 GHz.
  • All LAN ports on the routers should remain usable as normal, e.g., for wired devices.
  • The WAN port should be optionally used to add external internet, if available.

The mesh should remain dynamic, meaning traffic should reroute if a node fails, and nodes can be added or removed without disruption.

I need your help to configure this setup from the ground up. Specifically, linking Batman-Adv with the mesh Wi-Fi and properly configuring the interfaces is proving challenging. If you have experience with a setup like this, could you share step-by-step guidance or helpful tips?

Thank you in advance for your support!

Best regards,
Jan

2

A dream set up. +1 dreaming to see this one day.

3

Well Freifunk in Germany uses something similar

4

i recently done something like this but I'm still struggling. I've used these guides(1, 2, 3, 4) specially 2 and 3 was really helpful.