Allstar linking on private LAN

Allstar linking on private LAN

I thought I might start here.

I am considering moving from hardware-based controllers (RLC, Arcom, Zetron) to Pi/DRA interface/controllers. I picked up several DRA-30 interfaces and built them (Thank you Kevin!).

But I have never really messed with Allstar. I though I should ask some questions first.

I have both layer 2 and layer 3 connectivity between my sites at several hundred mbps availability and low latency. I use VLAN tagging to segment traffic on both layers. While I do have internet access at all my sites, I intend to make this entirely private, none of the nodes connect to ASL.

Inspired by K5TRA controller project on his website, using a couple Pis and several interfaces to essentially build a multiport controller at each site to control repeaters and link certain repeaters to other repeaters at different sites.

 

Questions:

1. What is needed to make this work, do I need a single server (pi with no interfaces attached) in the network, or can I have two servers, one as failover.
2. Which would be a better network to operate this the flat layer 2 or a routed layer 3? (all devices will have static private IP’s address)
3. What do I configure differently in the server than I do in a node?
4. Some repeaters will mostly be standalone (not linked) others will be linked to other repeaters at other sites 100% of the time.
5. With the DRA-30 how to enable a GPIO OUT low to enable PL encode?  Or more specifically can I configure a node to transmit ID without sending PL.  Sorry I don’t like to listen to IDs blast away all day.  But if the external decoder decodes the right PL tone then the GPIO goes low enabling transmit PL?

1) What is needed to make this work, do I need a single server (pi with no

interfaces attached)

in the network, or can I have two servers, one as failover.

I think you're using the term "server" in a different way than what a server
is in Allstar. I believe you're looking at a "server" as being a hub or
reflector or something special that multiple remote nodes connect to.
That's not quite the way to look at it per se, at least not from the
Allstarlink perspective.

Every Allstar installation on a given piece of hardware (Pi or otherwise)
includes a server. A "node" is usually a radio interface that is attached
to a server. When you install Allstarlink, unless you've gone out of your
way to eliminate the radio interface and all associated configuration
related to it, you have both a server and a radio node. In effect, every
Allstar installation *is* a server, and every node on that server is capable
of having any number of remote nodes connect to it. Once a given node is
connected to another node, those nodes *along with all other nodes connected
to them* are effectively linked together - it doesn't have to be a star
topology in the sense of a central "hub". To be clear, nodes connect to
other nodes, they don't connect to "servers" in Allstarlink vernacular.
Whether or not a Pi is capable of supporting a large number of nodes is a
different question which I can't answer as all of my Allstarlink
installations (around 20 of them?) run on hardened server hardware.

2) Which would be a better network to operate this the flat layer 2
or a routed layer 3? (all devices will have static private IP's address)

Voice traffic is IAX2 which is UDP. Administration is by SSH or HTTP.
There are some background jobs that also run, all TCP or UDP. L3 is fine,
no reason for the servers to be aware of L2.

3) What do I configure differently in the server than I do in a node?

Don't configure a radio interface/node driver which allows you to create a
node without a radio interface attached, i.e. a node that is capable of
being linked toother nodes and thus acting as a "hub" if that's what your
goal is. Most commonly radios are connected using chan_simpleusb,
chan_usbradio, etc. channel drivers which work with radio interfaces like
the ones Kevin and Scott make which are built around the CM108 and later
series audio codecs.

4) Some repeaters will mostly be standalone (not linked) others will be

linked

to other repeaters at other sites 100% of the time.

OK...not sure if there was a question there...?

5) With the DRA-30 how to enable a GPIO OUT low to enable PL encode? 
Or more specifically can I configure a node to transmit ID without sending

PL. 

There is a control op (COP) command which enables transmit tone on receive
activity only, see the docs. But that only works if you're using
chan_usbradio since that channel driver encodes (as well as decodes) PL
rather than using GPIO to do it. You might be able to do it with GPIO but
I've never investigated.

Sorry I don't like to listen to IDs blast away all day. 

Why would they be blasting away all day? ID's are only generated during and
after activity, not randomly or periodically.

But if the external
decoder decodes the right PL tone then the GPIO goes low enabling transmit

PL?

When you say "external decoder" then I'm assuming you are going to use
chan_simpleusb? The logic you're proposing would only satisfy encoding PL
when the local receiver goes active but not when network traffic is being
transmitted by the local node/repeater. Is that what you want? If so, then
it's probably easier to deal with it in hardware than software...

--- Jeff WN3A

great exchange of information many like myself may learn from.