network:firmware:overview [RADIUSdesk]

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====== OpenWrt Overview ======
===== Introduction =====
  * This page is aimed at people who are familiar with Linux but new to the OpenWrt world.
  * OpenWrt is a very popular project that allows you to create your own Linux-based firmware that you can use on embedded devices.
  * There are pre-built firmware images for many hardware models that you can download from the website.
  * You can also compile your own firmware using the OpenWrt SDK (Software Development Kit)
  * Without duplicating the existing documentation, you can visit the project's website here: [[https://openwrt.org/|https://openwrt.org]] for more info.

===== OpenWrt with MESHdesk and APdesk =====
  * MESHdesk and APdesk make use of OpenWrt.
  * It only adds three additional elements.
        - The MESHdesk package.
        - The MESHdesk Luci application.
        - Some additional files, e.g. a custom banner and logo.
  * While we will cover these elements again later when we do the hands-on compilation, going through them in the overview will help you find your way around a bit better later.

===== MESHdesk package =====
  * OpenWrt follows the same pattern as most other Linux distributions: It has a package manager (opkg) that is used to install software on the device.
  * This package manager also takes care of the dependencies.
  * Packages can be installed after the device has been flashed and is running OpenWrt, or they can be included in the firmware image during compilation.
  * We will later compile our own OpenWrt firmware that includes the MESHdesk package.
  * To create your own OpenWrt firmware, use the OpenWrt SDK (Software Developer Kit).
  * With the OpenWrt SDK you can:
        - Select the specific device for which you want to create firmware.
        - Select the packages you want to include in the firmware.
        - Include your own additional files in the firmware.
  * This is exactly what we will do later.

===== MESHdesk Luci package =====
  * OpenWrt can also work without a web interface.
  * However, there is a web interface called Luci, which is an add-on to OpenWrt.
  * It is included by default in the firmware that you can download from the OpenWrt website.
  * However, it is not included in the nightly builds of the development branch.
  * Luci has various sub-items, e.g. modules, applications, themes, etc.
  * We will add an application to Luci (the MESHdesk Luci application)
  * This application allows you to enable or disable the central management of the OpenWrt device via the Luci web interface.
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===== Include your own files =====
  * If you create your own OpenWrt firmware with the SDK, it provides the option to include additional files.
  * These files are ad-hoc files that are not part of a package, but which you still want to include in the firmware.
  * We will show later how you can, for example, include your own logo and a custom banner for the SSH and terminal login screens.
This brings us to the end of the introduction to OpenWrt.

Next, we will prepare the environment for the OpenWrt SDK.

[[network:firmware:prep|Prepare OpenWRT 24.10.x on Ubuntu 24.04]]