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Mesh and field networking strategy — off-grid Demory farm

Purpose

Define how SITE_FARM (Demory) should use local RF and LAN when off-grid-first : resilient mesh behavior , offline survivability , and WAN / Starlink only as secondary convenience — aligned with Connectivity strategy — Claxton & Demory (farm WAN conditional / deferred ) .**

Doctrine package: Off-grid systems doctrine package — Demory · Field-node classes and communication roles — Demory.

Sources: Off-grid power, field RF, and optional WAN — source index.

Comparison (Meshtastic vs HaLow vs Wi‑Fi): Meshtastic vs Wi‑Fi HaLow vs conventional Wi‑Fi — off-grid farm operations.

Layering (policy)

Layer Role at Demory WAN required?
Sensor / LPWAN / mesh (e.g. Meshtastic , LoRa ) Sparse telemetry , text / position class traffic ; multi-hop where terrain breaks LOS No for local delivery to gateway .
Sub-GHz Wi‑Fi / HaLow (802.11ah) Higher throughput than LoRa for IP devices where HaLow hardware exists and ROI clears No for LAN segment ; egress optional .
Conventional Wi‑Fi / Ethernet Barn office , NVR on LAN , gateway uplink to fiber / LTE / Starlink CPE LAN survives WAN loss ; cloud features don’t .
WAN ( Starlink , LTE ) Egress , optional admin , maps Secondary — see “ must not depend ” below .

Where Meshtastic is a good fit

  • Ultra-low average power nodes with solar + small pack at distant fence / tank corners .
  • Messaging / presence / simple telemetry when LoRa ISM rules and firmware ops are acceptable .
  • Mesh resilience where no single tower gateway sees all paddocks — LoRaWAN vs Meshtastic .

Where Wi‑Fi HaLow is a better fit

  • IP throughput needed beyond LoRa rates but still want sub-GHz penetration — Morse Micro datasheets in source index .
  • Bridging a few IP sensors or cameras across hundreds of meters where 2.4 / 5 GHz is weak (homelab 802.11ah mesh capture in source index ) .**
  • Still requires clear ops : router / OpenWrt class support , antenna plan , security patching .

Where conventional Wi‑Fi or Ethernet still belongs

  • Short range high throughput inside barn / equipment shed (NVR , laptop config ) .
  • Backhaul from field gateway to Starlink / LTE CPE over Ethernet (preferred ) .
  • Do not stretch one fat Wi‑Fi SSID across 120 ac — use mesh / HaLow / fiber where needed .

What must work with no WAN

  • Local sensor → gateway → actuator interlocks (water , gate safe states ) .**
  • Meshtastic / LoRa mesh delivery to a field gateway that buffers or displays locally .
  • Operator physical rounds and paper fallback (Manual fallback) .
  • Cloud dashboards , OTA firmware (if chosen ) , optional egress of MQTT .
  • Maps , weather radar , voice when mobile .

Starlink must not become a hidden dependency for : welfare verification , sole path for books , assumed camera coverage everywhere , or “ we know the tanks are full because the app says so ” without G8 / manual baseline (Connectivity strategy) .

Security (brief)