Uplink matrix

A ground station has four uplinks to the internet plus its local access point. The uplink router (ados-uplink-router) picks the best working uplink from a priority list, checks it continuously, and fails over when it stops working.

Four uplinks plus the access point

Interface token	Uplink	Typical use
`eth0`	Ethernet	Lab, hangar, any switch
`wlan0_client`	Wi-Fi client, joining an existing network	Venue Wi-Fi, a phone hotspot
`wwan0`	Cellular modem	The field with no Wi-Fi
`usb0`	USB tether to a laptop	The bench

The Wi-Fi access point serves phones and laptops on the local network. It is not an uplink and never appears in the priority list.

Two kinds of traffic

Local client traffic between the ground station and its laptops, phones and the HDMI kiosk stays on the local network and never needs the internet. A client on the access point gets full video even when the modem is down. Cloud traffic (the cloud relay, telemetry and status) leaves over the active uplink, once you have chosen a cloud or self-hosted posture.

Priority and failover

The default order is eth0, wlan0_client, wwan0, usb0. The router uses the first uplink in that order that works. Every 15 seconds the router opens a TCP connection to the cloud relay on port 443, bound to the active uplink. Three failures in a row switch to the next working uplink. Three successes in a row on a higher-priority uplink switch back. Switches are at least 30 seconds apart, so two flaky uplinks do not flap. When the active uplink disappears outright (unplugged, or its carrier lost), the router moves to the best remaining uplink on the next check, with no failure count and no 30-second wait. Change the order from Mission Control (node panel, Network) or over REST. The list must name distinct uplinks from the table above:

curl -X PUT http://localhost:8080/api/v1/ground-station/network/priority \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"priority": ["wlan0_client", "eth0", "wwan0", "usb0"]}'

Cellular modem and data cap

Cellular is off until you enable it. Set the modem from Mission Control (node panel, Network) or over REST:

curl -X PUT http://localhost:8080/api/v1/ground-station/network/modem \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"enabled": true, "apn": "internet", "cap_gb": 5}'

The router counts cellular data against a monthly cap (5 GB by default):

Usage	Action
80% of the cap	An event is raised. Nothing else changes.
95% of the cap	The cellular link is rate-limited to 256 kbit/s.
100% of the cap	The cellular link is limited to 32 kbit/s, enough for heartbeat and commands, and uplink sharing over cellular stops.

Local clients are never affected. The count resets at the start of each calendar month in the ground station’s local time. GET /api/v1/ground-station/network reports the current usage in its modem_4g block (data_used_mb, percent).

Wi-Fi client and the access point on one radio

On a box with a single Wi-Fi radio, the access point stands down while that radio carries a working Wi-Fi client uplink, and comes back when the client link drops. On a box with more than one Wi-Fi radio, the access point stays up. The WFB-ng adapter is never used as an uplink or for the access point. Join or leave a Wi-Fi network from Mission Control (node panel, Network) or with PUT /api/v1/ground-station/network/client/join and DELETE /api/v1/ground-station/network/client. By default, devices on the access point and the USB tether cannot use the ground station’s internet connection, which keeps phones from spending cellular data on background updates. To share it, turn on uplink sharing from Mission Control (node panel, Network) or over REST:

curl -X PUT http://localhost:8080/api/v1/ground-station/network/share_uplink \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"enabled": true}'

The router then gives access point and USB clients NAT internet through the active uplink. It does not bridge the two local subnets to each other. The data cap still applies.

With sharing on, every phone on the access point can use the ground station’s cellular data. Background updates and sync count against the cap.

Mesh gateway (relay and receiver)

In a mesh, the cloud uplink can come from any node: a relay with a modem can carry the whole mesh’s cloud traffic. See Cloud gateway election.

Get started

Connect your devices

At the ground station

Mesh and distributed receive

Network and fleet

Diagnose

Four uplinks plus the access point

Two kinds of traffic

Priority and failover

Cellular modem and data cap

Wi-Fi client and the access point on one radio

Mesh gateway (relay and receiver)

Next steps

Ground station node panel

Transitive enrollment

​Four uplinks plus the access point

​Two kinds of traffic

​Priority and failover

​Cellular modem and data cap

​Wi-Fi client and the access point on one radio

​Uplink sharing

​Mesh gateway (relay and receiver)

​Next steps

Ground station node panel

Transitive enrollment

Four uplinks plus the access point

Two kinds of traffic

Priority and failover

Cellular modem and data cap

Wi-Fi client and the access point on one radio

Uplink sharing

Mesh gateway (relay and receiver)

Next steps