Reticulum - How Routing Works Across Different Devices

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:01]Hey guys, this is the Tech Prepper. Hope you all doing well. This is going to be a lightly edited ad hoc video. I want to do a Reticulum network update. I've added a fourth interface and the reason for it is that I wanted to take the network that I'm building here and be able to replicate that for my other friends and other community members and then figure out a way for us to link all of our different networks together. So we can each build our own networks based on our needs and then we can still have a path to each other. And unfortunately, we're going to be using the internet for it. There's a couple ways to do that.

[00:00:35]And uh in this video, I'm not going to go through all the configuration. I want to talk about concepts and show what's possible. We'll tackle the configuration in a later video. But if you know what you're doing, you can probably figure it out. So let's walk through the new network topology.

[00:00:49]So number one, now that there's enough value here with Reticulum, I have opted to pull out my old Panasonic CF-31. This is an underpowered uh laptop by modern standards, but it does run Linux, it does run Reticulum, and right now there are four interfaces. So we have number one, the Wi-Fi interface which we've discussed in the first or second video.

[00:01:11]Number two, we have the ability to come in over UHF. It's sitting on my commercial 400 MHz business license. And then we also have our LoRa radio which is in this new box that I'm experimenting with. And the fourth one I added is a link to the internet. And this will allow us to connect to other nodes. So this is what the network topology looks like. You can see I'm calling this the TTP transport. It's going to run 24 uh by 7.

[00:01:40]And then you can see the default interface there, that is the Wi-Fi. And you can actually see there that it sees Mrs. TTP. Uh we'll show that in a second. You can also see now it is also connecting using a new interface called the TCP client. And I have a new server sitting up on the internet that is providing our gateway and you can see that it's seeing the Dell 7220 and then just like before we've got the R node Laura interface which is this guy right there and you can see that that radio can see another system called FZM1 that's my field notebook. So pretty nice.

[00:02:18]If we head on over here, we can also see we've got my field notebook. Now bear in mind this has no internet access whatsoever. The only method that this one can talk to any of these other devices is either through the UHF radio which is turned off.

[00:02:33]If it were on and connected, it would actually connect to the Manpack radio there over UHF radio communication using packet.

[00:02:42]But right now it is connected to the Laura radio device here on the back. So right now this one the only link to the outside world is to come all the way over here and talk to this R node device or Laura radio device that is actually connected to this transport.

[00:03:00]Over here we've got my wife's cell phone. I should have unlocked it. This one is running the sideband application.

[00:03:17]And right now the only interface it has to the world is local Wi-Fi. It doesn't have a Laura radio device so this device is using that wireless access point. Now the last device just for the sake of demonstration where this one is on a completely separate network. It's not on that wireless network. It's on a second internet link I have for personal use on the other side of that old PC.

[00:03:44]And the way this one works is that this is going to represent my when I go out to the coffee shop for example or somewhere where I have just internet access. And you can see here that the Dell 7220, this machine right here, it has an outbound interface using the TCP client, and it's connecting to a server on the internet that's also running Reticulum. And you can see it can see the FZM1.

[00:04:10]It can see this guy, even though this has no internet.

[00:04:14]>> [snorts] >> It can also see Mrs. TTP, which is on the Wi-Fi at home.

[00:04:20]And it can also see the TTP transport.

[00:04:23]So that is that guy there.

[00:04:26]So the bottom line here is that Reticulum is extremely powerful, that we have the ability to build these heterogeneous networks using different device types and interconnect them, and the system will automatically route between them.

[00:04:40]So here's a a really good example. Let's say I'm at the coffee shop right now, and uh for demonstration, you'll see here that I am on a Wi-Fi called Scout 2.

[00:04:52]But the Wi-Fi that is on this guy is on a separate Wi-Fi connection. Just so you can see there's no smoke and mirrors.

[00:05:00]It's on the GL-AX1800, which is that guy right now. So even though these are both in the same office, they are not on the same wireless network. So the only way for this system to talk to any of the devices here is to go over the internet.

[00:05:17]And the way that happens is by connecting to a server. We're not talking about running the uh Arno with a TCP server. So it's connecting out here, and then it's going to talk to this guy, and it knows how to route to these two. So for example, let's say that I'm at the coffee shop, I see uh conversations, Mrs. TTP, my wonderful wife, and I'm just going to put uh what can I get you to drink, okay?

[00:05:50]So, we're going to hit enter here. And if everything works correctly, this thing should have gone out over the internet through that separate Wi-Fi.

[00:05:59]Uh the machine over here Let's see here.

[00:06:04]Uh somewhere out in the internet picked it up, and then the transport node, this guy, received it.

[00:06:12]And then it realized, "Ah, yes, I do know where Mrs. TTP is. She is right there." So, local Wi-Fi. So, we head on over here to local Wi-Fi. Local Wi-Fi back.

[00:06:24]And if we go and take a look at our conversations now, we should see a conversation from the Dell 7220.

[00:06:31]And uh Let's go conversation.

[00:06:36]And what can I get you to drink? Now, the other cool thing about this one as well is that we can also use the field notebook. So, let's say that um uh I'm also in the coffee shop.

[00:06:50]Let's see here. Let's go to We're not in the coffee shop. Let's say now I'm out in the field, and I also want to tell my wife that uh I'm going to be late. So, separate use case, not at coffee shop.

[00:07:03]I'm either in the Tonto National Forest or I'm in the Jeep, and all I have is my UHF radio or the lower device right now, and I'm going to put um going to be late.

[00:07:21]So, what's happening right now is the lower device is transmitting it. You could see there it says delivered.

[00:07:27]It was picked up by the radio at the house.

[00:07:31]The transport says, "Ah, yes, I got it from uh this radio, but I know that it's going off to to Mrs. TTP."

[00:07:39]Local Wi-Fi.

[00:07:41]And then my wife, who doesn't care about this nerd stuff, doesn't care about radio, she can go to the messages over here and there should be a message from the FZMI, this guy right here.

[00:07:53]So, we'll click on conversation.

[00:07:57]And you can see here going to be late.

[00:08:00]So, bottom line is if you guys are seeing what's happening is I have the ability to make my own cryptographically secure network that is designed for my needs.

[00:08:10]So, around the house for my wife, Laura for the local neighbors or for me when I'm in the national forest, UHF radio for when I'm in the Jeep and any longer range. But then being able to take that little network island or island net network and bridge that with somebody else in my group who also has their own little unique network topology and bridge that with the internet. So, we're using two interfaces.

[00:08:34]So, there's one that you can't see right now. It's up in the cloud. It's called the In fact, So, there's a a server I have up in the cloud. It's running the reticular reticulum network stack daemon and it only has one interface called the TCP server. And it has a static IP address which means I can get to it from anywhere over the internet. It won't change. I can't run this at my house.

[00:09:01]And that is the interface that we're using and any system that wants to use this as a gateway now, for example, the home will configure an interface called the TCP client. I've got one here for the workstation that I use at the coffee, that guy. Heck, even the phone actually has can have that enabled if needed.

[00:09:21]So, really quite powerful. So, you can see here we'll call the home an island network.

[00:09:26]Um my field Jeep setup, I guess that's part of a separate network that can talk to this one. The coffee shop on its own could be its small network as well. But, the reason why I'm doing this is for the TTP community. I'm not a big fan of the internet, but I want other people to be able to replicate systems like you're seeing here on the bottom.

[00:09:47]Them build their own here, and then we can have a connection across here. Now, for the people that are going to I'm they're ready on the keyboard. I I know it. Uh who are going to say, "Well, the internet can fail." Yeah, but you have to remember that Reticulum also has the ability to do packet radio, which we're doing. And I know for 100% certainty with bench testing on a dummy load that it works over HF. And I've demonstrated over the years what we can do with low bandwidth HF links for short, medium, and long-range contacts. I've done my community, I've done my city, I've done my county, my state, my region, the US, very targeted contacts. So, if the internet goes down, stuff goes sideways, all I have to do is kill that TCP server link and enable the HF link, and now we have absolutely zero tie to the internet or any third-party infrastructure. So, if you guys like what you're seeing here, please hit the thumbs up button, subscribe, share this video. If you can, send me a few bucks on Buy Me a Coffee, that would be great. But, in the next video, I'm going to talk about how to configure this. But, I just wanted to get you guys excited for what is possible and just the power of Reticulum. All right, guys. I'm The Tech Prepper. Be strong, be safe, and be prepared.