Camera Router - OpenWRT Wireless Bridge

OpenWRT-based solution for bridging isolated camera access points to existing wireless infrastructure using dual-radio routers as a transparent gateway.

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
• System Requirements
• Network Architecture
• Installation
• Configuration
• Usage
• Project Structure
• Troubleshooting
• License

Overview

This project provides a complete solution for connecting wireless cameras (or any device with a fixed IP and no gateway) to your existing wireless infrastructure. It uses OpenWRT-based routers configured as dual-mode wireless bridges with NGINX reverse proxy capabilities.

Use Cases

• Connect GoPro cameras to remote internet access
• Bridge professional broadcast cameras (Sony PMW-F55, etc.) to production networks
• Integrate isolated IoT devices into existing infrastructure
• Enable remote access to devices with limited networking capabilities

Features

• Dual-Radio Bridge: Connects two separate wireless networks seamlessly
• NGINX Reverse Proxy: Handles HTTP to WebSocket upgrades and header rewriting
• Double-NAT Architecture: Transparent routing between isolated networks
• Automated Firmware Generation: Builds custom OpenWRT images for multiple cameras
• SNMP Support: Monitor router status and location via SNMP
• Web Configuration Interface: Simple web UI for changing camera associations
• Static/DHCP Support: Flexible network configuration options

System Requirements

Hardware

Supported Routers:

• Mikrotik RouterBoard RB433/RB433AH with two mini-PCI radios
• TP-Link WDR3600 or similar dual-band OpenWRT-capable routers

Minimum Specifications:

• 2x wireless radios (2.4GHz recommended for both, or dual-band)
• 64MB+ RAM
• 16MB+ Flash storage

Build Environment

• Ubuntu Server 14.04 or 18.04 (64-bit)
• 8 GB RAM minimum
• 16 GB free disk space
• Internet connection for downloading dependencies

Network Architecture

+----------------+          +------------------+          +----------------+
|                |          |                  |          |                |
|  Camera (AP1)  | )) 2.4G  |  OpenWRT Router  |  2.4G (( | Infrastructure |
|                |          |   (Dual Radio)   |          |     (AP2)      |
|  10.0.0.1      |          |                  |          |                |
|  No Gateway    |          | IP_A  |  |  IP_B |          | DHCP/Static    |
|                |          | 10.0.0.2 | x.x.x.x|          |                |
+----------------+          +------------------+          +----------------+
                                     |
                              NGINX Reverse Proxy
                         (HTTP/WebSocket passthrough)

Network Interfaces

• Interface A (Camera Side)

  • Static IP within camera subnet (e.g., 10.0.0.2/16)
  • Wireless client mode to camera AP

• Interface B (Infrastructure Side)

  • DHCP or static IP from existing network
  • Wireless client mode to infrastructure AP

• LAN Interface

  • Management interface (192.168.1.254/24)
  • Access to LuCI web interface (port 8880)

Installation

1. Clone the Repository

git clone https://github.com/AlverGant/camera-router.git
cd camera-router

2. Configure Camera Settings

Edit camera_configs.cfg to match your environment:

nano camera_configs.cfg

Key configuration parameters:

• numberofnodes: Number of camera routers to generate firmware for
• devicetype: Hardware model (rb433 for Mikrotik RB433/RB433AH)
• camera_ssid[]: Array of camera WiFi SSIDs
• camera_wpa2key[]: Array of camera WiFi passwords
• estudio_ssid: Infrastructure WiFi SSID
• estudio_passwd: Infrastructure WiFi password
• estudio_ip[]: Static IPs for each router on infrastructure network
• net_config[]: Network configuration (IP ranges, netmasks, gateways)

3. Generate Firmware

Make the firmware generator executable and run it:

chmod +x camera_firmware_generator.sh
./camera_firmware_generator.sh

Note: First compilation takes 1+ hour. Dependencies are downloaded automatically.

4. Flash Router

Firmware files will be generated in firmwares/ directory:

• camera-X_rootfs.tar.gz - Root filesystem
• camera-X_kernel.bin - Kernel image
• camera-X_sysupgrade.bin - Sysupgrade image (for updates)

For Mikrotik RB433/RB433AH:

Use the provided installation script:

./Install_OpenWRT_on_Routerboard_RB433AH.sh

Or use TFTP method:

./TFTP_ServerOpenwrt.sh

Configuration

Camera Configuration File Structure

# System Configuration
numberofnodes='20'              # Number of routers to generate
devicetype="rb433"              # Hardware platform

# Wireless Configuration
radio_estudio_channel=auto      # Infrastructure radio channel
radio_camera_channel=auto       # Camera radio channel

# Camera Association (per-camera settings)
camera_ssid[camera-1]=DIRECT-IqF0:PMW-F55_0120112
camera_wpa2key[camera-1]=X23tBk3b
estudio_ip[camera-1]=10.100.176.40

# Infrastructure Settings (shared)
estudio_ssid=GCam
estudio_passwd=mobilidade@123

# Network Configuration
net_config[camera_ip]=10.0.0.1
net_config[camera_iface_ip]=10.0.0.2
net_config[estudio_protocol]=static  # or dhcp

Runtime Configuration

After flashing, you can modify settings via:

1. Web Interface: http://[router-ip]:8880 (LuCI)
2. SSH: ssh root@[router-ip]
3. SSID Change Interface: http://[router-ip]:8080

Usage

Accessing the Camera

Once configured, access your camera through the router's infrastructure IP:

# Example: Camera on router with IP 10.100.176.40
http://10.100.176.40

The NGINX proxy automatically:

• Forwards requests to camera (10.0.0.1)
• Upgrades HTTP to WebSocket
• Rewrites headers for compatibility

Monitoring via SNMP

Routers include SNMP support for monitoring:

snmpwalk -v2c -c public [router-ip]

GPS coordinates and system contact info configured in camera_configs.cfg.

Changing Camera Association

Access the web interface on port 8080 to change camera SSID/password without reflashing:

http://[router-ip]:8080

Available operations:

• Switch to different camera SSID
• Reset WiFi configuration
• Revert to previous settings

Project Structure

camera-router/
├── README.md                                    # This file
├── camera_configs.cfg                           # Main configuration file
├── camera_firmware_generator.sh                 # Firmware build script
├── camera_functions.sh                          # Build functions
├── configure_node.sh                            # Manual configuration script
├── Install_OpenWRT_on_Routerboard_RB433AH.sh   # RB433 installer
├── TFTP_ServerOpenwrt.sh                        # TFTP flash utility
├── network.png                                  # Network diagram
├── rb433/                                       # RB433 configuration files
│   ├── diffconfig                               # OpenWRT build config
│   ├── wireless                                 # WiFi configuration
│   ├── network_wwan_*                           # Network configs
│   ├── firewall                                 # Firewall rules
│   ├── nginx.conf                               # NGINX proxy config
│   └── *.cgi                                    # Web interface scripts
└── firmwares/                                   # Generated firmware (created during build)

Troubleshooting

Build Issues

Problem: Compilation fails with missing dependencies

# Update system and retry
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade
./camera_firmware_generator.sh

Problem: Out of disk space during compilation

OpenWRT build requires ~16GB. Free up space and retry.

Network Issues

Problem: Router not connecting to camera WiFi

1. Check camera SSID/password in camera_configs.cfg
2. Verify camera WiFi is enabled and broadcasting
3. Check wireless channel compatibility

Problem: Cannot access camera through router

1. Verify NGINX is running: ssh root@[router] "/etc/init.d/nginx status"
2. Check firewall rules: ssh root@[router] "iptables -L -n"
3. Verify network interfaces: ssh root@[router] "ifconfig"

Problem: Router not getting IP from infrastructure

1. Check infrastructure SSID/password
2. Verify DHCP is enabled (or static IP configured correctly)
3. Check signal strength: ssh root@[router] "iwinfo"

Common Commands

# Check WiFi status
ssh root@[router] "wifi status"

# Restart networking
ssh root@[router] "/etc/init.d/network restart"

# View NGINX logs
ssh root@[router] "logread | grep nginx"

# Monitor system logs
ssh root@[router] "logread -f"

License

This project is provided as-is for educational and production use. Modify and distribute freely.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Test your changes thoroughly
4. Submit a pull request

Credits

Developed for TV Globo's wireless camera infrastructure.

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Note: Default credentials and network configurations in this repository are examples. Always use strong passwords and appropriate security measures in production environments.