Wi-Fi 6 Mesh Development with IPQ5018 & IPQ5010

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WallysTech Officially Releases the DR5018S Mesh Solution — Now Open-Sourced on GitHub

The source code for the DR5018S Mesh feature has now been officially released on GitHub!
This version is deeply optimized based on OpenWrt and has undergone long-term testing. It is a mature, stable Mesh solution that can be directly applied to real-world deployments.

By open-sourcing this project, we hope to enable more developers, system integrators, and researchers to easily learn, apply, and enhance WiFi Mesh network technologies — accelerating innovation across the industry.

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Why Open-Source the DR5018S Mesh Solution?

Mesh networking has become increasingly important in industrial IoT, outdoor wireless coverage, enterprise networks, and large-scale distributed deployments. Although Mesh is no longer a “new term,” achieving long-term stability, reliability, and maintainability in engineering environments remains challenging.

Through long-term cooperation with customers and partners, we observed common issues such as:

✔ Unstable Mesh links

✔ Slow recovery of backhaul link interruptions

✔ Significant performance degradation in high-density environments

✔ Lack of mature reference designs for ath11k Mesh

We faced the same challenges in our own projects.
Only after multiple rounds of testing, tuning, and extensive field validation were we able to build the current, production-ready Mesh solution. Now, we want to share this experience through open-source to help more teams avoid repeated pitfalls.

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Highlights of the DR5018S Mesh Solution

◆ A Production-Ready Mesh Network Based on OpenWrt

The Mesh capability of DR5018S has been optimized extensively by the Wallys engineering team, offering:

✔ Improved Mesh link establishment and maintenance logic

✔ Faster self-healing and reconnection

✔ Lower link interruption latency

✔ Deployment recommendations for high-interference/high-density topologies

✔ Enhanced throughput using NSS hardware acceleration

◆ Complete Open-Source Release of ath11k Mesh Optimizations

The published resources include:

✔ Mesh configuration examples

✔ Driver and firmware-related adjustments

✔ Performance tuning parameters

✔ Deployment and debugging guidelines

This provides a practical, engineering-grade implementation for teams developing Mesh solutions on Wi-Fi 6 + ath11k platforms.

◆ DR5018S — Robust Wi-Fi 6 Hardware for Reliable Mesh Networks

DR5018S is built on the Qualcomm IPQ5018 Wi-Fi 6 platform and is ideal for constructing high-reliability Mesh networks in challenging environments.

Key features include:

✔ Qualcomm IPQ5018 Wi-Fi 6 SoC

✔ Industrial-grade design with optional IP68 outdoor enclosure

✔ FCC / CE / UKCA certifications

Proven deployments in mines, oil fields, outdoor campuses, smart cities, and enterprise networks

In this Mesh solution, DR5018S can serve both as an access node and a backhaul node, integrating flexibly into various network architectures.

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GitHub Source Code & Documentation Now Available

The DR5018S Mesh resources are now fully published, including:

✔ Source code

✔ Configuration files & examples

✔ Mesh deployment and debugging guides

✔ Common issues & troubleshooting suggestions

GitHub Repository: https://github.com/Wallystech/openwrt_DR5018

We’ve also compiled helpful tips and FAQs to help you move quickly from “it works” to “it works reliably.”

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Join the Wallys Mesh Open-Source Ecosystem

We hope the open-source DR5018S Mesh solution becomes a truly practical reference for anyone working on Wi-Fi 6 / ath11k Mesh projects — something you can use directly, learn from easily, and deploy with confidence.

If you encounter issues, discover bugs, or have optimization suggestions during use, we warmly welcome your contributions through Issues and PRs. We’ll do our best to follow up and continuously provide updates.

For partners with more complex scenarios, customization requirements, or large-scale deployment plans, WallysTech can also provide further technical support and tailored solutions. Please feel free to contact us.

Let’s build the next generation of Mesh networks together — powered by DR5018S.

If you need technical support, sample testing, or solution cooperation, the Wallys team is always here to help.