Internets without The Internet

The simple answer is that a FrogNet is something called a network router, which is a device that lets you talk to   other computers.  You’ve probably already got a router at home, but your   ISP may call it something like an Internet Modem.  The point is that routers are a key part of the system that lets you talk to other computers.     

We could wax poetic for days about the beauty   we find in a well-behaved, ultrafast router, but we’ll just sum it up by   saying that routers, in conjunction with these things called “name servers”   are how you can go from your phone at home to a live webcam from Budapest .

A Frognet is no ordinary router, though.    Ordinary routers require a way to “phone home” and get help.  If they   don’t have that, then you can’t get to the Internet or anywhere else.    This ability is supplied by the “upstream” Internet connection coming through   the wall to the router your ISP supplied, so when your ISP goes down, you   can’t do anything with your home network.  Even phones that are on the   same network can’t communicate without the Internet, right?      

Not anymore.      

If you spin up a FrogNet, our software does   the same thing all that expensive hardware upstream does, but it does it on a   small, local computer that you own and control.     

Your FrogNet is really just a computer, and all we’ve done is tell it how to find its own way around.

There is an entire world of services —  everything from media services to chat and video calling. offline document and photo management, financial services, and more — all without needing an Internet connection.

See the Awesome Selfhosted List, and others like it, for examples of the kinds of things you can do with a stand-alone FrogNet.

The coolest things about FrogNets, however, are that they’re completely mobile, and they seamlessly join together.  You can pick up a single FrogNet and move it anywhere you wish, and it just works.  If, wherever you are, you connect it to the Internet, then all of the devices connected to the FrogNet get Internet access, without having to do anything.

Joining two, three, or 10 or 20 FrogNets into a FrogNet Network creates and supports things like distributed businesses, ranches and farms, and communities that don’t have or don’t want connectivity to the Internet.  Within the FrogNet Network, sites and services are fully available, by name, enabling things like telemedicine, police and fire reporting and support, municipal services, and community-wide media and game services, plus social media.

FrogNets protect you in two ways.

First, as you are probably aware, Smart Home devices are notorious for lacking sufficient security.  People breaking into your network through a security system, baby monitor, or other smart home device have only a little further to go before they’ve located the laptop with your bank account information and breached its security.  This type of attack can be in place for months before you are even aware of it.

FrogNets let you create two separate networks that do not intersect. If someone were to break into your SmartHome network, they would be unable to move from there to your laptop.  This so-called “Air Gap” is the first layer of protection.

The second layer pertains to physical security.  If you lose your upstream Internet connection in a house with traditional networking, your home security system will either drop into standby mode or continue in a local-only mode, which may or may not function properly.

When using FrogNets, each network is a separate location with a separate connection, so the security systems at the shop and barn remain active even if the one at the house goes down, and you will still receive notifications on your local devices, like your phone.

A single FrogNet is useful, but multiple FrogNets working together present opportunities heretofore unthinkable.  

Let’s say that you’re responsible for a family farm, where there are four families, plus shops, barns, and other cool stuff.  We could talk about how to work with all that stuff using some very cool methodologies, but we’ll confine ourselves to the four families for the moment.  By using FrogNets, each family has their own independent network, just as they probably do now, but if they join the FrogNets togethey by connecting the WiFi antenna from one to the SSID of the other, they can et up family/group services, including business coordination services, as well as social media and text or video chat, photo sharing, etc., all offline, all under their control, all free.

They would also only need one Internet connection, as it would be shared among all the attached FrogNets.  

Joined FrogNets are a fully functional internet.  Different FrogNets can host different network services, or the same network services on different networks.  For example, you can have a single media server that everyone can use, plus Home Assistant modules attached to multiple FrogNets in your network.  Each server has its own unique address and can be reached from across all FrogNets.

Examples of the kinds of services you can make available on joined (or stand-alone) FrogNets can be found at the Awesome Selfhosted List

A FrogNet is not a mesh router, but it can use a mesh router if it is placed in the right mode.  We use a 3-node Netgear Orbi system as our primary network.

A FrogNet is a network controller, handling where information is sent, not how.  The difference between a FrogNet-based mesh system and a traditional mesh, then, just like the difference between a traditional network and a FrogNet, is one of controlling the data flow.  Traditional routing requires an external, or so-called “upstream” connection coupled with some upstream piece of hardware or software to provide something called “name resolution”, which is how you find other computers. 

With FrogNets, we take care of all that within the little computer attached to the Router (the FrogNet Host).  The job of that computer and the software running there is to replace all of the hardware and software the upstream systems provided, shifting them onto itself.  This is why a FrogNet network remains up and available, whether or not there is an external upstream commection, and all of the other FrogNets in your FrogNet network also remain fully availably by name.

In addition, mesh networks, route extenders, hotstpots, and other similar technologies only enable a single network, while FrogNet enables multiple.  A mesh network is a collection of devices that extend the range of a single 254-address network, while FrogNet enables the distribution of multiple networks, each capable of handling up to 254 addresses.

FrogNets enable portable, stand-alone wide-area networks that can be built using obsolete and commodity hardware, including mesh routers.  You can create a FrogNet anywhere you like,

What do you do if you have a very large area to protect?  What if there are multiple buildings far apart, or some physical obstruction that has to be worked around?  How can you manage all this, especially when there is no Internet?

FrogNet Networks are the answer here.  Every FrogNet in your network of FrogNets can host a HomeAssistant node, with security cameras and alerts, monitored and controlled from anywhere on the network, whether the Internet is available or not.

Other steps can be taken to secure your network and its contents. We will explore more of these in the Forums.

FrogNets don’t need the Internet.  If there is a connection to the Internet, your FrogNet and any other FrogNets in your FrogNet Network will be able to use it, but it is not required.  

Working without the Internet, your FrogNet Network is still a fully functional network-of-networks, where computers and users can find and communicate with each other.  Local FrogNets can host web and media servers, and can offer chat, document control, photo management, home automation, and a plethora of other services that don’t require the Internet.  

Examples of the kinds of services you can make available on joined (or stand-alone) FrogNets can be found at the Awesome Selfhosted List

How many companies are you paying just so you can access your own information when online?  Are you sure you can trust the companies that hold this information, and that they’ll be in business a year from now?  Does the agreement you signed give them the right to use your information without your permission?

FrogNets give you the environment and support the tools that let you you regain control of all that information.

There are offline products and packages, many of them free, that provide the same services as major companies on the Internet, but you own the storage and control who has access to it.  If you want access to it from the Internet, that can usually be easily arranged, but the data will remain on your network.  See The Awesome Shelf-hosted list for a partial list of available programs and packages.

A few  examples of these sorts of services are:

    – HomeAssistant — One of the most popular SmartHome packages around

   –  FireFly III — A personal financial management suite 

    – PhotoPrism — An excellent photo management system

All of the packages above are free/open source software, and work with or without Internet acces

                                                                                                                                                                                When the Internet goes down, you don’t have to   sit in the dark waiting for it to come back.        FrogNets can host free/open-source When the Internet goes down, you don’t have to sit in the dark waiting for it to come back.  

FrogNets can host free/open-source media servers, like Plex, which brings video and music, and Mealie for recipe management.

There are hundreds of offline games you can play.  From Puzzles to shooters, racers, and adventure titles, there’s a game for everyone!

media   servers, like Plex, which   brings video and   music, and Mealie for recipe management.      There are hundreds of   offline games you can play.  From   Puzzles to shooters, racers, and adventure titles, there’s a game for   everyone!    

Your Internet going down doesn’t have to mean you lost contact with everyone and everything.  

Even if the Internet is down, your FrogNet can still provide social media (video/voice/text chat) through free/open-source apps like  Jami, blogging platforms like Ghost, and others.

We have decades of experience in wide-area, large-scale automation, and we know how to set up and configure machines.  Our installation script, which you download when you purchase your source license, is all you need to transform your old junk machine into a FrogNet.

We hate subscription fees just as much as you do, and we don’t have any investors, so we’ve chosen a different approach.

A FrogNet purchase — either a pre-configured system or a build-it-yourself source license — is a one-time purchase (per group of networks).  After the purchase, you own the hardware and you own the software and there will never be any sort of recurring fee from us.

If you purchase a pre-configured system, you may use that as the base for building and operating other FrogNet networks on the same network of FrogNets.  We will, of course, be happy to sell you a complete multi-node FrogNet network, but there are many less expensive alternatives you can explore, too.

When you buy a FrogNet source license, it allows you to create one FrogNet network and as many individual FrogNets as you like within that network. Just keep in mind that all these FrogNets must be connected together and managed by you. If your neighbor wants to connect their FrogNet network with yours, they will need to purchase their own license.

The ability to create a local internet using old computers and routers is a game-changer. It allows isolated communities to connect and share resources, whether online or offline, or a mix of both.

What’s even more incredible is that FrogNets can be mobile. This means that a Command Post can move along with its leader, wherever they go. It also allows researchers to set up mobile labs that can analyze data from various sensors in real time.

FrogNets don’t have to be laid out in any specific way.  If two FrogNets are on the same FrogNet Network, they can communicate with each other.  This means that search and rescue teams cat set up snake tepologies, 

This is not just another product; it’s a whole new way of thinking about networking. It could truly change the game.