overview
A networking equipment vendor in the USA partnered with Mandelbit to overcome two severe challenges:
- Ensuring a stable and consistent OpenWrt based firmware building process (also known as “reproducible builds”);
- Reducing codebase divergence from the official batman-adv project (an open-source mesh routing protocol).
Through process automation and upstream collaboration, Mandelbit helped the vendor stabilize its development workflow, reduce maintenance costs, and accelerate product development.
client profile
industry
Networking equipment
size
Small-sized, USA-based vendor
focus
Developing and maintaining custom OpenWrt based firmware for mesh routing devices
challenge
The vendor struggled with two interrelated issues:
- Non-stable (i.e. non-reproducible) OpenWrt based firmware builds: resulting builds are always different from each other, even without apparent reason. This made testing, debugging, and compliance verification difficult.
- Large codebase divergence from batman-adv: each update or backport of critical fixes required extensive manual effort, increasing the risk of introducing new bugs and delays.
Mandelbit’s solution
Mandelbit implemented a two-phase approach:
1. Sorting and automating patch management
- Catalogued and organized all private modifications to batman-adv.
- Automated the patching procedure, enabling reproducible firmware builds.
2. Upstream collaboration & codebase convergence
- Measured and tracked the “distance” from batman-adv’s upstream code.
- Gradually reduced divergence through upstreaming efforts and ongoing code alignment.
results
- Reproducible OpenWrt based firmware builds: enhanced stability, easier debugging, and predictable upgrade cycles.
- Accelerated development: with less pain during platform upgrades, the vendor could focus on developing new products faster.
- Reduced codebase divergence: less effort required to update batman-adv or backport critical fixes.
client impact
The vendor reported significantly reduced complexity in platform upgrades and faster turnaround for critical fixes. With Mandelbit’s assistance, the engineering team shifted from reactive maintenance to proactive product development.