[docs] Roadmap to 2030

community.rst

@@ -5,5 +5,6 @@ Community Resources
     :maxdepth: 2
 
     general/help-us.rst
+    general/roadmap-2030.rst
     general/press.rst
     general/code-of-conduct.rst

general/roadmap-2030.rst

@@ -0,0 +1,286 @@
+Road Map to 2030
+================
+
+This document outlines the primary goals of the OpenWISP project for the
+period 2026-2030.
+
+If you are interested in a specific feature and would like to collaborate
+with us, please refer to :doc:`help-us`.
+
+**Table of Contents:**
+
+.. contents::
+    :depth: 2
+    :local:
+
+Installation & Usability
+------------------------
+
+Simplify the deployment and initial configuration process to lower the
+entry barrier for new users.
+
+- **Simplified Deployment**: Package Python dependencies into a unified
+  archive or executable to enable single-command installation.
+- **Cloud Readiness**: Provide optimized, preconfigured VM images for
+  rapid deployment across major cloud providers.
+- **Edge/Local Instance**: Develop a lightweight OpenWISP variant
+  optimized for self-hosting on low-cost hardware, featuring:
+
+  - Support for resource-efficient time-series databases as an alternative
+    to InfluxDB.
+  - SQLite and SpatiaLite support for local storage.
+  - Integrated FreeRADIUS and captive portal configuration template.
+  - Layer 2 auto-discovery for seamless device onboarding.
+
+- **User Experience Studies**:
+
+  - Implement UI/UX enhancements based on the `UX study conducted by Ura
+    Design funded by the Open Tech Fund
+    <https://www.figma.com/board/vAFwUleMy68NMdjslZsKWg/OpenWISP-UX-Research?node-id=0-1&t=z7w8qg3k7KYb2KZC-1>`_.
+  - Conduct more UX studies and surveys as OpenWISP improves to keep
+    finding the common pain points.
+
+- **Facilitate Upgrades**:
+
+  - Notify users through the web interface when new OpenWISP versions are
+    available.
+  - Evaluate guided upgrades through the web interface.
+  - Verify requirements are met before attempting the upgrade (Python
+    version, other system dependencies).
+  - Automatically create a full backup before upgrading.
+  - Automatically restore the backup if the upgrade fails.
+
+- **Facilitate the setup of VPN automations**: See `OpenWISP VPN Deployer
+  Linux Package GSoC 2025 Project Idea
+  <https://openwisp.io/docs/dev/developer/gsoc-ideas-2025.html#openwisp-vpn-deployer-linux-package>`_
+  for more information.
+
+Agent Improvements
+------------------
+
+- **Automated Management Interface Detection**: Remove the requirement for
+  manual configuration of the management interface in the OpenWISP agent.
+  The agent will automatically identify the management tunnel and
+  determine the appropriate IP address for core operations, including:
+
+  - Connectivity monitoring (ping/checksum)
+  - Remote shell access
+  - Active monitoring checks
+
+  See also: `GitHub Issue openwisp-config#208
+  <https://github.com/openwisp/openwisp-config/issues/208>`_
+
+- **Full Configuration Reporting**: Enable the agent to send the complete
+  device configuration to OpenWISP, providing a comprehensive view of the
+  current state directly in the controller.
+- **Local Change Synchronization**: Implement automatic detection of local
+  configuration changes. The agent will sync these updates back to the
+  controller to ensure the central database remains accurate and local
+  modifications are not overwritten.
+- **Layer 2 Device Onboarding**: Enable automatic discovery and enrollment
+  of network devices within the same broadcast domain. This allows
+  OpenWISP to:
+
+  - Detect new hardware as soon as it is connected to the local network.
+  - Adopt and configure devices without requiring connection to a cloud
+    controller.
+  - Simplify local deployments by removing the need for manual IP
+    discovery or static configuration.
+
+Firmware Tools
+--------------
+
+- **Pre-configured Firmware Images**: Provide ready-to-use OpenWrt images
+  for all supported targets, pre-configured to connect to the OpenWisp
+  demo instance.
+- **Custom Image Builders**: Supply image builders for all targets to
+  allow users to generate custom firmware locally.
+- **Automated Build Pipeline**: Automate the compilation and publishing of
+  firmware images and builders to ensure timely updates for new OpenWrt
+  releases and reduce maintenance overhead.
+
+Configuration Editor
+--------------------
+
+- **Enhanced Configuration Visibility**: Update the editor to manage full
+  device configurations without overwhelming the interface. Implement a
+  high-level overview with drill-down capabilities for specific details.
+- **Data Deduplication**: Automatically identify and filter configuration
+  data already stored in templates or existing device settings to prevent
+  redundant entries in the database.
+- **Unified Editor Interface**: Redesign the editor to display the
+  complete device state with clear visual distinctions between:
+
+  - Current local device settings.
+  - Device-specific overrides stored in OpenWISP.
+  - Inherited settings from OpenWISP configuration templates.
+
+- **Expanded Variable Support**: Enable the use of variables across all
+  field types beyond standard string values.
+- **Rich Context Support**: Allow the definition of configuration contexts
+  using non-string data types, such as lists and objects.
+- **Improved Validation Feedback**: Overhaul backend error reporting to
+  provide clear, actionable messages when configuration validation fails.
+
+Documentation
+-------------
+
+**Step-by-Step Tutorials**: Develop comprehensive guides for common
+deployment scenarios, including:
+
+- Hotspot and captive portal setup.
+- PPPoE configuration.
+- Event-driven automation and custom hooks, such as:
+
+  - Triggering HTTP requests when a device enters a critical state.
+  - Executing HTTP requests upon receiving RADIUS accounting stop packets.
+
+Dashboard & Visualization
+-------------------------
+
+- **Time-Series Analytics**: Add interactive dashboard charts with
+  filtering capabilities to track Device status trends (online, offline,
+  and total counts).
+- **Advanced Network Viewer**: Replace the current map with a feature-rich
+  viewer similar to `Freifunk MeshViewer
+  <https://regensburg.freifunk.net/meshviewer/>`_, supporting toggling
+  between geographic and logical network views.
+
+Indoor Maps
+-----------
+
+.. note::
+
+    These subjects have been worked on during Google Summer of Code 2025;
+    see the project board `[GSoC25] General Map: Indoor, Mobile, Linkable
+    URLs <https://github.com/orgs/openwisp/projects/47>`_.
+
+- **Building and Floor Support**: Implement indoor mapping capabilities
+  to:
+
+  - View device placement per floor within buildings.
+  - Provide seamless navigation between geographic, logical, and indoor
+    views.
+
+IP Intelligence
+---------------
+
+.. note::
+
+    These subjects have been worked on during Google Summer of Code 2025;
+    see the project board `[GSoC25] WHOIS Information and IP Address-Based
+    Geolocation <https://github.com/orgs/openwisp/projects/44/views/1>`_.
+
+- **WHOIS Data Collection**:help-us Automatically collect and store WHOIS
+  information for the device ``last_ip`` when a public IP is detected.
+- **UI Integration**: Display a summary of WHOIS data in the interface
+  with the option to expand for full technical details.
+
+Geo App Improvements
+--------------------
+
+.. note::
+
+    These subjects have been worked on during Google Summer of Code 2025;
+    see the project board `[GSoC25] WHOIS Information and IP Address-Based
+    Geolocation <https://github.com/orgs/openwisp/projects/44/views/1>`_.
+
+- **IP-Based Geolocation**: Support approximate device locations derived
+  from IP geolocation data.
+- **Location Management**: The UI will clarify how approximate locations
+  are generated and provide options to:
+
+  - Manually refine the coordinates to a precise location.
+  - Disable the feature for specific devices if not required.
+
+- **Global & Multitenant Controls**: Allow geolocation features to be
+  toggled globally or at the per-organization level.
+
+Syslog & Event Hooks
+--------------------
+
+- **Centralized Log Collection**: Enable the collection and storage of
+  syslog entries from OpenWrt-managed devices.
+- **Log Management API**: Provide an API endpoint for querying and
+  searching collected logs.
+- **On-Demand Device Logs**: Add a dedicated tab to the device details
+  page to load and inspect logs for specific hardware.
+- **Real-Time Log Viewer**: Implement a global interface for viewing live
+  log streams across all managed devices.
+- **Log-Based Automation**: Allow the system to trigger alerts or custom
+  actions based on specific log content or patterns.
+
+Wireless Support
+----------------
+
+- **Optimized Roaming**: Implement support for 802.11k and 802.11v to
+  facilitate band steering and network load balancing.
+- **Integrated Wireless Management**: Provide a user-friendly interface
+  within the OpenWISP device page that offers management parity with the
+  OpenWrt LuCI wireless configuration.
+
+Firmware Upgrade UX
+-------------------
+
+.. note::
+
+    Part of these subjects have been worked on during Google Summer of
+    Code 2025; see the project board `[GSoC25] Firmware Upgrader UX
+    improvements <https://github.com/orgs/openwisp/projects/43/views/3>`_.
+
+- **Group Upgrades**: Extend firmware upgrade capabilities to allow
+  targeting specific device groups, in addition to per-device or
+  per-organization options.
+- **Real-Time Progress Tracking**: Enhance visual feedback to provide live
+  status updates during firmware upgrades without requiring page
+  refreshes.
+- **Persistent Upgrade Tasks**: Implement support for continuous upgrades
+  that remain queued for offline devices, executing automatically once
+  they reconnect.
+
+Mesh Networking
+---------------
+
+- **Atomic Group Updates**: Improve mesh stability by synchronizing
+  configuration changes across groups. This prevents connectivity loss
+  during rollouts (e.g., coordinated radio channel adjustments).
+- **Dynamic Topology Mapping**: Utilize monitoring data from mesh
+  interfaces to generate real-time topology maps of the active network.
+
+Monitoring Improvements
+-----------------------
+
+- **Release Milestone**: Address outstanding issues identified for the
+  `Monitoring 0.3 release
+  <https://github.com/openwisp/openwisp-monitoring/issues?q=is%3Aopen+is%3Aissue+milestone%3A%22OpenWISP+Monitoring+0.3+Release%22>`_.
+- **Database Compatibility**: Implement support for `InfluxDB 2.0
+  <https://github.com/openwisp/openwisp-monitoring/issues/274>`_.
+- **SNMP Support Finalization**: Complete and refine SNMP monitoring
+  support for OpenWrt and Ubiquiti AirOS devices. Review and integrate
+  existing code from GSoC 2021 to provide a stable monitoring baseline.
+- **Rapid Health Diagnostics**: When a device status reports a "PROBLEM,"
+  provide an immediate drill-down view to identify the specific root
+  cause. Ensure full feature parity for these diagnostic insights via the
+  REST API.
+
+Networking Features
+-------------------
+
+- **Bulk Command Execution**: Implement the ability to dispatch commands
+  to multiple devices simultaneously, including status tracking and result
+  logging for each target. Maintain REST-API feature parity.
+- **Interactive Web Shell**: Develop a browser-based interactive terminal
+  to allow direct command-line access to managed devices through the
+  OpenWISP interface.
+- **Expanded VPN Protocol Support**: Add support for IPsec and SoftEther.
+- **Advanced Traffic & Access Control**:
+
+  - Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) and Layer 7 firewall rules.
+  - WPA-Enterprise EAP-TLS integration via OpenWISP RADIUS.
+
+- **Platform & Protocol Expansion**:
+
+  - Support for pfSense and Vyatta.
+  - Management support for TR-069 / TR-369, NETCONF, and CAPWAP.
+  - Integration with proprietary vendor firmwares, including Ubiquiti and
+    MikroTik.