NetBSD i386 wireless - what's needed?

Greetings, and apologies for the multi-post;

We are running NetBSD 3.1 on i386 architecture and wish to join our LAN with a
wireless ISP using 2.4GHz 802.11b/g.

We'd like to use an antenna such as
http://radiolabs.com/products/antenn...-parabolic.php due to
the 24dBi gain which we feel would help us during adverse weather conditions.

What hardware is needed to drive the signal please? Does NetBSD 3.1 provide
drivers for any wireless card, or should we shop for a specific model(s) of
card so that available NetBSD drivers will work? What (and where) are the
drivers for such cards, anyway?

The ISP states that access is provided based on MAC address, so I assume we'll
need a wireless card with external antenna capabilities. Is anything more
required between the card and the antenna?

Thank you for any help or suggestions you might provide. Obviously I'm new
to wireless and am hoping to learn.

On Jun 1, 10:55 pm, "patrick" <patr...@example.net> wrote:
> We are runningNetBSD3.1 on i386 architecture and wish to join our LAN with a
> wireless ISP using 2.4GHz 802.11b/g.

Generally speaking, FreeBSD, OpenBSD and Linux have great support for
802.11. There are drivers which are actively supported as Kernel
modules and in case of FreeBSD there is Kernel support itself. You
might port any of these drivers to NetBSD, i.e. if somebody hasn't
already done it.

This question is probly best addressed on NetBSD groups.

FWITW - the drivers are:

# hostap
# madwifi

One issue you'd face is the hardware you'd put on the NetBSD box. Do
you have provision for incorporating a PCMCIA card or miniPCI. You
should buy hardware (pay attention to chip-set) which is supported by
those drivers.

The other approach you can take is to setup a wireless bridge that
basically builds the wifi link and transfers traffic to the NetBSD
box. This is probably a more secure option also, as you can secure
the wireless link w. VPN or atleast a firewall.

For the 802.11 bridge approach, consider using:
http://www.confero24.com//product_in...me=open-source

> We'd like to use an antenna such ashttp://radiolabs.com/products/antennas/2.4gig/2.4-aluminum-parabolic.phpdue to
> the 24dBi gain which we feel would help us during adverse weather conditions.

For an ultra-light antenna, weather tollerant, high-gain parabolic,
there's a good solution:
http://www.confero24.com//product_in...-ghz-parabolic

HTH



>
> What hardware is needed to drive the signal please? DoesNetBSD3.1 provide
> drivers for any wireless card, or should we shop for a specific model(s) of
> card so that availableNetBSDdrivers will work? What (and where) are the
> drivers for such cards, anyway?
>
> The ISP states that access is provided based on MAC address, so I assume we'll
> need a wireless card with external antenna capabilities. Is anything more
> required between the card and the antenna?
>
> Thank you for any help or suggestions you might provide. Obviously I'm new
> to wireless and am hoping to learn.

In news:1180775691.434798.36860@h2g2000hsg.googlegrou ps.com,
confero24.com/wlan-antenna <confero24@googlemail.com> wrote:

>> We'd like to use an antenna such
>>
ashttp://radiolabs.com/products/antennas/2.4gig/2.4-aluminum-parabolic.phpdu
e
>> to the 24dBi gain which we feel would help us during adverse weather
>> conditions.

Thanks for the other info you offered, but it's rather crass of you to munge
the URL of a competitotr's product as you did while hyping your own. It
detracts from the value of your offering to munge others.

Re: confero24.com/wlan-antenna <confero24@googlemail.com>:

> Thanks for the other info you offered, but it's rather crass of you
> to munge the URL of a competitotr's product as you did while hyping
> your own. It detracts from the value of your offering to munge others.

Also, your directional antenna costs twice as much and has 12.5% less gain
as well. Thanks for indicating a model to avoid.

On Jun 3, 9:23 am, "Patrick" <ptri.c...@statrerv.corn> wrote:
> Re: confero24.com/wlan-antenna <confer...@googlemail.com>:
>
> > Thanks for the other info you offered, but it's rather crass of you
> > to munge the URL of a competitotr's product as you did while hyping
> > your own. It detracts from the value of your offering to munge others.
>
> Also, your directional antenna costs twice as much and has 12.5% less gain
> as well. Thanks for indicating a model to avoid.

For clarification, the premium in price is for the ABS construction,
which puts the weight of the whole antenna + mounting kit at about 3
Lbs, instead of the 8.2Lbs of the other product.. Just costs more to
make durable ABS grid, compared to Alu/steel etc.

Lighter weight also amounts to low-wind resistance - probably
something to consider for long-life installations.

It seems like you want to do your SOM or link calculations first
before choosing an antenna or a radio.
:
http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi
http://www.zytrax.com/tech/wireless/calc.htm#system

As someone once said, pointing a 24dbi antenna is not so easy and
whether it's a good choice also depends on where it will be mounted
and who else is in the path where it's pointed, as it will focus
interfering signals as well. High gain has it's cost like everything.

Using an outboard wireless ethernet bridge as suggested, seems
ideal. I don't know if you need a $400 commercial device or not.
Can't see how it matters whether it's firmware is linux-based or not,
as you are connecting it with ethernet to your LAN.

And if Linux on your outboard devices were important, then there are
plenty SOHOs that do that.

For a SOHO device, this is good:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833162168

Or this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833162134
with DD-WRT firmware installed will act as a bridge as well.
Advantage is that it takes replacment firmware to make it more
flexible for future use. Good investment.

Install the bridge near the antenna on a short coax (low-loss). Then
run ethernet cable for your LAN from there in order to avoid coax
loss.

Steve