"Peter B. Steiger" <see.sig@for.email.address> hath wroth:
>"Don't string up another cable in the house," my wife informed me last
>night, "just set up a wireless server for me instead."
Smart lady. I think it best to keep her happy.
>It took me five years to get from FORMAT C: to knowing how to operate a
>Linux server with IP masquerading and the like, and now she wants me to
>become a wireless expert overnight. Where do I start???
The Windoze "Start" button is in the lower left hand corner of the
screen, but can be moved elsewhere. If it's not in its traditional
location, look in the other corners of the screen.
>I read Hugo Haas' wireless home LAN howto, which is mostly laptop-centric
>and doesn't explain what equipment you need for a desktop server;
Wrong. You're not building a server. What you apparently missed is
that *ALL* wireless is bridging. There are no IP's involved in
wireless except to connect to the device to configure it. What 802.11
wireless does is encapsulate 802.3 ethernet packets, inside 802.11
packets, thus acting like an ethernet extension cord. There is no
"server" anywhere in sight.
>I read
>Jean Tourrilhes' extensive treatise on the history and theory of
>everything related to wireless networking; I even read some 847 page tome
>with brilliant illustrations of phase modulation and how my microwave
>oven affects the signal. Now I'm even more clueless than when I started!
Did you learn to drive a vehicle by reading about thermodynamics and
Carnot Cycle Heat Engine theory? While these will certainly help you
understand how the engine functions, it won't help you decide on which
vehicle to purchase or how to operate it.
You didn't read our FAQ:
http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Wi-Fi_How_To http://wireless.wikia.com/wiki/Fast_...Wi-Fi_Problems
This is normally a capital crime punishable by death, a support call
to India, or both, but we'll forgo punishment because you've already
suffered enough reading about wireless theory. It's also obvious that
you didn't read the IEEE-802.11a/b/g documentation, as you are still
sane.
Also, I suggest you download and browser the Intel Wireless Hot Spot
Guide from:
<http://802.11junk.com/jeffl/crud/Intel%20HotSpot%20Guide.pdf>
Lots of good info on how Wi-Fi and such work included.
>Here's what I'm trying to accomplish: I have a perfectly good ethernet
>LAN right now, with a Linux server I compulsively keep up to date acting
>as firewall, router, and gaming console; I have a cheap 8-port switch to
>send those little electrons scurrying across the living room rug to the
>other computers in the house. All I want to add is something that will
>send those same electrons scurrying through the air instead of on wires,
>using the same DNS, NAT, and whatever other acronyms I can throw in that
>are already in use on the desktop server.
Incidentally, congratulations. Yours is the first posting in months
that I've seen that actually supplied the most basic information
required to answer a technical question.
1. What are you trying to accomplish?
2. What do you have to work with?
3. Where are you stuck?
It's quite refreshing and thanks.
>Do I need a separate WAP device?
Yes. You can do it with an internal PCI card or USB contrivance
inside the Linux server, but I don't recommend it. The computer
generates too much RFI, the metal box acts as an RF barricade, the
position of the antenna tends to be mediocre, and it will be yet
another service to screw with under Linux. Keep it simple and just
get an AP (access point).
However, I would not purchase something designated specifically as
only an AP. A "wireless router" is nothing more than a conglomeration
of:
- ethernet router
- wireless access point (i.e. bridge)
- 4 port ethernet switch
If you buy a wireless router instead of an access point, all you need
to do is disable the DHCP server and ignore the router section and you
have an access point. It's also cheaper this way as there are many
more wireless routers sold than access points.
The external AP also has a security benifit. Since it's not part of
the server, you can turn it off when it's not being used. I know of
several that are powered by AC lamp timer.
>Is there a wireless equivalent of this
>little 8-port network switch?
Yep. Wireless router. Leave your 8 port ethernet switch alone. Run
a CAT5 cable between the switch and one of the LAN ports on the
wireless router, and you now have a 7+3= 10 port switch.
>My wife says she saw something like that
>at Wal-Mart, but she has no idea what it does or how to use it.
Translation: You make the purchase so that you get blamed if it goes
wrong. Is your wife a manager at some large company?
>Some stuff I read makes it sound like I can just plug a wireless NIC
>(with built-in antenna) into the host and the NIC will act as its own
>WAP.
Yes. You can do that, but I advise against it. Just leave your
existing network alone and add a wireless access point (or wireless
router acting like an access point).
>That sounds like the best (read: cheapest) solution, but I don't
>want to blow fifty bucks (or 200!) on something that won't do the job.
I usually avoid specific hardware recommendations, but I'll make an
exception here. Since you are apparently well versed in Linux, it
might be best if you use a router that supports alternative open
source Linux firmware. I suggest a Buffalo WHR-HP-54G router, running
DD-WRT firmware. The feature and function list is far more extensive
than the cheap routers. The cost is about $50-$70. You don't really
need the router section, but as I previously mumbled, just use the
access point features.
<http://www.dd-wrt.com>
<http://www.dd-wrt.com/wiki/index.php/Installation#Buffalo_WHR-G54S.2C_WHR-HP-G54.2C_WZR-HP-G54.2C_and_WZR-RS-G54>
<http://www.buffalo-technology.com/products/product-detail.php?productid=124>
It will also save you the cost of the lamp timer as it has cron based
access and reboot control.
>I
>also need to be sure that whatever I buy has working drivers in the Linux
>kernel, and I haven't been able to find a comprehensive list of Linux-
>friendly, PCI-based wireless cards that aren't PCMCIA.
Nope. That's another reason NOT to buy an internal card to play
access point. With an external AP, you don't need to do anything to
your Linux box. No drivers, cards, or even anything to plug in. The
ethernet cable from the wireless access point goes to your 8 port
switch (unless it's already crammed full of CAT5 cables in which case
I sympathize with your wife's position).
>Any idle speculation, personal experiences, pointers to a FAQ that I
>missed, or general ridicule gratefully accepted.
It's possible that your house is not suitable for wireless. Look for
metal in the walls such as aluminum foil backed wallpaper or
fiberglass insulation. Wireless will do one conventional drywall
easily. Two walls are a bit of an effort and require aftermarket
antennas. 3 walls or more are a crap shoot. Floors are also a
problem and may require more than one WAP for a large house.
If coverage is going to be a problem, or you have a very large house,
you might also consider alternatives to wireless such as:
Power Line networking:
<http://www.homeplug.com>
Phone line networking:
<http://www.homepna.com>
CATV coax sharing:
<http://www.coaxsys.com>
<http://www.multilet.com>
<http://www.mocalliance.org> (sorta, maybe)
In all cases, you do NOT need to add anything inside your Linux server
as all of these have external ethernet connections.
--
Jeff Liebermann
jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
150 Felker St #D
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060
http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558
What do I need for barebones WLAN? 
Linear Mode
