USB WiFi + Linux, have you tried it?

Hi everybody,

I am planning to build a small WiFi part of my LAN.
There is an old desktop PC running SuSE, acting as a router, and it is
the one I would like to connect the USB WiFi NIC to.

I need a few questions answered before buing any NIC:
1. Is it possible to implement NAT on wireless card? So that it would
play as AP?
2. What kind of NIC would you recommend? The main requirement is that
it should work under Linux. I have heard about prism 2.5, and atheros
chipsets, but as I walk to a computer shop and ask about any NIC on
such-and-such chipset, they think for a few seconds ("what is chipset?
:)") and say "sorry, no".
3. Would it be better to buy PCI NIC than USB dongle?

Just give me names/links, whatever, please :)
I'd really appreciate it.

Regards,
Sid

sid.epou@googlemail.com wrote:

> I need a few questions answered before buing any NIC:
> 1. Is it possible to implement NAT on wireless card? So that it would
> play as AP?

Not sure what this means.
I run NAT on the computer to which a USB WiFi dongle is attached.

> 2. What kind of NIC would you recommend? The main requirement is that
> it should work under Linux. I have heard about prism 2.5, and atheros
> chipsets, but as I walk to a computer shop and ask about any NIC on
> such-and-such chipset, they think for a few seconds ("what is chipset?
> :)") and say "sorry, no".

I have an Agere/Lucent USB WiFi (11b) dongle
which works fine,
though I had to get the SVN version of orinoco_cs and compile it
(very easy).

> 3. Would it be better to buy PCI NIC than USB dongle?

I also have an Agere/Lucent PCI card
(it is actually a PCMCIA card in a PCI adapter)
and this works fine with the standard orinoco_cs kernel driver.
This is also an 11b device.


--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail (<80k only): tim /at/ birdsnest.maths.tcd.ie
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

sid.epou@googlemail.com writes:

>Hi everybody,

>I am planning to build a small WiFi part of my LAN.
>There is an old desktop PC running SuSE, acting as a router, and it is
>the one I would like to connect the USB WiFi NIC to.

>I need a few questions answered before buing any NIC:
>1. Is it possible to implement NAT on wireless card? So that it would
>play as AP?

NAT has nothing to do with the wireless card. It is a function of the
router. The wireless card simply provides a connection between computers or
between a computer and a router.

>2. What kind of NIC would you recommend? The main requirement is that
>it should work under Linux. I have heard about prism 2.5, and atheros
>chipsets, but as I walk to a computer shop and ask about any NIC on
>such-and-such chipset, they think for a few seconds ("what is chipset?
>:)") and say "sorry, no".


>3. Would it be better to buy PCI NIC than USB dongle?

>Just give me names/links, whatever, please :)
>I'd really appreciate it.

>Regards,
>Sid

Unruh wrote:

> NAT has nothing to do with the wireless card. It is a function of the
> router. The wireless card simply provides a connection between computers or
> between a computer and a router.

Yes, I am quite familiar with what NAT is, but I have heard (still
can't believe it) that it is impossible to implement WiFi network with
a router comprising of desktop PC + WiFi card.

Regards,
Sid

sid.epou@googlemail.com wrote:
> Unruh wrote:
>
>
>>NAT has nothing to do with the wireless card. It is a function of the
>>router. The wireless card simply provides a connection between computers or
>>between a computer and a router.
>
>
> Yes, I am quite familiar with what NAT is, but I have heard (still
> can't believe it) that it is impossible to implement WiFi network with
> a router comprising of desktop PC + WiFi card.

It's possible to combine WiFi and NAT, but you could run into problems
if your WiFi clients get DHCP addresses and you stick the DHCP server
behind the NAT. That's a problem that's independent of wireless. You'd
have that problem if you tried to do it with a wired network, too.

There are solutions, but think about whether you want the problem in the
first place.

sid.epou@googlemail.com writes:

>Unruh wrote:

>> NAT has nothing to do with the wireless card. It is a function of the
>> router. The wireless card simply provides a connection between computers or
>> between a computer and a router.

>Yes, I am quite familiar with what NAT is, but I have heard (still
>can't believe it) that it is impossible to implement WiFi network with
>a router comprising of desktop PC + WiFi card.

The problem will be whether your wireless card can act as an AP (one of the
modes -- where your wireless card will respond to attempts by another card
to connect to it).

>Regards,
>Sid

In alt.internet.wireless sid.epou@googlemail.com wrote:
> I am planning to build a small WiFi part of my LAN.
> There is an old desktop PC running SuSE, acting as a router, and it is
> the one I would like to connect the USB WiFi NIC to.

> I need a few questions answered before buing any NIC:
> 1. Is it possible to implement NAT on wireless card? So that it would
> play as AP?

The SuSE desktop is already a router, and you want to add a WiFi device to
act as an AP.

ftp://ftp.linux-wlan.org/pub/linux-wlan-ng/FAQ
..Q: Can I use my 802.11b card as an AP under Linux?
..
.. Yes, and in the true free software fashion, there are several
.. ways:
..
.. a) linux-wlan-ng supports AP operation by using special tertiary
.. firmware on prism devices. This firmware is not generally
.. available, however. Contact Intersil for licensing terms.
..
.. b) The Prism2 HostAP driver uses the special HostAP mode of the
.. prism chipsets. http://people.ssh.com/jkm/Prism2/


A typical WiFi device in this application might also connect to other WiFi
(like your laptop) in Adhoc mode.

> 2. What kind of NIC would you recommend? The main requirement is that
....
> such-and-such chipset, they think for a few seconds ("what is chipset?

Retailers don't want to know about chipsets any more than they want to know
about Linux. Pick a vendor, and cruise their pages, looking for Linux
drivers. The above wlan page is a link from DLink-DWL-122 pages.

> :)") and say "sorry, no".
> 3. Would it be better to buy PCI NIC than USB dongle?

That would eliminate another layer of drivers.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

sid.epou@googlemail.com writes:

>1. Is it possible to implement NAT on wireless card? So that it would
>play as AP?

Yes, run the wireless device in Master mode. Then treat the wireless
network device as if it was Ethernet, as far as routing goes.

>2. What kind of NIC would you recommend? The main requirement is that
>it should work under Linux. I have heard about prism 2.5, and atheros
>chipsets, but as I walk to a computer shop and ask about any NIC on
>such-and-such chipset, they think for a few seconds ("what is chipset?
>:)") and say "sorry, no".

Google is your friend, regarding choice of device.

I set up a dlink 122 usb device in both master & managed mode;
however, it is 802.11b (10mbs). I haven't used it for awhile.

I have a NetGear wg311 pci card that works fine using madwifi driver.
I have had to change my startup script a couple of times as the
madwifi driver evolves, which is a bit annoying, as the required
changes weren't very obvious.

>3. Would it be better to buy PCI NIC than USB dongle?

A PCI with detachable antenna might work better for an AP if distance
is an issue.

>Just give me names/links, whatever, please :)

One place to start is

http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_...nux/Tools.html

Another is [be sure to click on "compatibility"]

http://madwifi.org/

Another is http://www.linux-wlan.org [be sure to click on "compatibility"]

Good luck, Bob
--
<> Robert Geer & Donna Tomky | |||| We sure |||| <>
<> bgeer@xmission.com | == == find it == == <>
<> dtomky@xmission.com | == == enchanting == == <>
<> Albuquerque, NM USA | |||| here! |||| <>

In alt.internet.wireless bgeer <bgeer@xmission.com> wrote:
> I set up a dlink 122 usb device in both master & managed mode;
> however, it is 802.11b (10mbs). I haven't used it for awhile.

DLink DWL-122 is the device that I would like to use.

> http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_...nux/Tools.html

I made many circular trips around the web, and found that
http://prism2.unixguru.raleigh.nc.us had the rpm for several kernels, but
not mine.

I don't understand why ftp://ftp.linux-wlan.org/pub/linux-wlan-ng/ doesn't
have binaries available. They point to Jean's page as an "excellent HOWTO"
but it seems very old, and doesn't have my binaries.

One would think that a major hardware vendor would at least have links to
binaries, but DLink points you to the source directory at linux-wlan.org
with no further instructions.

--
---
Clarence A Dold - Hidden Valley Lake, CA, USA GPS: 38.8,-122.5

dold@XReXXUSBXW.usenet.us.com wrote:
> In alt.internet.wireless bgeer <bgeer@xmission.com> wrote:
>> I set up a dlink 122 usb device in both master & managed mode;
>> however, it is 802.11b (10mbs). I haven't used it for awhile.
>
> DLink DWL-122 is the device that I would like to use.
>
>> http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_...nux/Tools.html
>
> I made many circular trips around the web, and found that
> http://prism2.unixguru.raleigh.nc.us had the rpm for several kernels, but
> not mine.
>
> I don't understand why ftp://ftp.linux-wlan.org/pub/linux-wlan-ng/ doesn't
> have binaries available. They point to Jean's page as an "excellent HOWTO"
> but it seems very old, and doesn't have my binaries.
>
> One would think that a major hardware vendor would at least have links to
> binaries, but DLink points you to the source directory at linux-wlan.org
> with no further instructions.
>
Get your self a cheep external wireless device and have it easy..