Router as an Access Point

Archived from groups: alt.internet.wireless (More info?)

On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 01:15:58 GMT, MG <MG@nospam.com> wrote:

>I've been struggling to get my basement Linux machine to get along with an
>802.11g PCI card.

Make and model? Or have you given up?
If you had made it work, you would have ended up with a client radio,
not an access point. What are you trying to build?

>Since a wired card is more stable,

Stable? Will it explode if it becomes unstable?

>I'm thinking of
>installing one and connecting to either a wireless bridge adapter or a
>wireless router. I've read that some routers will behave like bridges/APs
>if DHCP is disabled and they're given a static IP.

Close. Lots of options depending upon what you want to accomplish
(which you didn't specify).

1. USB client radio. Some have Linux drivers.
2. ethernet to wireless client. No drivers required on the Linux
side. This will let you talk to an access point or wireless router.
None of the wireless routers have a client mode. However, many of the
access points do have a client mode. See WAP54G, DWL900AP+, etc.
3. Access point running as an access point. WAP54G, DWL900AP+, etc.
No software required on the Linux box. To talk to your Linux
server(?), you'll need another computah with a client radio attached.
4. Router acting as an access point. WRT54G etc. Disable DHCP,
ignore the WAN port completely, and make sure you don't duplicate the
IP address on the LAN side. I don't know what you mean by static IP
as the LAN side IP address of a router is always a static IP address.

>I'm considering the DI-524,

Cheap with big rebate this week. No experience with this particular
model.

>but D-Link "STRONGLY" recommends not doing
>this.

You mean they don't recommend using a wireless router as an access
point? Well, such recommendations are common enough by other vendors:
http://kbserver.netgear.com/kb_web_files/n101236.asp

>Has anyone had any problems with this type of setup?

Yes. Buggy firmware caused some entertainment on several routers used
as access points. I forgot the exact model numbers. When I enabled
MAC address filtering, the wireless part of the puzzle would not pass
broadcasts. Therefore, the wireless clients did not get a DHCP
address. When gave them static IP address, Windoze browsing would not
work. Turn off the MAC address filter and things worked as expected.

There were also some weird issues with gateway IP address of VPN
tunnels that are explained in the above Netgear URL.

>I know it's a convoluted fix, but the router is much cheaper and seems
>to have greater
>potential use in the future if the project falls through. Any help's
>appreciated, thanks!

It will work. However, it would be nice to know what you are trying
to accomplish. I can't tell if you're attaching a client radio to the
Linux box, or want to attach an access point.


--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831.336.2558 voice http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
# jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us
# 831.421.6491 digital_pager jeffl@cruzio.com AE6KS

Archived from groups: alt.internet.wireless (More info?)

Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@comix.santa-cruz.ca.us> wrote in
news:7opqp0987mqdqcjf1apajrl4i99gt718sm@4ax.com:

> On Fri, 19 Nov 2004 01:15:58 GMT, MG <MG@nospam.com> wrote:
>
>>I've been struggling to get my basement Linux machine to get along
>>with an 802.11g PCI card.
>
> Make and model? Or have you given up?
> If you had made it work, you would have ended up with a client radio,
> not an access point. What are you trying to build?
>

D-Link, DWL-G510. I'm building a MythTV PVR. I have it working with
ndiswrapper and the XP drivers but I get a lot of these:

"wlan0 (WE) : Wireless Event too big (373)"

They seem to be mostly harmless, but I've also experienced occasional
system hang ups across Fedora 2, KnoppMyth, and (now) Mandrake 10.1.
Granted, the wireless card may not be the cause, but it feels like the
weakest link. Any experience with this?

>>Since a wired card is more stable,
>
> Stable? Will it explode if it becomes unstable?
>

Probably not.

> Close. Lots of options depending upon what you want to accomplish
> (which you didn't specify).
>
> 1. USB client radio. Some have Linux drivers.
> 2. ethernet to wireless client. No drivers required on the Linux
> side. This will let you talk to an access point or wireless router.
> None of the wireless routers have a client mode. However, many of the
> access points do have a client mode. See WAP54G, DWL900AP+, etc.
> 3. Access point running as an access point. WAP54G, DWL900AP+, etc.
> No software required on the Linux box. To talk to your Linux
> server(?), you'll need another computah with a client radio attached.
> 4. Router acting as an access point. WRT54G etc. Disable DHCP,
> ignore the WAN port completely, and make sure you don't duplicate the
> IP address on the LAN side. I don't know what you mean by static IP
> as the LAN side IP address of a router is always a static IP address.
>

#2, I'm trying to get by without using ndiswrapper. If I can't sort out
the Linux problem I guess I'll look into access points, or maybe just go
with SageTV. Newegg seems to have a decent deal on the DWL-G700AP with
rebate. "static IP"...my mistake, "static IP on the same subnet that
doesn't conflict with the primary router's IP".

>
>>Has anyone had any problems with this type of setup?
>
> Yes. Buggy firmware caused some entertainment on several routers used
> as access points. I forgot the exact model numbers. When I enabled
> MAC address filtering, the wireless part of the puzzle would not pass
> broadcasts. Therefore, the wireless clients did not get a DHCP
> address. When gave them static IP address, Windoze browsing would not
> work. Turn off the MAC address filter and things worked as expected.
>
> There were also some weird issues with gateway IP address of VPN
> tunnels that are explained in the above Netgear URL.
>

Sounds ugly. Thanks for the input.