# Linux Acces Point

## bassvandijk

I'm planning to install a Wireless LAN.

I don't need the speed of a 802.11g network so I stick to 802.11b.

I have two notebooks and one PC (firewall, router) all running Gentoo Linux.

I'm thinking of buying these products:

2X Linksys Notebook Adapter:   WPC11

1X Linksys Acces Point: WAP11

1X Linksys PCI Adapter WMP11

(According to several topics these cards are supported by Linux so that shouldn't be a problem.)

I read that it's possible to use a Linux box to act as an Acces Point. I'm very interested in this because then I don't need to use a hardware Acces Point.

My question is:

What do I need to do to transform my Linux PC in an Wireless Acces Point?

----------

## andrewy

I think all you need is a wireless card that supports acting as an access point. However, those arne't exactly easy to find.

I do know that all the Linksys cards that I've seen don't have firmware that allows them to be used as an AP, I'm not sure about other brands.

----------

## syadnom

IFAIK all linksys cards can be used as access points, its all software.

any of those you chose are a good choice, in fact absolutely ANY wireless card, requardless of chipset, work fine in linux with either linux native drivers or the ndis wrapper.

also, dont get the WAP11, get the WRT54G. it is 802.11b compatible, it gives you an easy upgrade path, and you can flash it to sveasoft's firmware to get mesh networking, bandwidth allocation , and a whole bunch of other goodies.

----------

## syadnom

last comment should have read, any 802.11b chipset, some 802.11g chipsets aren't functional yet.

----------

## andrewy

 The WRT54G isn't the best choice at the moment..

----------

## Immir

 *andrewy wrote:*   

>  The WRT54G isn't the best choice at the moment..

 

It's still fine as long as it is configured properly. As long as the admin password is unguessable, it shouldn't be a problem. You can also set up port forwarding to send ports 80 and 443 to a nonexistent host, which will effectively block incoming requests to the web admin pages.

----------

## andrewy

 *Immir wrote:*   

> 
> 
> It's still fine as long as it is configured properly. As long as the admin password is unguessable, it shouldn't be a problem. You can also set up port forwarding to send ports 80 and 443 to a nonexistent host, which will effectively block incoming requests to the web admin pages.

 

Interesting idea, but would it work?

You'd think that it would have been mentioned on Slashdot if fixing the problem were that simple.

Or maybe I just didn't read enough comments..

----------

## Tarball

I was thinking about getting one of these as my current Netgear MR314 needs rebooting regularly.

As for the WRT54G, of all the comments I have read about this problem, it only seems to be apparent when the firewall functionality is switched *OFF*.  

Which is probably not a good idea!

----------

## syadnom

the security hole is in the stock linux distro on the WRT54g.  If you use the sveasoft your don't have the problem.  anyway, if you redirect ports as suggested above, that will be very effective/

----------

## Immir

Linksys have now posted a beta of the next firmware version fixing the remote management exploit on the WRT54G:

http://www.linksys.com/download/firmware.asp?fwid=201

----------

## bassvandijk

Thanks for all the reply's.

I think I just buy the Wireless-G Broadband Router WRT54G

and 2X the Wireless-G Notebook Adapter WPC54G

Otherwise I always need to leave one PC on to act as a wireless router.

Last question:

Does the WRT54G really require MS Windows?

----------

## Immir

 *bassvandijk wrote:*   

> 
> 
> Last question:
> 
> Does the WRT54G really require MS Windows?

 

No it doesn't. It has a web based interface which works happily with mozilla firefox, which I used to adminster mine. It doesn't work with links though  :Sad: .

By the way, apparently you can take the mini-pci card out of one and use it in a laptop that supports mini-pci with the prism54 drivers. Never tried it though,Last edited by Immir on Tue Jun 15, 2004 8:11 am; edited 1 time in total

----------

## K-Dawg

The Netgear MA-311 will let you use it an an AP.  You also have to emerge the hostap pkg though.  Sweet setup when it is working

----------

## bassvandijk

Are there native linux drivers for the WPC54G? 

(Or am I forced to use the MS Windows drivers in combination with ndiswrapper?)

----------

## opamp

I would like to know what PCI cards can act as an access point.  I already have an IPTables based firewall with another PCI slot, I might as well integrate it into that machine, as opposed to buying another peice of hardware.  Any thoughts on what PCI based cards work well as AP under Linux?

----------

## Immir

From experience PrismGT based cards with the prism54 driver in the 2.6.5 kernel work very well in master mode. All you need to do is:

```
iwconfig eth1 mode master

iwconfig eth1 essid whatever

iwconfig eth1 channel 9

iwconfig eth1 key whateverwepkey
```

and it's up and running as an access point. I use one of these for my NAT + firewall box with no problems. There's no real difference between a pcmcia wifi card and the pci versions; the pci versions are usually just a cardbus card hacked onto a cardbus-pci bridge.

--

Alistair

target@wibberley.orgLast edited by Immir on Sat Jun 26, 2004 12:23 am; edited 3 times in total

----------

## opamp

Doesn't the PCI wireless cards usually have a removable antenna?   Where the PCMCIA ones don't....although I see some have a spot to put a dongle to attach some kind of antenna to it.  This would be nice as my computer room is on the far side of my house and I could use a pantenna to direct it back the other way.

Could anyone recommend a model of PCI wireless card that has the PrismGT chipset?  Or any other PCI cards people have had luck with using as an access point in Master Mode?

Thanks.

----------

