Craig Sanders <[email protected]> wrote: > 1. buy a USB/PCI/PCI-e wireless NIC and install it in your current > gateway box. > > you already have dhcp, dns, iptables, and everything else configured and > running, so you only need to configure hostapd. > > be careful when selecting a NIC, not all will work in Master aka AP > or Access Point mode - although it's not uncommon for 802.11a/b/g. > unfortunately, very few 802.11n NIC drivers support master mode in > linux. NICs based on the ath9k[2] chip seem to be the best bet for > 802.11n. The brcmsmac[3] driver also got AP mode support in March this > year. >
Thanks. In the end, I wasn't satisfied with the USB options available, but the other option - a PCI-Express card - is still possible if I can find one that I know for sure has a supported Atheros controller suitable for hostAP. There's one free PCI-Express slot left, specified as "x8 mechanical/x4 electrical", which I understand will take any lower (e.g., x2) card. > https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/MasterMode > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_open-source_wireless_drivers#Driver_capabilities > > 2. get a cheap old laptop with built-in wireless NIC. Again, make sure > that the NIC supports Master mode under linux. Configure hostapd. if > you use a separate IP subnet for the wireless LAN, you may also need to > run a dhcp relay so that bootp packets get forwarded between the wlan > and your dhcp server (alternatively, just run another dhcp server on the > laptop, listening only on the wlan interface so it doesn't conflict with > your main dhcp server) It's unfortunate that my current laptop can't do this, even as a temporary solution, as the Intel wireless controller does not support master mode even under the most recent drivers. _______________________________________________ luv-main mailing list [email protected] http://lists.luv.asn.au/listinfo/luv-main
