802.11g and FreeBSD based access point ...

[Jesse Guardiani]

Greg Lehey wrote:

> On Friday,  5 September 2003 at 17:55:14 +0200, Hans Vledder wrote:
>> All,
>>
>> I am considering building a 802.11g FreeBSD access point. I've read
>> that I will need a network adapter that supports hostap (access
>> point mode). Does anyone known a brand/model (PCI) that's being
>> supported by FreeBSD ?
> 
> I don't have a direct answer to this question, but a bit of
> information:
> 
> Last weekend I bought a couple of 802.11b/g wireless routers (AirLink,
> I think).  These boxes contain an access point, a four-port Ethernet
> switch and an additional downlink Ethernet port.  They're intended as
> cable or ADSL gateways, accessed by the downlink port.  You can
> configure the downlink port to access the other networks by NAT or
> directly, and you can run a mini-firewall if you want.  It can also
> function as a DHCP server.  These boxes cost me $80 at Fry's, the same
> price as a basic 802.11b access point.
> 
> This weekend I went back to Fry's looking for Atheros-based wireless
> cards.  The cheapest I could find cost $100.
> 
> Based on that, it's not clear why you would want to build an AP from a
> wireless card.

It depends on what you're doing. For example, if your access point is going
to be a Soekris box:

http://www.soekris.com/

Then it makes sense to use wireless PC Cards because when the next wireless
standard comes out, you can just toss the old card and buy a new one, while
preserving your investment in the soekris hardware.

Why would you pay $250 for a Soekris box with two PC Card slots instead of
a $50 DSL/Cable router that does roughly the same thing? Flexibility, reliability,
and power, IMO. I bought a Siemens SpeedStream 802.11b wireless DSL/Cable router
for $35 a few months ago for personal office use, but I'd never sell it to a
customer. It locks up under moderate load. (Yes, the firmware is up-to-date)

I would, however, install a custom FreeBSD or OpenBSD Soekris box at a customer
location because I _know_ it'll do the job with BSD reliability, and if the
customer's needs change in the future, I can probably adapt the box's hardware/
software to meet them.

-- 
Jesse Guardiani, Systems Administrator
WingNET Internet Services,
P.O. Box 2605 // Cleveland, TN 37320-2605
423-559-LINK (v)  423-559-5145 (f)
http://www.wingnet.net