Wireless network?

[ee99ee2]

I have a laptop that has a Proxim RangeLAN PCMCIA card in it. This laptop runs Windows XP (not my laptop, but I'm keeping it for a while). I bought a Linksys WMP11 wireless PCI network card today. I was going to put it in my Windows 2000 machine (b/c it's easier to configure, obviously), but it has stopped working, so I put it in my Gentoo desktop... that's where the fun stopped.

I'm wanting to use my linux box as an access point to my network and to the internet. It already has 2 ethernet interfaces (one for net access, and one for my LAN... no, it's not a NAT). So I found the hostAP project. I downloaded and compiled the drivers. Everything seems to go okay. I modprobe hostap_pci and it comes up. I install wireless-tools. And I even configured the interface. I also was able to bring it up in ifconfig by typeing 'ifconfig wlan0 up' and I gave it an IP address of 192.168.3.1. The wireless subnet is going to be 192.168.3.0/24, my wired subnet is 192.168.1.0/24 and my VPN's subnet is 192.168.2.0/24.

The problem I'm having is that I can't see my Linux machine from the laptop. I'm using the utility that came with the card, but nothing is showing up. I have the linux box in 'Master' mode, and the laptop is in 'Infrastructure' mode. I've also tried Ad-hoc on both ot them, still can't see anything. I am not using WEP, yet. And I have checked the routing tables on both machines, but the interface isn't even showing as enabled on the laptop. It just says "Network cable unplugged".

I'm at a loss of what to do. I really want to get this working. Once I get a new BIOS chip for the Windows 2000 machine, I'll probably put it in there and maybe put Debian on that machine. The 2000 machine is the NAT for part of the network.

Any ideas?

-ee99ee2
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ServerMotion

[gearheadsmp]

I bought a Linksys WMP-11 PCI card with the intention of using it as an AP in my 600EB. But low-and behold, Intersil, the chipset manufacturer, has hired a company (http://www.linux-wlan.com) in Florida to write drivers for Linux users. But they don't write drivers for people to use their Prism WiFi cards as AP's. The only driver availble to do such a thing with Intersil chipsets is in the Alpha stage of development (http://hostap.epitest.fi/). However, a HOWTO on making a Linux box a WiFi AP (http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Wireless.html) is up-to-date, AFAIK. If that doesn't give you enough info on what brand WiFi card to use, consult your nearest LUG or read the web site's of LUG's in WiFi-crazy 'burgs, like Seattle and San Francisco. In the end, I ended up getting an SMC WiFi router (SMC7004AWBR) that also has a print server and (I think) a com port for modems to dial in and for back dial-out to the Internet access.
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"Captain, yer overloadin' her as it is. The power supply just isn't built to take two hard drrrives."

[digitalnick]

I am gettin ready to setup a wireless network and i want it to span my whole neighborhood. what kind of devices do i need to expand my range and allow me to roam cell to cell. i dont want to setup a box at each place i need to extend the range i just want to plug in some wireless access device to one of my neighbors houses.

[gearheadsmp]

Here's some hyperlinks to other groups that have done what you're trying to do to you're neighborhood:
http://www.air.net.au/ - Aussie Linux users, uses Linux boxen as access points

http://205.159.169.11/ - Boston LUG setting up a public WLAN

http://www.consume.net/consume.html - London group setting up plublic WLAN

http://seattlewireless.net/ - Seattle LUG setting up public WLAN

http://www.nycwireless.net/ - one of the most successfull public WLANs

http://www.bawug.org/ - Bay Area public WLAN group

http://www.shmoo.com/gawd/ - Has links to more public WLANs.

Links courtesy of Jean Tourrilhes.
http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/[url][/url]
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"Captain, yer overloadin' her as it is. The power supply just isn't built to take two hard drrrives."

[Rain Designs]

all wireless networks have whats called an SSID which is the id of the network. Each company has their own defaulted value, 3com is 101. You need to make sure that each computer is set up to run on the same SSID. WinXP comes with a cool wireless utility, you can search for wireless conections in your area. Just get into the properties of your wireless NIC. I have never tried to set up a linux NAT before, nor have I tried running wireless nics on linux. I always thought it would be too much of a pain Thats also cause I'm a linux n00b.

Hope this helps

-Rain
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^M = Death by notepad

http://www.raindesigns.com