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Wireless Networking Software Hardware Linux

Your Own Linux Wireless Access Point 177

Posted by michael from the learning-experience dept.
prostoalex writes "Peter Seebach decided to build his own Linux-based 802.11b wireless access point. The article on IBM DeveloperWorks talks about the hardware and software requirements, implementing the operating system on the CompactFlash card, loading Apache and Perl onto the server. The build-it-yourself wireless point is not going to be cheaper than commercially available products, but its educational value is immense." And HaeMaker writes "We have all seen the 802.11b/g booster made from a Pringles can. Well, these guys have taken the idea, put some math behind it to find the optimal can size and have turned it in to a cool product."
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Your Own Linux Wireless Access Point More

Your Own Linux Wireless Access Point

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  • Okay... (Score:1, Interesting)

    by krog ( 25663 )
    Props to Seebs, but exactly HOW is this better than dropping $30 on a Linksys access point?

    • Re:Okay... (Score:4, Insightful)

      by The Phantom Buffalo ( 613874 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:45PM (#6534200)
      It's not the kill, it's the thrill of the chase.

    • Re:Okay... (Score:3, Informative)

      by kmak ( 692406 )
      Actually, if you read the article, it devotes a part explaining this...

    • Re:Okay... (Score:2, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Its better because now he can spend his time in his mother's basement tweaking his l33t linux access point instead of going outside to meet girls.

      Wait...
      • I was going to say you'd do it as a hobbyist for educational purposes, but then your comment beat me to it. With WAP+gateways+4 port switch selling for $60, there's not many practical reasons for doing it yourself unless you need some custom iptables firewall rules.

    • Re:Okay... (Score:3, Informative)

      by garcia ( 6573 ) *
      obviously, if you read the article, you would have found that he did it just to see what it would take. He also believes that Linux offers a lot more in firewalling, NAT, etc, than a typical Linksys home networking AP does (and I agree).

      Why this is news for nerds, stuff that matters, I will never know...

      I found the article basically pointless and nothing more than what anyone who would be likely to try a project like this already knows..

      • Build your own ... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Glonoinha ( 587375 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:34PM (#6534613) Journal
        Actually most build your own stuff is like this. The prototype or early phase is wicked cheap (Pringles can, for example) so you start jacking around with it ... then you just keep on adding stuff that you need until BAM! $300 access point built from scratch.

        Pretty much the way most of my computers were built. 'Oh neat, I can buy that computer for $300 - a complete working system."

        Hmmm - needs a sound card. (cha-ching!)
        Hmmm - needs a better video card. (cha-ching!)
        Hmmm - needs more memory. (cha-ching!)
        Hmmm - needs a bigger hard drive. (cha-ching!)
        Hmmm - needs a quieter CPU / case fan. (cha-ching!)
        Hmmm - needs faster CPU. (cha-ching!)
        Hmmm - needs a CD burner. (cha-ching!)

        At the end, only the case, power supply and mobo are original on your uber "$300" machine. And then only maybe.

        God help the guy that keeps all the spare parts, then goes out and buys a case, power supply and mobo to install them all into because ... hey, free second machine.
    • Haven't you noticed? It's running Linux!

      ;)

    • Re:Okay... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by SuperQ ( 431 ) * on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:50PM (#6534245) Homepage
      I'm working on something similar, with the soekris net4521 board, (same as the one this guy used) but with a demarctech 200mw high output wireless card, for much greater range.

      I'm doign most of the work with an old P200 right now.. got that out of a dumpster at a local school. My box does the AP, routing, dhcp, dns, and eventualy i'm goign to try and set it up as a wirewall. the ability to SSH into the AP is very handy.. none of the AP's out there (besides super expensive Cisco IOS based AP's) do that.

      • This guy is right on and that goes double if you're going to be putting the device outdoors.

        APs are *stupid* - if you use a unix OS on Soekris you can run current tcpdump + libpcap and *see* low level 802.11b errors. I'm doing this with an eye on a drop in device when troubleshooting is required at an outdoor site.

    • Linksys access points are flaky unreliable pieces of shit.

      The original wap11 was OK but the succeeding and current versions are an abomination. And no, the firmware updates don't make a lot of difference.

      I eventually binned mine and bought a cheapy 3com one which has been great.

    • Re:Okay... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by wwest4 ( 183559 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:56PM (#6534305)
      In much the same way reading the article is better than trolling.

      1) you can get more out of the box. (near-endless possibilities for customization) - similarly, the article probably contains more than your average slashbot response (like this one, for instance:))

      2) it's fun and rewarding to do things for yourself. much like actually reading the article and drawing your own conclusions is fulfilling, while buying off-the-shelf solutions leaves you feeling empty and purposeless - the same way you should feel after posting trollish first posts.

    • You could easily change that from a .11b, to g, and then it might be cheaper then getting a G access point

    • Err... read the front page please? (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Props to Seebs, but exactly HOW is this better than dropping $30 on a Linksys access point?


      The build-it-yourself wireless point is not going to be cheaper than commercially available products, but its educational value is immense.

      I guess even users with excellent karma can't be expected to read these days =(
    • The same reason why installing linux, drivers, recompiling kernel, downloading FOSS, etc, just to run Mozilla and Evolution is better than installing a "copy" of Win XP.

      You'll actually learn something doing the former, and at the end of the day you've got a penguine box, freed from the herd of windows using sheep you are.

    • Re:Okay... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by FattMattP ( 86246 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:34PM (#6534609) Homepage
      exactly HOW is this better than dropping $30 on a Linksys access point?

      Didn't you read the summary?

      The build-it-yourself wireless point is not going to be cheaper than commercially available products, but its educational value is immense.

  • Cheaper to buy... (Score:5, Informative)

    by swordboy ( 472941 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:46PM (#6534211) Journal
    Toshiba Magnia SG20 [tigerdirect.com]

    Certainly, rolling your own is a learning experience but this is hard to beat. Where to you get a switch to put in a roll-your-own box?

    • Re:Cheaper to buy... (Score:2, Informative)

      by dioxide ( 149116 )
      http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/5ad 1/

      there ya go.
      4 port pci switch/hub thing
    • I have Magnia SG20 and its fantastic. I have recommended it to many of my friends. And I paid quite a bit less than Tiger wants. You can find them refurb on ebay or just join the Yahoo group and wait for people to sell theirs on the list for prices under $200...

      --w
    • The article mentions, " If you're desperate, you can probably use an old laptop!" Net4521 price is mo than $200 [sfwireless.net]. 486 Laptop on Ebay goes for less than $50 [ebay.com]. With a little work [www.wau.nl] you can use any CF as a HD storage, but you might as well use the disk that comes with the laptop. Combine this with a $40 worth of pcimcia ethernet and wifi cards and you have something that will work for $100 or so. If you use Debian as the OS, you can ssh into it and apt-get upgrade it to keep it far more secure than any dinky o
      • Much of what you say is true - it is cheaper to use a collection of mass produced off-the-shelf items - but here are some reasons why I think this little box is "cooler" (if more expensive):

        1. Size. 486 Laptops are small, but the box for the 4521 is 1"x10.2"x?? (probably around 6").

        2. Utility. The 4521 comes with 2 10/100 ethernet ports and 2 PC Card ports. This box can be a gateway for your wired and wireless networks to your ethernet broadband connection.

        3. Weight. Those old 486 laptops frequently

  • I want the WiFi Sniffer! (Score:5, Interesting)

    by phunhippy ( 86447 ) * <zavoidNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:46PM (#6534216) Journal
    Did anyone else notice they mentioned the wi-fi sniffers?

    little keychain devices that tell you when your in a hotspot.. thats great!

    http://store.yahoo.com/directron/etector.html

    found a place that has them too since the link on the webpage is already broken :(

  • Who eats all those Pringles? (Score:4, Funny)

    by feed_those_kitties ( 606289 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:47PM (#6534220)
    I can't imagine how many cantennas these guys expect to sell...

    !Sig

  • Great idea despite the cost... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by InterruptDescriptorT ( 531083 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:48PM (#6534232) Homepage
    I wish I had read this article before going out and purchasing my Linksys BEFW (sorry, can't remember the rest of the model number) wireless access point. It seems to drop connections at random, requiring a reboot of the router by pulling out and reinserting the power cord. The logs it gives are nowhere near as comprehensive as the ones that snort would send me every morning, and while I can configure port forwarding and IPSEC passthrough, etc., I miss the fine-grained control I had over all the options when I had a Linux router.

    A mini-ITX case and some assorted hardware and I could have made a much more configurable, sturdy access point for only a little more money. Sigh.

  • hostap (Score:5, Interesting)

    by eln ( 21727 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:49PM (#6534237)
    Building your own access point with hostap on any given linux box is pretty trivial, and cheap too if you consider you've probably already got the box laying around. All you need is a Prism2 chipset card, and there's a ton of them around.

    My company is doing a similar thing, only using mini-PCI cards to keep the box's footprint as small as possible.

    It works like a charm, and you can even build security on top of it. hostap supports WEP out of the box (although that's not really security) and MAC address authentication, even via radius!

    I've worked extensively with this sort of thing, very useful and if you already have a linux box, much cheaper than an off the shelf access point.

    • Re:hostap (Score:1, Troll)

      by y77 ( 692293 )
      I'm doign most of a similar thing, very useful and if you can buy in a Linux router. It works at random, requiring a firewall. the AP does the one this is this sort of the box laying around. All you get a typical Linksys home networking AP does (and I know. I'm just to try a switch to see what anyone who would send me every morning, and if you get a firewall. the 1960s? Props for only a linux box, much cheaper than an old P200 right now.. got that i can even build security on the options when your in a

    • Re:hostap (Score:3, Interesting)

      by pjkundert ( 597719 )
      It's pretty tough to beat Debian Linux + hostap + shorewall + a few NICs to build a nice Linux 802.11b Access Point/firewall/webserver/fileserver. Runs for months at a time, serving up two external web sites, ~1/2 dozen household linux and WinXP clients and mobile zauruses and laptops.

      Want to stay up-to-date with the latest security fixes?
      apt-get update; apt-get upgrade
      Done.

      Especially when I have to reboot my "professionally administered by a multi-million dollar corporate ID deparment" work Wind

    • and if you already have a linux box, much cheaper than an off the shelf access point.

      I certainly have too many old boxes laying around. Yes, building your own access point is much more interesting. And you get to customize so that you have the features that you want. But in the long run it will be a lot more expensive to operate that PC that uses a few hundred of watts of power than an access point powered from a small wall wart that uses a few watts of power. If, like most users, you leave your internet

      • Unless you live in a dorm :-)

        I already have a linux router set up, so extending it in to a wireless AP could be a fun project.

      • Show me an old box that lives off "a few hundred watts" and I'll show you one trashed power supply.

        Just because your average PC power supply says "300W" on the case, does not mean that the computer it's attached to runs at 300W constantly. Your average "300W" power supply would quickly burn out if it was run at its rated capacity for more than a few hours.

        • I actually had intended to say a couple of hundred watts, not a few, but the logic still applies. Also, don't forget, these switching supplies are far from 100% efficent (there's a reason they build a fan into them). So a supply that is outputting 300 watts of power is eating a lot more than that, so it's not unreasonable that a supply outputting a couple of hundred watts of power is indeed drawing a few hundred watts of power.

          The bottom line is, if you pay for the power (and pay again for the AC to cool i

      • That's why you get an old laptop. I bought an IBM 600-series for $50. P2/233 w/ 96MB of RAM and a 6GB HD. One Senao 2511 200mw card ($90 retail, $65 ebay) and a $50 8.5 dBi omni from hyperlinktech.com and you've got an extremely powerful access point. Oh, and I suppose you'll also need an N-type connector ($1.50) and a N-to-MMCX cable, $20-30.

        I'm going to do this exact setup, so my cost for equipment will be $50 + 65 + $50 + 30 (cable). $195 plus my time which will be paid back later by how valuable t

  • I wonder... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Snorpus ( 566772 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:51PM (#6534253)
    how long before the Heath Company sues about using the name Cantenna , which goes back at least to the 1960s?
    • Dont worry, SCO will have him wishing he'd never seen a bash shell before Cantenna gets their hands on him.
    • Since Heath has been gone for longer than some slashdot readers have been alive, I'd say the odds are pretty long.

      But the cantenna was great. I remember seeing plans in popular electronics, thinking if I lived in an apartment building I'd make one in a minute.

      'Course, nowdays it's hard to even FIND a metal slinky anymore :-(

    • But the cantenna wasn't an antenna! (Score:4, Informative)

      by morcheeba ( 260908 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @03:49PM (#6535369) Journal
      the heathkit cantenna [surplussales.com] wasn't really an antenna ... it was a dummy load for testing transmitters. The signal was safely disapated into the oil, not the air. Same name, but different purposes.

      Besides, it was never registered as a trademark [uspto.gov] by Heathkit (ah, the simpler days!), or any other company.

    • I've seen the phrase "Cantenna" in use in some form or another quite a lot recently. For instance, I've come across this fellow's "cAntenna" [etherdesigns.com] while looking for a good antenna for war driving (suggestions are welcome, please, pretty please. directional or omni? buy what where?); a Google search for "cantenna" [google.com] shows that it is being used not as a brand name but as a generic name for a Pringles-can (another "pass me a Kleenex"-type generic term) type antenna. So even if they had ever had recognition as a brand

    • You talking about the Heathkit company that went out of business more than a decade ago?

  • It's not about cost or utility here -- (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:53PM (#6534268)
    The comments have so far been dumb. Let me point out that the real strength in this tutorial is the idea that you can construct a sort of mini-appliance with ease using Linux. Before you downplay this man's efforts, consider that what he is doing is demonstrating one of the key strong points of Linux that will keep Linux around for a long time: Its use in appliances and specialized embedded devices. In fact, this is such a critical area that Microsoft has become more lenient and more "open" (I use the term loosely) with their competing WinCE product.

    It's not hard to take some of the author's ideas and twist them around for other custom networking applications, or even make cheap wireless appliances based on the concepts he's presented. Hats off to the man for providing us with a bit of education.

  • This isn't building a wireless access point. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Goody ( 23843 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:57PM (#6534325) Journal
    This is throwing an 802.11 card in a computer and configuring it. Start etching some circuit boards, break out the soldering iron and spectrum analyzer, then you can considering it building...

    • I remember when I was in High School, I was in a computer class preparing us for A+ Cert. I told my dad we were learning how to build and fix computers. He made some comment about how tricky it must be to solder all those transistors, etc... I had to say, "No Dad, when your SB Live breaks you buy a new one, thats just the way it works."

      Kinda makes me wonder why all those cheap "computer repair" kits you see, you know the zip up fake learther deals, come with IC extractors. I mean, who uses this stuff?

    • Re:This isn't building a wireless access point. (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward

      > This is throwing an 802.11 card in a computer and configuring it.

      Actually, that's basically what some commercial WAPs are. For instance, here's a picture of the main circuit board of the D-Link DI-614+ [trent.us], showing that the wireless guts are in fact an 802.11 card. Why re-engineer a wireless circuit when the cards are already small and mass-produced?

  • Not such a good idea (Score:4, Funny)

    by stratjakt ( 596332 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @01:59PM (#6534337) Journal
    Linux as a platform for network appliance sounds like a marraige made in hell. It's a great desktop operating system, but it doesnt scale well into small places, has a lot of bloat, and tends to consume resources.

    Of course, security should always be of great concern, and this is why WinCE has made such headway with internet devices as of late - it was created delibirately to be small, robust, secure and stable - everything youd want from your network.

    Of course, it must be noted, that linux was written in C which makes it very good, since C is object oriented.
    • I wish I could moderate this guy as funny because I think some people won't get it and think he's just stupid.

      • I wish no one would mod this guy up. Look at his posting history. He's obviously some sort of troll. An entertaining one, but still a troll. Not to mention, Microsoft fanboys and PHBs will probably see this as "proof" Linux "is better than" Windows.

    • My Linux foortprint complete with OS and cramfs
      file system with app and utilities fits under
      8MB of Flash! So HA!

      WINCE takes up 16MB of RAM and is SSLLLLLOOOOOOWWWWW
      And my MK104 embedded controller does not tie up resources while running the Linux kernel. I've got
      WiFi, ADC, DAC, Sonar, PWM and Digital Audio controlled by the robot as well as GPS on Serial
      and a CMU Vision system on Serial.

      And.. Shit.. there's my Zaurus PDA that runs Linux, Wifi , My own custom apps I wrote in QT3 .. and I use it as an inter
    • Sure, WinCE is sharedsource. You have to expect security, reliability, etc. will come from the synergy between Microsoft and creditcard toting fools.

    • Clue Meter (Score:5, Funny)

      by psxndc ( 105904 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:30PM (#6534584) Journal
      Linux as a platform for network appliance sounds like a marraige made in hell

      If it took you this far to realize it was a joke, you are: a genius

      It's a great desktop operating system

      If it took you this far to realize it was a joke, you are: pretty enlightened

      but it doesnt scale well into small places

      If it took you this far to realize it was a joke, you are: about average

      Of course, security should always be of great concern, and this is why WinCE

      If it took you this far to realize it was a joke, you are: fading fast

      that linux was written in C which makes it very good, since C is object oriented

      If it took you this far to realize it was a joke, you are: breathing my air. Please stop

      psxndc

  • Build your own router (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Jim Buzbee ( 517 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:00PM (#6534345) Homepage
    A similar project can be found here [ucrouter.ru]

    This post on their forums caught my eye :


    I have been sucessful in using the ROM image in a CompUSA branded 4 port switch/router for US$39.95. www.compusa.com has computer strores throught the USA. The router, from what I understand, is made by FMI. It uses a Samsung 4510B CPU, ADMtek ADM6996 5 port ethernet switch device, 512kB flash and 4MB SDRAM. The part appears to be able to take up to a 4MB flash. I'm using a 2MB part in a TSOP socket. uClinux boots up to prompt and the ethernet port works.

  • My /. review of the article (Score:4, Funny)

    by GoofyBoy ( 44399 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:01PM (#6534354) Journal
    Using technical knowledge, some neato hardware and Open Source resources I made a Wireless Access Point using Linux.

    It was really, really hard but well worth it and the Earth was saved.

    The End.

  • Homeade Pringles can? (Score:4, Funny)

    by seanmeister ( 156224 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:05PM (#6534382)
    Why is a Super Cantenna more powerful than a home-made Pringles can? linkage [cantenna.com]

    What I want to know is why bother making your own Pringles can.....?
  • >>>>>>>>>>>>>> . In Wi-Fi, a router is usually referred to as a base station, and broadcasts your Internet signal. The router is typically attached to an Internet connection via a USB or Ethernet port. A client card usually refers to a PCMCIA wireless card. The client card is attached to your laptop, or inserted into your PDA's PCI slot. An access point is the radio device that receives the signal from the base station. It attaches to your laptop or computer via U

  • Yeah.. but you can build a cell structed network! (Score:3, Interesting)

    by MrJerryNormandinSir ( 197432 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:11PM (#6534434)
    If you build a WAP with Linux, Build 5, alter the
    code and build a network of wireless access points.
    Each access point should have 2 cards, possibly 802.11a for the uplink and 802.11b as the downlink.
    This can be accomplished. Say for instance you
    build a star shaped network and "home" is in the
    center and the host you need to reach is 5 miles
    to the east, your routing table would have rules
    on each WAP that will relay your IP traffic the the proper destination.

  • How about a mini-distro for free wireless nets? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by obi ( 118631 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:12PM (#6534447)
    I've thought about this before, and it could be interesting for metropolitan areas:

    a mini-distro for AP's that:
    - shields the internal (personal) net, from a public, wireless net.
    - routes between the private net, the public net, and the internet.
    - do proper routing between AP's: it would be nice if there was a way to use your neighbours excess bandwidth to the internet, or use them as a failover when there's an outage just for you.
    - provide proper limits: stop providing to the public if you reach 80% of your monthly bandwith limit, prioritize a bit of the bandwith for your personal net (so that other people can't use up all the available bandwith so there's none left for you), maybe only provide your connection to "members" of the network, etc.
    - make it available in an easy updatable flash image for homemade and commercial AP's.
    - make it configurable for people who have even more interfaces: multihoming with adsl and cable for instance, IR/visible light links/...

    The idea would be that while not everyone has the expertise to configure their routers for all these features, everyone who wants to can just reflash their AP with an image, and be able to provide/get wireless services, and be a part of a real emergent wireless network. It'd be interesting for other reasons too: where I live for instance, all upload speed for residential cable/adsl connections is capped at 128kbit. If I want to send files fast to a friend a couple of blocks away, they could be just routed over the wireless network, via a couple of hops: no need to go over the internet - chances are the speed will be a lot better than 128kbit that way. Also by cooperating in a network like this, you'd have increased speed and reliability for all - not everyone uses up their bandwith / monthly volume limit all the time.

  • Could something like this be used for wi-fi broadband for your home to an ISP? I know that something like this can be done with a flat panel array antenna for over a 10 mile distance.

  • Compact Flash bad idea, so I've read (Score:5, Interesting)

    by aardwolf204 ( 630780 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:15PM (#6534476)
    Correct me if I'm wrong, but using CompactFlash as a storage device on an embedded appliance/application whatever is a bad idea because of the half-life of CF.

    I wanted to do something similar a while back, and I wanted small. I figured using a VIA EPIA-M and a CF with CF to IDE I could create a pretty small server. Perfect for Kiosks, but I ended up finding a page all about CF to IDE and why it shouldnt be used as a boot device (yeah like I bookmarked it) and was discouraged.

    Anyone have any experience with that?

  • Quote from article (Score:5, Funny)

    by aardwolf204 ( 630780 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:35PM (#6534625)
    "If you don't, your friendly neighborhood Linux hacker will probably walk you through this project for the price of a pizza, and explain what's going on if you include extra cheese."
    I dont know about you, but I think he's trying to say linux geeks are cheap.
    • No, he is pointing out that there are too many Linux geeks who will work for food. (i.e. no income to speak of.)

      Not that he is right, but I happen to think that one is too many.

    • Re:Quote from article (Score:3, Interesting)

      by seebs ( 15766 )
      More like "friendly".

      Every hacker I know would be happy to walk a friend through this for "come over, help me with this, I'll buy pizza". Not because it's anything like our real rates, but just because open source hackers are such cool guys.

      Note the word "friend". For J. Random, I'd want my normal $100/hour plus expenses. (In fact, it was doing something very similar to this project under precisely those terms that got me interested in the topic.)

  • Dog Food can works better than the Cantenna (Score:4, Interesting)

    by scosol ( 127202 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @02:37PM (#6534649) Homepage
    I've tested it myself-

    My homemade one made out of a large Pedigree dogfood can works better than the Cantenna.
    ~50ft more range with a much broader spread.

    The building instructions I used are here:
    http://www.turnpoint.net/wireless/cantennah owto.ht ml
  • I know it's an easy one but I still laughed at it:

    "...Unfortunately, ours doesn't come with potato chips..."

  • FIC MAAT Server does access point and more (Score:3, Informative)

    by klapton ( 457314 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @03:06PM (#6534940)
    The FIC MAAT Server [fica.com] from FIC can serve as a Linux wireless access point.
    Specs:
    Embedded Linux
    Transmeta Crusoe TM5600 500MHz
    On-board 128MB SDRAM (512MB max)
    2X 2.5' IDE HDD 20GB (120GB max)
    4 ports 10/100 Mbps Ethernet Hub Switch
    Built-in Wireless Access Point (802.11b)
    Dimensions: W246 X D240 X H56mm

    Unfortunately, it is rather pricey at $995 MSRP or $645 direct from the FIC California branch. Interesting nonetheless.
  • My journal has some information on building a WiFi horn antenna [slashdot.org] from cardboard and aluminum foil. These have much higher gains than the cantennas, but are of course larger.

    I think that the exact spacing and element sizing required for high-gain array antennas (such as the yagi) at 2.4 GHz are tougher than many amateur antenna builders can achieve. The horn antenna is easy to make, if you don't mind something larger.
  • Well, these guys have taken the idea, put some math behind it to find the optimal can size...

    Which, conveniently, is exactly the same size as a regular Pingles can! (Which explains why they only cost 19.95. :)

    • Re:Can size. (Score:2, Informative)

      by markus_baertschi ( 259069 )

      Actually a pringles can is a very bad wifi antenna. To work effectovely it should be a couple of meters long. The can shown has a larger diameter, which should be much better.

      You can calculate the optimal size yourself here [azwardriving.com].

      Markus

  • Blah, make it worth the expense & effort. (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    I love soekris gear. Soren is working on a less full featured unit just for people who want to build a vanilla wAP.

    However, if you have a soekris, and you want to DIY a wAP - you should really insert a brain to look at the potential advantages instead of just pulling a linux + hostAP mode whoopdedo.

    #1. Flexibility. Since this is standard x86 gear, you get to easily make this an 802.11b AP; but now w/ FreeBSD's ath driver (appropriated for l00n1x by madwifi) you can upgrade it to an a/b/g AP. Leet, sud

  • A Linux Access Point Howto (Score:3, Informative)

    by oob ( 131174 ) on Friday July 25, 2003 @06:12PM (#6536638)
    I've been busting my arse to put together a suitable Linux Wireless Access Point HOWTO for months.

    Finally it's in the process of getting published at the Linux Documentation Project.

    Slashdot links to some chucklehead's one pager.

    http://oob.freeshell.org/nzwireless/LWAP-HOWTO.htm l
    • Ugh... Why is it you only have mod points when the most interesting subject is something like 'Natalie Portman rulz' :-P

      Nice work, Simon...
    • Well, when I get rights to my article back, I'll put up a version that links to yours then.

      I don't see why you have to insult me. I wasn't trying for a complete and detailed guide; I was trying for an article to help people who needed a bit of a starting point, and when I started, there wasn't a really good HOWTO out there for it.

  • Here, for example [meshbook.com]? It's embedded Linux, you can buy it in a neat little box, or install it on vanilla hardware, and as well as doing the hotspot stuff you can use several together to build a mesh out of the box.

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