[tlug] WiFi considerations

[Godwin Stewart <gstewart@example.com>]

WiFi is something I've always avoided until now, but I'm beginning to
warm to the idea as long as sufficient progress has been made in
security anc Linux compatibility.

I've googled for the queries I'm about to mention here but found mostly
conflicting information, so I'd rather ask here where I'm more likely
to get clearer feedback than from manufacturers or - gasp - from other
less technical groups.

Firstly, the main reason I've not gone wireless until now is for
security reasons. Last time I looked into this, the only encryption
available in *nix was WEP, which is crackable in minutes. Given that
some of the people I work for are kinda like 800lb gorillas in their
lines of work, I want to ensure reasonable system security rather than
ending up their chew-toy. Also, I don't want some war-driver using my
Internet connection to spew out thousands of pieces of spam... So, are
there Linux-based tools that work with WPA or WPA2?

Secondly, the radio frequencies. From what I've read, WiFi operates in
the 2.4GHz range. As does the Philips SLV3100 A/V transmitter I use
here. And Bluetooth... Talk about RF pollution. As things are, I need
to turn of the TV transmitter if I want to use the bluetooth earpiece
with my cellphone. A WiFi network also occupying the same frequency
range isn't going to help. However, I've seen that some WiFi hardware
can operate in the 5GHz range. Has anyone here had to do that? If so,
was it easy to switch things over or did it require using Windows to
change that particular setting?

Thirdly, the wireless access point. This ascii-art represents my (wired)
network as it stands now:
                                  ------------
                                  |Workst'n 1|
                                  -----+------
                                       |
                                       |
 --------    eth1---------eth0     ----+-----      ----------
 | ADSL +------+ NAT/FW PC +-------+ Switch +------+ Laptop |
 --------      -------------       ----+-----      ----------
                                       |
                                       |
                                  -----+------
                                  |Workst'n 2|
                                  ------------

The idea is to be able to disconnect the laptop from the ethernet
switch, shove a PCMCIA WiFi adapter in it and take it upstairs. Am I
right in assuming that it's simply a case of stuffing one end of a CAT5
in the WAP and the other in my ethernet switch for the wireless segment
of the network to be grafted onto the rest of the LAN, or will it
require installing a WiFi NIC in the NAT/FW PC and adjusting routing
tables accordingly? IOW, should the network look like this afterwards:

                                  ------------
                                  |Workst'n 1|
                                  -----+------
                                       |
                                       |
 --------    eth1---------eth0     ----+-----      ---------
 | ADSL +------+ NAT/FW PC +-------+ Switch +------+  WAP  |
 --------      -------------       ----+-----      ---------
                                       |               .
                                       |
                                  -----+------         .
                                  |Workst'n 2|
                                  ------------         .

                                                       .
                                  --------
                                  |laptop|  -  -  -  - 
                                  --------


...or more like this?:
                                  ------------
                                  |Workst'n 1|
                                  -----+------
                                       |
                                       |
 --------    eth1---------eth0     ----+-----
 | ADSL +------+ NAT/FW PC +-------+ Switch |
 --------      -------------       ----+-----
                     .                 |
                     .                 |
                   -----          -----+------
                   |WAP|          |Workst'n 2|
                   -----          ------------
                     .
                     .
                  --------
                  |laptop|
                  --------


Fourthly, Linux hardware compatibility. How good is it nowadays? I have
memories of there being open source drivers that worked partially for
some chips, or ndiswrapper + windows drivers that worked partially for
others. Have things improved?

-- 
G. Stewart - gstewart@example.com

Artificial intelligence is nothing compared to the power of human
idiocy.

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