Wireless on Linux, Part 1 – Guide
Linux administrators can enjoy the same fun and satisfaction when connecting clients without having to rewire as well. Carla Schroder provides a tutorial on how to do just that.
For network administrators who are constantly dealing with new clients, the process of connecting them is a lot less stressful when they use cables that are color-coded and labeled. This makes it easy to know which cable goes where, and it’s satisfying to crimp them correctly. For some geeky network administrators, the only thing that feels better is gripping the cables tightly in their hands. ..
In the last millennium, CAT5 cables were like those in a video game. They were square, even, and they had a wireless Ethernet connection that worked flawlessly. Today we’re going to take a look at which brands and devices work on Linux; next week, we’ll dive into the deep and mysterious world of chipsets, configurations, and troubleshooting.
Security and drivers, or lack of them
Wireless has a glaring pitfall: security. And then there’s the usual Linux trap – finding compatible hardware. Let’s take a moment to point fingers of shameful disapproval at hardware vendors that don’t provide Linux drivers for their products. Don’t joke to me about not being interested enough; there is certainly a substantial market for Linux – and Unix / BSD / Mac OS X -. How do vendors think all those millions of Linux machines are networked together? Magic? And Unix was the great networking operating system decades before Windows was born.
Volunteers write Linux device drivers, often without the cooperation of hardware manufacturers. These manufacturers apparently don’t want to take advantage of this pool of free work. ..
There are a few traps that can befall drivers, but they are all easily avoidable with the right hardware. First, make sure your car has a working infotainment system. Second, make sure your car has a good driver’s seat and that you have enough room to stretch out. Third, be aware of the blind spots in your car and take steps to avoid them. Finally, always use caution when driving in unfamiliar areas or on roads that are not well-known.
Don’t be shy about returning products that don’t work well. The world of wireless chipsets is a chaotic hodgepodge – a single model line can have any number of different chipsets. Firmware revisions are apparently randomly assigned to chipsets, which causes variations in the features and performance. Since most vendors place the responsibility for determining Linux compatibility on the customer and offer little or no assistance, it’s difficult for them; keep returning products until they work well.
wireless protocols
There are currently three wireless protocols available: 802.11b, 802.11a, and 802.11g. Some devices come with multimode support, but only one of these protocols is compatible with any of the others – 802.11g is compatible with 802.11b. ..
802.11b is rated as the slowest, with a theoretical rate of 11 megabits per second. However, 802.11a and 802.11g are both rated as being more powerful, with a theoretical rate of 5 and 10 megabits per second, respectively. If you’re looking for the best supported protocol for your needs, I would recommend 802.11b over either of the other two options.
The average person’s range of motion is limited in up to 150 feet indoors. To increase your range, try begging for help from someone who can extend your reach.
A rifle range is rated at 75 feet indoors. Outdoor ranges for all three are considerably longer, depending on the terrain. A good signal with a clear line of sight can travel a few kilometers.
The 2.4 GHz band is a crowded spectrum that is used by wireless phones and microwaves. This means that you can’t use it to send or receive messages over the internet, as it’s not as well-suited for this purpose.
A 5GHz band is where there is less interference, making it a great place to use your phone.
The theoretical maximum speed that a broadband connection can provide is 54 Mbps. However, b is rated at 11 megabits per second, which means that a broadband connection with this speed could theoretically provide you with up to 11 Mbps of data throughput.
The devices are the most expensive, at least.
The theoretical maximum speeds you can achieve with a wired network are about 100 Mbps. However, in practice, real-world speeds will be around half that, at around 50 Mbps. This is because there is a certain amount of TCP overhead, just like with wired networks, plus interference from walls and other things, and greater distance is always equal to minus Speed.
Don’t be alarmed when your new wireless connection only delivers speeds of 5-7 Mbps (802.11b) or 20-30 Mbps (802.11g / a). This is the way it is; more users means slower performance.
Adding Wireless to Wired Easily and Cheaply
But in practice, adding a wireless node to a wired Ethernet can be more complicated than it seems. First, you need to install and configure an access point somewhere on the LAN. Then you need to install and configure a wireless NIC on the client machine. Finally, you need to add the access point and NIC to the network.
Linux distributions such as Red Hat 9, Mandrake 9, Lindows 4 and SuSE 8.1 have drivers built in that automatically recognize and install wireless network cards. All you need to do is configure the network settings. Lindows has a handy page listing all the wireless NICs that work with it, as well as some that don’t; this list should apply to any Linux distribution. ..
You don’t need a lot of fancy software to get your wireless network up and running. Just buy a Linksys WAP11 for about $90 and a Linksys WMP11 (for desktops) or a WPC11 (for notebooks) for about $60. Plug them in, configure them, and you’re done.
There are many brands of routers that work well and are also reasonably priced. I mention Linksys simply because that’s what I’m most familiar with. All the usual suspects – D-Link, NetGear, SMC – have 802.11b Linux-compatible devices, and any 802.11b WAP that uses browser-based configuration should work with Linux. ..
Wireless base stations come in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of features. 802.11g wireless access points work with 802.11g and 802.11b NICs, while triple-mode wireless access points support both 802.11b and 802.11g signals as well as 802.11a signals. Additionally, triple-mode NICs are becoming more common, allowing for better compatibility between different wireless devices. ..
Final note
Wireless on Linux, Part 1: A Beginner’s Guide to Setting Up a Wireless Network If you’re looking to set up a wireless network on your Linux computer, this beginner’s guide will help you get started. In this first part, we’ll cover the basics of wireless networking and how to configure your computer for wireless networking. We’ll also discuss some tips for choosing the right wireless card and setting up your network settings. ..
