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Open Source Hotspots

Posted by michael on from the freebie dept.

darthcamaro writes "Not that long ago it was a serious pain to get an 802.11b card to work on a Linux machine. [ed note: We love you Jean Tourrilhes!] Wi-Fi Planet has a story where they do an overview of a wad of open source Wi-Fi projects. Did you realize that you don't even need to spend the dough for an Access Point? - standard Linux routing is enough to create your own access point, with a few other tools like Public IP's Zone CD or the Less Networks Hotspot server, you can freely create a hotspot and manage it all in minutes. I guess all this means that both Wi-Fi and open source are literally 'everywhere'."

26 of 206 comments (clear)

  1. Jean Tourrilhes by untermensch · · Score: 3, Informative

    [ed note: We love you Jean Tourrilhes!]

    As you may have known, or guessed from the context, Jean Tourrilhes is involved in all things Linux/Wifi. He has written a great deal of code and documentation on the subject, not to mention research papers.
    See more at his page.

    1. Re:Jean Tourrilhes by dukeluke · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Indeed - with the vast number of open-source projects out there - there is no legitimate reason why any business should have their WiFi at a security risk.

      The community is committed to quality - and most importantly, community. (yeah, yeah - play on words). We work together to make the 802.11x standards as bullet-proof and understood as possible.

    2. Re:Jean Tourrilhes by Minna+Kirai · · Score: 3, Insightful

      We work together to make the 802.11x standards as bullet-proof and understood as possible.

      There is no need to add security to 802.11x. To do so would be a waste of effort, or even counterproductive.

      Adequate networking security already exists for the application-layer that runs on top of whatever physical communication mechanism you have. (It has names like SSL, SSH, VPN, and PGP).

      If you extend Wifi to be "secure", then people will depend on it, and may ignore other measures that would protect them not only from radio sniffers, but also from eavesdroppers at the ISP or promiscuous PCs on the local ethernet.

  2. Its like.... magic hardware. by Kenja · · Score: 5, Insightful
    "Did you realize that you don't even need to spend the dough for an Access Point? - standard Linux routing is enough to create your own access point"

    Please explain how Linux software and transmit data via a wireless network without any hardware. While that sure would be a neat trick, I'm going to have to file this under the "you dont need to spend 90$ on a wireless acess point! Just spend 300$ on a computer, 50$ on a WAN card and install Linux for FREE!!!" brand of zealotry.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:Its like.... magic hardware. by RogueProtoKol · · Score: 5, Informative

      Not accusing you of not RTFA, you probably just overlooked this bit by accident;

      Guess what? You don't always necessarily need a fixed wireless router device to create your own WLAN. You can do it with two machines that both have Wi-Fi cards, and leave more expensive APs out of the picture.

      There are a number of different ways to accomplish this with freely available GNU/Linux based open source software. A typical Linux distribution will generally allow you set up a Linux box as a 'wired' router, so turning it into a wireless router isn't really that big a leap.

    2. Re:Its like.... magic hardware. by kunudo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Please explain how Linux software and transmit data via a wireless network without any hardware. While that sure would be a neat trick, I'm going to have to file this under the "you dont need to spend 90$ on a wireless acess point! Just spend 300$ on a computer, 50$ on a WAN card and install Linux for FREE!!!" brand of zealotry.

      I'd file it under 'get an old pc from work/take one you allready have, slap in a wifi card and voila, you have something you can play with', unlike the stupid prefab access points that just sit there... :)
      I'm sure you could make custom stuff that would extend it's functionality beyond the prefab stuff...

    3. Re:Its like.... magic hardware. by m1a1 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      I can't believe this got rated insightful.

      The author of the parent post should really sit down and think for a minute about what he's saying. Sure the post didn't point out that you need a wireless card in the computer you plan to have act as the access point, but come on. I think most people here could figure that much out.

      As far as spending $300 on a computer just to be the access point... BS. Nobody suggested such a thing. The point is that you probably already have a primary computer hardwired to some kind of WAN connection. Why not let it also be the access point. People who do this using windows aren't labelled Windows zealots. It's just being smart with your resources. If the computer is going to be on anyways it's cheaper (or at least it used to be cheaper) to grab a usb 802.11b antennae than it is to buy an access point.

      Bottom line is you are looking for a reason to call someone a zealot. Especially seeing as the post was rather non-zealful. There was no pushing you to use linux or use of phrases like "M$" and "Winbloze". The author simply pointed out that wireless is no longer a problem with Linux. Oh geez, he must be a zealot.

      Dumbass.

    4. Re:Its like.... magic hardware. by Micro$will · · Score: 3, Interesting

      It seems a lot of people are overlooking the fact that not all cards can be a true access point. I have an Admtek 8211 based card that will only work in Ad-Hoc or managed mode, and I'm sure there are others.

      If I set my laptop to the same channel as the card in my router it will work, I can run a DHCP server on the router to automate the network layer, but there is no way to set the PCI card in the router so that the laptop automagically picks up the channel and establishes a link.

    5. Re:Its like.... magic hardware. by Rasputin · · Score: 3, Informative

      Yes, like this: Linux Access Point

      IMHO, PersonalTelco rocks.

      --
      "I once preached peaceful coexistence with Windows. You may laugh at my expense - I deserve it." Be's Jean-Louis Gass
  3. What do you do, steal it? by tbase · · Score: 3, Funny

    Did you realize that you don't even need to spend the dough for an Access Point?

    They have Open Source hardware now?

    --

    666-607: 6th floor apartment of the beast
  4. Location? by drewzhrodague · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Did you know that you can find the locations of some of these projects, by searching for SSIDs? Also, if you know part of the MAC address (for the vendor), and the location, you can pair it down, and see maps of their coverage. Of course, this is all from wardriving data, uploaded by our users -- go out and wardrive!

    --
    Zhrodague.net - I do projects and stuff too.
  5. Hmmmm by Richard_at_work · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Did you realize that you don't even need to spend the dough for an Access Point?

    Really? Who is giving away mini-itx systems these days then? My $40 Netgear access point is silent and very small and has all the features I want, Id like to see someone put together a linux based wifi router for that sort of money. The whole point of an access point is that its small and discreat enough to be wall mounted, ceiling mounted, crawl space mounted or whatever. Yes this statement may be true if you are looking to reuse old PC hardware, but then you loose much of the point of an AP.

    1. Re:Hmmmm by tji · · Score: 5, Informative

      My $40 Netgear access point is silent and very small and has all the features I want, Id like to see someone put together a linux based wifi router for that sort of money

      Actually, there are some Linux based AP's for not much more than that. I'm not talking about x86 boxes, with a Wifi card and software to act as an AP. There are cheap hardware AP's that use Linux, and can be extended & modified.

      The one I use is the Linksys WRT54G. It's an 802.11G AP, running Linux, and there are several open projects creating firmware updates with nice feature extensions. At the minimum, it allows you to ssh into the box and modify the firewall settings to do exactly what you want.. which is a bit leap over closed AP's.

      Some good info on mods for this AP are here: http://www.seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/LinksysWr t54g

  6. Am I terminologically challenged? by gosand · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Did you realize that you don't even need to spend the dough for an Access Point? - standard Linux routing is enough to create your own access point, with a few other tools like Public IP's Zone CD or the Less Networks Hotspot server, you can freely create a hotspot and manage it all in minutes.

    So what is the difference between an Access Point and an access point? This says I don't need one, all I need is Public IP's Zone CD. But one of the requirements of that is an access point.

    I guess in short - huh?

    --

    My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.

  7. My homebrew router by j0hndoe · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've had an iPaq 3650 in a dual-pcmcia sleeve, running handhelds.org Linux as my wireless router for several years. I've never had to reboot it, either. It's silent, fits on my windowsill, and has a built-in UPS. :)

  8. fun with orinoco by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Not that long ago it was a serious pain to get an 802.11b card to work on a Linux machine.

    Don't worry. If you miss the pain of the good ol' days, try getting monitor mode working properly with an Orinoco card on a 2.6.x kernel. Fun times. For some reason the owners of the orinoco driver will not include monitor mode by default, and you have to patch it in. Super annoying.

  9. Kind of like the apple airport? by ack154 · · Score: 3, Informative

    Did you realize that you don't even need to spend the dough for an Access Point?

    So is this like when you can share the Airport on an Apple without having an actual base station? For example, I can just open up my iBook and create an access point with my airport card (presumably to share the ethernet connection, or dialup, if you dare).

  10. Nice, but about those 802.11a/b/g cards... by ewanrg · · Score: 4, Interesting

    It's nice to see that Linux is helping some folks out with their connectivity issues. However, the article doesn't address the number one problem I've seen on most Linux user forums - which is how to get the dang card recognized and configured in the first place.

    Myself, I have a Linksys WUSB11 v 2.8 wireless device. Linksys, the consumer arm of Cisco, is not exactly a small player. But to get my card to work I have to go to the Berlios.de site, do a CVS checkout (if I want 2.6 kernel support), and make sure I have kernel source around to build the driver.

    Someone who can simplify THAT is going to make a lot more headway with the average user.

    My .02 worth...

    1. Re:Nice, but about those 802.11a/b/g cards... by eln · · Score: 3, Informative

      Get anything with a Prism chipset, and you're usually golden. The hostap stuff works with Prism 2/2.5/3, and the prism54 stuff (for g) works with Prism GT. Anything advertising Intersil chipsets are generally Prism. I've had good success with Orinoco stuff, but anyone who licenses Intersil's chipset will work, as I've tried some of the off-brand stuff too with good success.

      Prism-based cards are plentiful and cheap, and the drivers, although initially flaky, have really improved over the last couple of months.

      Try it, you'll like it. You know you want to.

  11. Device drivers have a loong way to go. by eechuah · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Hi,

    I'll probably get modded to oblivion for this, but the support of wifi for linux is dismal. Many cards don't work, and those that work, many features don't work (like WEP!!). This is obviously no fault of the community, since they're doing their best to reverse engineer hardware, but asking people to create AP's using Linux when most cards don't even FUNCTION is a little weird.

    (I know what I'm talking about. I've bought 2 wifi cards for my Mythtv box, and both only work partially, even though they're reported as "working" by the HW compatibility list).

  12. Within minutes? Is that a good thing? by 192939495969798999 · · Score: 3, Funny

    So within minutes, my stuff can be available over wireless... or, within minutes, my cable modem can be saturated with pringles cans from miles(?) away! Wheee! That sounds like a plan. Hey, all I need is that 92 TB router, and then I just uncap my cable modem and watch as time warner's bw usage goes to the moon.

    --
    stuff |
  13. Yup by tomhung · · Score: 4, Funny
    Did you realize that you don't even need to spend the dough for an Access Point?

    Duh, I've been leaching off my neighbors for years.

  14. Attention "Duh! A computer costs $300!" posters.. by pjkundert · · Score: 4, Informative

    Remember...

    Most poeple running Linux already have a computer...

    What they don't have is a Wi-Fi hotspot...

    You can pick up an used Prism 2.5 802.11b card (such as a Dlink DWL-520) for $30 (probably less, before this story hit!). That's it! You've got a wireless access point. Done. No extra hardware to "hide", not more crap to plug in. Just compile in the kernel "hostap" patches, and away you go!

    Since you're running a firewall already (you know about Shorewall, right?), it is reasonably easy to set up a firewalled NAT subnet to contain your wireless LAN traffic. Don't bother with silly WEP, use ssh or ipsec for secure access, or just route access from unsecurable Windows boxes directly out to the open internet (use MAC filtering, if you feel vulnerable to losers driving by using your open AP to surf for porn...).

    --
    -- -pjk Perry Kundert perry@kundert.ca http://kundert.2y.net
  15. Re:what about... by Alan+Hicks · · Score: 3, Informative

    Seriously, nocat is a great piece of work. I had the opportunity to test nocat with some SMC WAPs recently and I was impressed. The setup was a little difficult (had trouble getting the latest stable to work, nightly opporated fine however), but once it was up and running I had no trouble accomplishing exactly what I wanted.

    The company I was working for was trying to install wifi access in downtown Macon GA. We got beat to the punch by Cox Communications (who has a many time inferiour setup, but I won't go into that). NoCat basically lets you firewall off all ip traffic until a user opens their web browser. Upon doing that, their session is captured by nocat and redirected to an https page where they have the option of signing in, or using the system anonymously.

    The benefits of this are incredible. Coffee shops can use it to broadcast out a TOS that one must agree to before using their wifi, large scale networks can offer web page advertising that everyone must go through sooner or later, and universites can require students to sign in to use the free service. It's a great way to offer 'contractual' service to users without having to distribute wifi keys everywhere.

    --
    Slackware, what else when it must be secure, stable, and easy?
  16. Re:Attention "Duh! A computer costs $300!" posters by rjstanford · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Remember...

    Most poeple running Linux already have a computer...

    What they don't have is a Wi-Fi hotspot...

    Hmm. Yes, but an awful lot of people running Linux have a, singular, computer. And they'd kind of like to use it in different places without running wires everywhere. IE: the normal use of a wireless internet connection.

    This is only useful as you point out if they have two computers, one of which they want to leave right where its it. Oh, and they're willing to pay about the same amount of money to get a wireless card as you can pay for a decent WAP. Which is fine, if you get your jollies hacking on your WAP ... personally, that falls into the "Just make it work" category for me - there are more interesting things that I can do with my time, even while coding.

    --
    You're special forces then? That's great! I just love your olympics!
  17. MeshAP by locustworld.com by agent · · Score: 3, Informative

    Too bad he did not mention the MeshAP project by locustworld.com