You could consider using Voyage Linux [0].
It's a Debian derivative distro for embedded (x86) hardware (think PC Engines ALIX, Soekris boards, and more).
Voyage includes hostapd and boiler plate configs (for network interfaces, hostapd, etc).
There isn't a webui with Voyage, but is one necessary? It could be argued that once a DIY router is set up the configuration will not change.
And there's IPFire [1] which offers an embedded Linux system with a webui.
IPFire is for x86 hardware, but they have images for ARMv5 hardware.
If for whatever reason the OP looks at buying new hardware rather than re-purposing the netbook, it would be wise to stick with a hardware platform that has more than one OS option. Example: I have far more software/distro options running x86-based PC Engines ALIX hardware!
And my PC Engines hardware uses ~5W so it's on par with that of consumer grade routers (per my Kill-A-Watt tests) in terms of power consumption.
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You could consider using Voyage Linux [0].
It's a Debian derivative distro for embedded (x86) hardware (think PC Engines ALIX, Soekris boards, and more).
Voyage includes hostapd and boiler plate configs (for network interfaces, hostapd, etc).
There isn't a webui with Voyage, but is one necessary? It could be argued that once a DIY router is set up the configuration will not change.
And there's IPFire [1] which offers an embedded Linux system with a webui.
IPFire is for x86 hardware, but they have images for ARMv5 hardware.
If for whatever reason the OP looks at buying new hardware rather than re-purposing the netbook, it would be wise to stick with a hardware platform that has more than one OS option. Example: I have far more software/distro options running x86-based PC Engines ALIX hardware!
And my PC Engines hardware uses ~5W so it's on par with that of consumer grade routers (per my Kill-A-Watt tests) in terms of power consumption.
[0] http://linux.voyage.hk/features
[1] http://www.ipfire.org/features