This is the beginnings of a FrequentlyAskedQuestions list for the IrcChannel (#wireless on the Open Projects Network).
Wireless Network Card Questions
Will my D-link DWL-650+, 3Com USR2210 (or other Ti chipset 22 Mbps hardware) work in Linux or *BSD?
- No. They use a currently unsupported Ti chipset. Please tell D-link that Linux support would be greatly appreciated.
What is the best card?
This is a highly subjective question. In my opinion the best all around wireless card is a Lucent/Orinoco Silver or a Gold card. They have good OS support, external antenna jacks, and have one of the highest recive sensitivity on the market. If you are looking to make a HostAp machine, you might want to look into the Zcomax Prism2Card or the [http://www.netgate.com/NL2511.html Senao 200mW cards].
I'd like to try doing ___________ with 802.11b. Will it work?
- Dunno, maybe. Wireless networking depends on so many different factors that it's impossible to say for sure. Try it and let us know.
Do 802.11a cards work under Linux or *BSD?
- Nope. As with other unsupported chipsets, contact the manufacturer, then return the hardware.
I'm trying to use my ________ (prism2 chipset card) under linux, and I can't figure out wlan-ng, help!
You might want to try using HostAp ( http://hostap.epitest.fi/ ), it is a driver that supports ad-hoc, infastructure and master modes, and uses the linux wireless extensions, so you can configure it with iwconfig, unlike wlan-ng.
What driver should I use for Linux?
For lucent/orinoco cards, orinoco_cs, for Prism2/2.5/3 HostAp is strongly suggested, for cisco/aironet cards, airo_cs.
Connecting to Networks
How do I connect to a wireless network?
This is different in each operating system, see AssociationWithNetworks and find your operating system's instructions.
Network Configuration help
What commands do I need to use?
The NetworkCommands page lists commands used to configure IP address information once you have your radio associated with the access point.
How do I setup my network to automatically get an IP address?
- Many service providers use DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) to assign Network Addresses. Some may
use PPPoE which will be covered in more detail later.
Linux
- You'll need dhcpc. You probably have it.
FreeBSD/OpenBSD
- Many of the BSD's have dhclient. To run dhclient manually use:
dhclient wi0 (where wi0 is the name of your network card)
FreeBSD users can have dhclient run automagically at bootup by adding the line
ifconfig_wi0="dhcp"
to /etc/rc.conf
More entries and help would be much appreciated. --ForrestEnglish