Wireless Linux Notebook - HOWTO needed

[Rick Stevens]

chuck slate wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> I'm very interested in getting my RH 9 notebook up and running on my
> internal wireless network.
> 
> Can anybody point me to a good howto to get the process started?

You first need to know what kind of wireless chip your machine has in
it.  Generally, Linux will find it if it knows what chip it is.  Use
the command:

	lspci

and scan its output for information on your built-in chips.  If you're
using a PCMCIA card, check the docs to see if it has Linux support
or check this website:

	http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/

to see if there are drivers for your card.

There is support for several cards (orinoco, prism, intersil, others) in
the system, or you can use "ndiswrapper"
(http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net), which will allow you to use a
Windows 98/XP/NT/2K driver in Linux.  I use that for my Broadcom 802.11g
chip in my Fujitsu laptop under FC1.

> Can anybody recommend a good combination of NIC and Router?

Routers are routers.  The primary thing to recommend one over the
other is ease of configuration and whether it has dual radios (see
below).

For single radio units, I find D-Link and Linksys more or less equal
from an ease-of-configuration view.  I don't have a lot of experience
with SMCs, although people I trust swear by them.

The most important (and difficult) thing is the wireless card or
built-in chip in your laptop.  Get that working and the thing should
work on all wireless networks.

> Can anybody confirm which versions of 802.11 are currently supported?

That's a function of the chipset, not the driver.  If you have an
802.11a chip, you'll work on 802.11a networks.  802.11b and g are
compatible, meaning that b or g chips will work on b or g networks.

Keep in mind, however, that MOST 802.11g networks will only run at
54Mbps if ALL nodes are "g"s.  A single "b" node will bring those
networks down to 11Mbps on the wireless side.  This is due to the
fact that signals are broadcast and the "b" node won't be able to
understand the 54Mbps signal and will miss the traffic.

Some routers have dual transceivers, however, and will handle "g"
traffic with one radio and "b" traffic with another, so the network
won't slow down with "b" nodes involved.  If you're going to buy a
wireless router and you can afford it, try to get one with dual
radios.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
- Rick Stevens, Senior Systems Engineer     rstevens at vitalstream.com -
- VitalStream, Inc.                       http://www.vitalstream.com -
-                                                                    -
-      A day for firm decisions!!!   Well, then again, maybe not!    -
----------------------------------------------------------------------