[Nottingham] Wireless network cards

[Stephen Hodgson]

Hi Edam.

Your best bet for an easy-to-use and versatile Linux-compatible wireless 
card is to look for one based on the Prism chipset.  The 2.6.5 kernel 
now includes the Prism54 drivers [www.prism54.org] which makes using 
wireless devices based on this chipset incredibly straightforward (and 
the drivers are also just as useful with older kernels).  The downside 
to the Prism chipset is that it seems to be quite rare and not many 
wireless networking devices sold in Europe seem to be based on it - and 
an additional problem is that a lot of wireless networking equipment 
manufacturers don't publish much information about their devices and it 
can sometimes be difficult to know what chipset a particular product is 
based on - particularly at a computer fair (but do take a look at the 
Prism54 website for a list of compatible devices).

Alternatively, you might like to take a look at NdisWrapper 
[ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net] which offers Linux support for wireless 
networking equipment where only Windows binary drivers currently exist. 
  NdisWrapper provides a way to make use of Windows drivers for wireless 
cards under Linux.

There's also good support for Atheros-based wireless devices provided 
through the MADWiFi drivers [sourceforge.net/projects/madwifi/] but 
after just having taken a look at MADWiFi's SourceForge project website 
it appears that the drivers have disappeared - perhaps they just have a 
new webpage.

If you're looking to get your wireless connection 'round and the corner 
and down the street' the feasability will all depend on the sort of 
conditions you're broadcasting in - for example, I imagine a few houses 
in the street coated with lead paint may put a dampner on your efforts 
whereas a nice open street with no existing wireless networks, no mobile 
phone masts and no mobile phone users would make your task easier. 
Broacasting 100-150m is not unrealistic but you should carefully 
consider your choice of wireless networking devices - a lot of 
PCMCIA/CardBus laptop cards have built-in antennae which, whilst 
unobtrusive, often don't seem to be very good at sending data.  With 
some determination and the right equipment you probably won't have any 
problems setting up a wireless network stretching 100-150m down a street 
but the key will be to use good antennae at both ends and - if you're 
really dedicated - you could look into the possibility of mounting 
specially-designed outdoor antennae on the houses at both ends (subject 
to planning regulations and broadcast power restrictions) for anywhere 
from £20-100.

If you are trying to boost the range of your wireless network you might 
want to be extra security-conscious when you're planning your set-up. 
As far as I'm aware WPA has not been implemented for any of the Linux 
wireless drivers yet but when it is I'm confident you'll want to look 
into it but for now 128-bit WEP (along with other sensible measures such 
as not broadcasting your SSID) will probably serve as a reasonable 
deterrent to any would-be wardrivers (or nosy neighbours) in your area.

Stephen Hodgson