[SWLUG] WiFi & Linux

[Justin Mitchell]

On Fri, 2007-05-18 at 00:02 +0100, Phillip Evans wrote:
> Hi All,
> 
> I am going wifi in the not too distant future and would appreciate any 
> comments on setting this up with Linux. I am currently using Mandriva 
> 2007 with no immediate intentions to change.
> 
> I have set up several wifi networks for friends using windoze which has 
> not been a major problem but how easy is this with Linux ? Do I need to 
> use ndiswrapper and how easy (difficult ?) is this to setup & configure 
> ? I am intending to use routers and wireless adaptors from either 
> Netgear or Belkin and would appreciate any comments on what is the best 
> kit to use, any obvious banana skins to avoid etc.

if your going to fit adaptor cards / usb to machines directly then
afaics the only commonly found modern devices with native support are
ralink and aetheros
http://www.ralinktech.com/ralink/Home/Support/Linux.html
http://madwifi.org/

it can be very hard to know what chipset is on a card before you buy it,
the manufacturers never seem keen to tell you, and some even change the
chipset without changing the model number, making it real guesswork.

ive pretty much given up putting cards in individual machines and just
use access points and bridges to create the network, you then dont have
to worry about drivers as its just ethernet.