I decided to draft a FAQ before the How-To. Please comment freely on the contents hereof before we make it "official." I want this to be as all-inclusive as possible.
I. GENERAL INFO
1. What's Wi-Fi?
Wi-Fi is a common term referring to the 802.11 protocols for
wireless networking, including but not limited to IEEE 802.11a,
802.11b, 802.11g. For more information on Wi-Fi, visit the Wi-Fi
Alliance's homepage at http://www.wi-fi.org.
2. What's WiMAX?
WiMAX refers to fixed wireless (point to point), or wireless
broadband (carrier-grade), or IEEE 802.16. For more information,
visit the WiMAX Forum at http://www.wimaxforum.org.
3. What's WEP?
WEP is an acronym which stands for Wired Equivalent Privacy. WEP
is the most basic form of encryption for Wi-Fi, and comes in two
basic strengths: 40-bit and 104-bit.
4. 40-bit and 104-bit? But I keep reading about 64-bit and 128-bit
WEP? Are these other strengths?
No, 40-bit WEP consists of s 40-bit key and a 24-bit header,
which, when added together, total 64 bits. Likewise, 104-bit WEP
consists of a 104-bit key and a 24-bit header, which total 128
bits of data.
5. (More stuff to come here, including WPA, TKIP, LEAP, AES, 802.11i,
etc.)
6. What's an AP?
An AP is a wireless Access Point. This is the base unit to which a
Wi-Fi client (workstation) connects and gains access to the wired
network.
7. Is a router an access point?
No, but many home-grade devices bundle an ethernet switch,
broadband router, and Wi-Fi AP in one unit, for example, LinkSys'
WRT54G.
8. (More hardware stuff here, including adapter types, etc.)
9. What's an SSID?
An SSID (Signal Set IDentifier) is a(n) unique alphanumeric string
which identifies a particular access point.
10. What is SSID broadcasting or beaconing?
This is when the access point is configured to advertise its SSID
over the air. Without beaconing, most clients will need to know
the SSID before connecting, in order for them to become associated
with the access point (Windows XP, however, is rather promiscuous,
and can usually sniff out the SSID of an access point, even when
it is not beaconing).
11. What is the sequence of events from the time the machine is booted
to the time one gains access to the wired network when connecting
via Wi-Fi?
Basically, this can be summarized by the following progression:
System begins to boot -> Wi-Fi card driver loads -> protocols are
bound to the card -> the card associates with an access point.
Assuming TCP/IP is the only protocol bound to the card, and the
card is configured for DHCP (automatic addressing, in
Windows-speak), the remaining step is to request DHCP information
from a DHCP server (which may or may not be the access point
device itself). If configured for static addressing, the address
will already be bound to the card, even if an association with an
access point cannot be established.
12. (More connection-related stuff goes here, including protocol
specifics.)
II. OS/2 SPECIFICS
1. Will my XYZ card work under OS/2?
That all depends upon whether you are able to obtain a driver for
the card. Not many manufacturers provide their own drivers for
OS/2, and even when you find a driver for one particular version
of a card, that does not guarantee forward (or backward)
compatibility with newer (or older) revisions of the same card. In
some instances, manufacturers may change the chipset in the card
without even changing the model or revision number of the unit!
The best advice is to ask on the OS/2 Wireless Users mailing list
(see links, below) if anyone is using a particular vintage of the
card, or check on the OS/2 Compatible Hardware List Wi-Fi pages
(http://www.os2warp.be), or perhaps ask the manufacturer directly
(either whether there is an OS/2 driver available or at least,
what the chipset is in the current cards).
2. How do I install the driver for my XYZ card under OS/2?
Assuming you are able to procure a reportedly working driver for
your card, it should install just like any other network card,
i.e., via MPTS (MultiProtocol Transport Services), formerly known
as LAPS (LAN Adapter and Protocol Services). The basic components
for a network driver are (at a minimum) the binary driver file
itself, and a similarly labeled .NIF (Network Information File).
As an example, the drivers for a (wired) Intel Pro/1000 card are
E1000.OS2 and E1000.NIF. Some drivers also come with separate .MSG
files. The best advice is to look in the README for the driver for
any special installation instructions. Typically, when installing
a new driver via MPTS, it (MPTS) will copy the driver file and NIF
to \IBMCOM\MACS and the MSG file (if any) to \IBMCOM.
Once the driver, NIF, and any ancillary files are copied to their
proper places, the card is simply added to the current
configuration in MPTS and the appropriate protocols are bound to
the card (usually, this will mean TCP/IP at a minimum).
3. Once the driver is installed, what other configuration needs to be
accomplished?
Well, once the driver is installed and the protocol is bound to
the card, the next thing would be (if using TCP/IP) to tell the
driver to obtain an IP address via DHCP or assign a static IP
address to it. Additionally, you will need to either specify the
SSID of your access point or use the generic "ANY" (without
quotes) as your SSID, which allows the card to associate to any
access point which is broadcasting it's SSID (beaconing). The
easiest way to do this is with the XWLAN widget (or its standalone
brother, WLANSTAT). Both of these may obtained from the XWLAN
homepage at Netlabs (http://www.netlabs.org). In addition, these
utilities allow for the creation of multiple profiles (public
hotspots, home and office WLANs, etc.), and make controlling your
wireless card quite a simple task.
4. (More OS/2 specifics here, including power management, switching
between interfaces, etc.)
Okay, that's food for thought. I haven't even proofed the above for spelling, grammar, etc., so if someone sees something out of place, please don't be shy. EVERYONE gets a writing credit for this one. Please make appropriate suggestions for gaps to be filled and clarifications on what I've just set down.
Thanks.
--
Lewis
------------------------------------------------------------
Lewis G Rosenthal, CNA Rosenthal & Rosenthal, LLC
Accountants / Network Consultants New York / Northern Virginia www.2rosenthals.com
eComStation Consultants www.ecomstation.com
Novell Users International www.novell.com/linux/truth
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