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Date:  Wed, 27 Oct 2004 22:53:35 -0400
Sender: os2-wireless_users-owner <os2-wireless_users-owner@2rosenthals.com>
Reply-To: os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com
From:  Lewis G Rosenthal <os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com>
To:  os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com
Subject: [OS2Wireless] OS/2 based Router/AP

On 10/27/2004 06:01 am, John Poltorak thus wrote :

>In the UK, all broadband runs over PPPoA, so I would have any protocol 
>support. But even more important there are no ADSL NICs with OS/2 drivers, 
>so the whole project is a non-starter. Some such NICs do have Linux 
>drivers available, but whether they could be ported to OS/2 is a different 
>matter.
>
>  
>
PPPoA? PPP over ATM? Wow, that's a new one on me. Here in the States, 
I've never seen such an animal. Here, xDSL typically comes as a bridge 
which connects to the phone line. The bridge then connects to either a 
NIC in a workstation (bad idea, usually; particularly if the workstation 
is running Wintendo and no firewall...) or to a broadband router. It was 
this piece of the puzzle I thought you were looking to solve, not bundle 
all into one box: bridge, router, firewall, NAT, AP. Surely, the biggest 
stumbling block I can see here (besides getting a driver to put the 
802.11a/b/g hardware into AP mode) is the complete lack of an ADSL NIC 
driver. Porting from Linux is exactly the daunting task we've discussed 
with regard to Wi-Fi drivers. It seems that the alternative - a wrapper 
for a Win32 driver, already written by the manufacturer - might be the 
better way to go insofar as the Wi-Fi driver(s) is/are concerned, but 
here, I doubt that would be an option. Are there, indeed, Win32 drivers 
for ADSL NICs? I've never seen one.

> 
>  
>
>>Concerning the access point, you would need a PCI (or even ISA ?) PCMCIA 
>>adapter card for a desktop PC with required drivers (direct drivers or 
>>socket drivers for the PCMCIA part of the adapter card). To my knowledge 
>>this will be rather difficult, but there may still be an existing 
>>solution available out there.
>>    
>>
>
>I didn't think it would be difficult to configure a PCI/PCMCIA adapter...
> 
>  
>
Several of these socket-in-a-slot devices are available and do indeed 
work with OS/2. However, as has been pointed out, it would probably be 
cheaper to get a PCI card with OS/2 driver support (there are a few; 
Artem, D-Link, LinkSys).

>Cost isn't the issue here - it's simply a pet project of mine.
>  
>
Hehehe... I said in my Wi-Fi classes that this stuff is like the return 
of vaccuum tubes. I haven't thought of so much fun with a soldering iron 
in years!!

>Are there any wireless cards which can be used with external antennas?
>
>  
>
As Mark mentioned, the IBM is one of several. There is a variant of the 
Cisco 340/350 which take external antennas, too. That said, a PCI card 
would come with an antenna on it (usually diversity), and the ability to 
install an external antenna with a more standardized connector.

-- 
Lewis
------------------------------------------------------------
Lewis G Rosenthal, CNA 
Rosenthal & Rosenthal 
Accountants / Network Consultants 
  New York / Northern Virginia           www.2rosenthals.com
Team OS/2  / NetWare Users International      www.novell.com
------------------------------------------------------------ 

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