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Date:  Wed, 10 Dec 2003 17:00:31 -0500
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 Access Point

John -

On 12/10/2003 09:45 am, John Poltorak thus wrote :

>On Wed, Dec 10, 2003 at 09:10:42AM -0500, Lewis G Rosenthal wrote:
>  
>
>>All traffic must pass through the AP. There is no direct 
>>station-to-station traffic. 
>>    
>>
>
>Of course there is!
>
>  
>
Not in infrastructire mode. BSS (Basic Service Set) defines the use of 
an AP to pass station-to-station traffic. in fact, the Sputnik managed 
access points which we are now deploying in hotspots (www.sputnik.com) 
specifically preclude station-to-station transport through the AP for 
security reasons (e.g., if I get an IP of 192.168.1.10, and you get an 
IP of 192.168.1.11, we cannot ping one another). BSS makes each node 
associate with an AP. No association = no transport, even if there is 
signal.

>I got a couple of wireless cards about two years ago, before I had an AP, 
>and managed to use them in a TCP/IP network without any trouble once I 
>figured out that such a thing as AdHoc mode existed.
>  
>
Because they automatically fell back to Ad-hoc mode with no BSS in 
place. This behavior is normal. However, if an AP were present, and 
denied them association, I doubt that they would communicate.

>>Also, it is possible to have an AP with no 
>>IP address in it. Early LinkSys units were like this; they configured 
>>either through SNMP or USB cable connected to a 'doze box.
>>
>>In answer to your initial question, I would imagine that it is possible 
>>to build an OS/2-based AP. It would be quite an undertaking, though!
>>    
>>
>
>Well, it's basically an absence of drivers. I don't think any software 
>exists which would enable an OS/2 system to work in Infrastruture mode, 
>but I would have thought it could simply be used as a router to the 
>Internet, if only there were OS/2 drivers for an ADSL NIC.
> 
>  
>
The lack of drivers isn;t the entire issue, I don't think. Essentially, 
in order to function as an AP, the driver needs to be set into 
promiscuous mode. If Jens' drivers don't do this, implementing it 
shouldn't be a big deal, as this is fairly well documented. Once that's 
out of the way, I would guess that my initial knee-jerk response was 
overly pessimistic. You're right about the routing issue, though an AP - 
by definition - doesn't route; it bridges. This, however, shouldn't be 
difficult to do.

Also, there's no such thing as an ADSL NIC, AFAIK. You would use a NIC 
to connect to an ADSL bridge, which would be considered part of the 
customer premise equipment. IOW, the OS/2 box would have two NICs: one 
wired and one 802.11. The 802.11 would have to be put into promiscuous 
mode, and there would need to be some facility for allowing it to beacon 
(announce its SSID), I would imagine (it can be done without beaconing, 
but every client would have to have the SSID in order to associate). 
security would be another consideration (WEP, WPA, 802.11i, EAP, etc.).

>>On 12/10/2003 08:52 am, John Poltorak thus wrote :
>>
>>    
>>
>>>On Tue, Dec 09, 2003 at 01:19:43PM -0600, Sam Lewis wrote:
>>> 
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>>John Poltorak wrote:
>>>>
>>>>   
>>>>
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>>>Is it possible to create an OS/2 Access Point?
>>>>>
>>>>>I see that IBM have produced instructions for building a wireless access 
>>>>>point on Linux. Wondered how much of it would apply to OS/2...
>>>>>
>>>>>Also can someone explain the difference between ad-hoc mode and the other 
>>>>>one (can't remember the name) ?
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>     
>>>>>
>>>>>          
>>>>>
>>>>Ad-Hoc is peer to peer communication between two computers with Wireless 
>>>>NIC's.  No access point is needed.
>>>>
>>>>Infrastructure mode is used when you have an access point which can be 
>>>>connected to your wired network.  An access point is like a wireless Hub.
>>>>   
>>>>
>>>>        
>>>>
>>>So, in infrasture mode, if you had an AP on 192.168.0.1 and two computers 
>>>on 192.168.0.2 and 192.168.0.3, could you contact .3 directly from .2 or 
>>>would traffic have to be routed via .1?
>>>
>>>Presumably ad-hoc mode would allow direct access...
>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>>>Sam
>>>>   
>>>>
>>>>        
>>>>
>>> 
>>>
>>>      
>>>
>>-- 
>>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
>>------------------------------------------------------------ 
>>This OS/2 system (Apollo) uptime is 0 days 12:16 hours and 24 seconds
>>    
>>
>
>
>  
>

-- 
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
------------------------------------------------------------ 
This OS/2 system (Apollo) uptime is 0 days 05:38 hours and 29 seconds

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