Wireless networking question

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2004-03-14 07:45am

Okay anyone here that have expirience with wireless networking.

I am going to put up a wireless network at my new crib when I move in.

I need some questions answered on what I should buy.

I want to connect one desktop, a laptop and a x-box to the network.

The Internet connection will be some sort of xDsl.

Any suggestion on brands and stuff to avoid, encryption is a must.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-03-14 04:15pm

You'll probably want 802.11g with WPA support, since that form of encryption is much stronger than the old WEP. It uses AES or a rotating RC4 key to do its magic.

Cisco gear is probably the best, but it is very expensive. They announced a Windows-only 802.11a/b/g card, but it hasn't been released yet, AFAIK.

I've had bad experiences with Linksys WLAN equipment. However, they have some very easy-to-use bridges for game consoles which probably are cheaper than anyone else's. Apple's access point is actually quite decent and there are third-party tools for administration. Proxim makes good equipment. Their Orinoco series is considered second only to Cisco's Aironet line, and is much, much cheaper.

EDIT: Shit, made a mistake switching WEP/WPA.

Spyder · Post by **Spyder** » 2004-03-15 04:00pm

You'll need, one 802.11g access point,
one 10/100 network hub (a 4 port should do the trick although you might want to get a bigger one for any future mini lan parties you want to hold.)

Then two wireless adaptors, either USB, PCI or PCMCIA. I say two because IIRC the xbox only outputs through it's ethernet port which means it'll need to be cat6'd to the hub, unless you want to fork out for a second access point.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-03-15 04:08pm

Spyder wrote:You'll need, one 802.11g access point

Depends on the size and composition of the house. Some places have absurdly thick walls that do a handy job of blocking WLAN signals.

one 10/100 network hub (a 4 port should do the trick although you might want to get a bigger one for any future mini lan parties you want to hold.)

Some access points have an integrated 4-port hub or switch, but switches are preferred.

Then two wireless adaptors, either USB, PCI or PCMCIA. I say two because IIRC the xbox only outputs through it's ethernet port which means it'll need to be cat6'd to the hub, unless you want to fork out for a second access point.

You can use a bridge to connect the XBox to a WLAN. CardBus is preferred over PCMCIA/PC Card for laptops.

Spyder · Post by **Spyder** » 2004-03-15 05:29pm

phongn wrote:
Spyder wrote:You'll need, one 802.11g access point
Depends on the size and composition of the house. Some places have absurdly thick walls that do a handy job of blocking WLAN signals.

That's a point, if that's the case then WLAN may not be worth the effort.

one 10/100 network hub (a 4 port should do the trick although you might want to get a bigger one for any future mini lan parties you want to hold.)
Some access points have an integrated 4-port hub or switch, but switches are preferred.

Then two wireless adaptors, either USB, PCI or PCMCIA. I say two because IIRC the xbox only outputs through it's ethernet port which means it'll need to be cat6'd to the hub, unless you want to fork out for a second access point.
You can use a bridge to connect the XBox to a WLAN. CardBus is preferred over PCMCIA/PC Card for laptops.

Oh do'h, I was thinking: access points work as bridges as use an access point, the correct logical thought pattern would have been 'bridges work as bridges so use a bridge'.

Vertigo1 · Post by **Vertigo1** » 2004-03-16 05:55pm

Just a sidenote, if you go wireless, be sure to turn off SSID Broadcast and lock it down to the MAC addresses of the NICs on your network.

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2004-03-16 06:15pm

Vertigo1 wrote:Just a sidenote, if you go wireless, be sure to turn off SSID Broadcast and lock it down to the MAC addresses of the NICs on your network.

Will do that

Found a random number generator that will be great to generate the 60 character key required for 256bit wep encryption.

Also just for kicks the dhcp will be active but assigning addresses in a non routed scope without a any of my computers on it.

Static ip in the 172.16.x.x range is unexpected

Thanx for the tip, I think I'll get d-links stuff it's much cheaper than 3com or the Proxim. Hopefully I can get the job to pick up the tab as taetching tool or something.

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-03-16 07:37pm

Faram wrote:Found a random number generator that will be great to generate the 60 character key required for 256bit wep encryption.

WEP or WPA? I messed up at first -- but it doesn't matter how long the WEP cipher length is because there is a weakness pertaining to the first 27 bits. Five hours of data collection is sufficient to break it.

Thanx for the tip, I think I'll get d-links stuff it's much cheaper than 3com or the Proxim. Hopefully I can get the job to pick up the tab as taetching tool or something.

D-Link isn't too bad, though make sure it supports WPA!.

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2004-03-17 02:01am

phongn wrote:
Faram wrote:Found a random number generator that will be great to generate the 60 character key required for 256bit wep encryption.
WEP or WPA? I messed up at first -- but it doesn't matter how long the WEP cipher length is because there is a weakness pertaining to the first 27 bits. Five hours of data collection is sufficient to break it.

Thanx for the tip, I think I'll get d-links stuff it's much cheaper than 3com or the Proxim. Hopefully I can get the job to pick up the tab as taetching tool or something.
D-Link isn't too bad, though make sure it supports WPA!.

Damn I thought I typed WPA but for some reason it became WEP I must be an age thing!

Anyways here's what it supports:

* 64-,128-bit WEP
* 802.11X
* WPA1 —Wi-Fi Protected Access
* WPA-PSK (Pre-Shared Key)

Linky at dlink

Edit

Sometimes it pays to ask around, Found a decomissioned Spectrum 24 Access Point time to play around some

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-03-17 10:38am

The D-Link AP looks decent. However, in 108Mbps mode you risk causing massive interference on any nearby access points, since you're using two channels for communications.

Hobot · Post by **Hobot** » 2004-03-22 07:37pm

What would you recommend for a home network, WPA or WPA-PSK?

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-03-22 07:39pm

Hobot wrote:What would you recommend for a home network, WPA or WPA-PSK?

WPA-PSK is fine for home use.

Hobot · Post by **Hobot** » 2004-03-22 07:39pm

Sweet, just what I need

Thanks for the quick response =)

Hobot · Post by **Hobot** » 2004-03-22 10:44pm

SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!

I cannot get WPA-PSK to work, after enabling it and synching the settings on my NIC I cannot connect to my router (DI-624, firmware version 2.37). I've done a search and apparently I'm not the only one having this problem. I guess I'll have to wait until D-Link releases updated firmware...

phongn · Post by **phongn** » 2004-03-22 10:52pm

Hobot wrote:SHIT SHIT SHIT!!!

I cannot get WPA-PSK to work, after enabling it and synching the settings on my NIC I cannot connect to my router (DI-624, firmware version 2.37). I've done a search and apparently I'm not the only one having this problem. I guess I'll have to wait until D-Link releases updated firmware...

That's not good. Does WEP at least work? That buys ~5 hours of security.

Hobot · Post by **Hobot** » 2004-03-22 10:55pm

Yeah, I'll have to make do with 128-bit WEP for now

Faram · Post by **Faram** » 2004-03-23 03:40am

Hobot wrote:Yeah, I'll have to make do with 128-bit WEP for now

Add MAC filtering, it might slow down wannabe hackers.