Re: Wi Fi
From: Valentín Guillén (usenet1_at_myrealbox.com)
Date: 03/29/04
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Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 22:45:01 -0700
> I have been suffering over trying to get my SUSE 9.0 to work on my
> wireless network. It works fine via ethernet cable and recognizes my
> d-link, DWL 650+ card. Obviously the problem is the driver. I got all the
> good advice there probably is from this newsgroup but as a newbie I am
> still struggling.
> The question is this, is there any linux distro that works with any
> wireless pci card,
Here's the deal:
Most GNU/Linux versions contain support for a limitted set of cards, or
hardware. Now, this support is usually in the form of Modules, which can
be used with that version of Linux. Then there are other wiFi cards for
which the vendor has provided either "drivers" in binary form, or has made
public the source code so that others can/could make drivers or modules.
Then there are unsupported cards for which it is a bit more diffucult to
get them to work in Linux. Some of these cards CAN, ironically enough,
use standard NDIS ethernet drivers from windoz, in a somewhat more
limitted way, in Linux.
BTW, I have a lap top as well I would like to convert to
> linux. I am prepared go with a new distro and buy new WiFi equipment to do
> this. In this one case at least the money means less to me than the stress
> of it always not working.
Some of the earliest WiFi, or 802.11B cards, had/have pretty good support
in Linux. Surprisingly, many of the NEWER cards are the ones for which
there is the more limitted support in Linux.
OK, the most common of the older WiFi cards were based on a chipset called
the Prism chipset. Those cards are perhaps the best supported cards of
all. The Prism chipset, in its present incarnation, is not very popular
at all, any longer. Now, for some of the cards for which there is NO
support from the vendors, one CAN obtain software from Linuxant, or from
an open source group, which will allow one to take the windows XP standard
NDIS ethernet driver, and load it into Linux. The NDIS drivers, because
they were written for wired ethernet, don't provide some functions which
are handy in Wireless Mode, things like measuring Radio Frequency NOISE in
a signal, and other very useful functions for wireless use. BUT, they do
allow the the card to be used for Wireless (WiFi).
One of the factors which makes it diffucult for the prospective purchaser
of WiFi gear for linux is the fact that many manufacturers have gone
broke, or have been bought out by other outfits, and very often they reuse
the name of popular products. The Orinoco name is the best example. The
Brand Name Orinoco has been owned by at least three different companies,
and the product that each has produced under that name are all different.
If you're looking to use WiFi under linux, its important to do some
research BEFORE you buy.
This page is an overview of what the issues are with using WiFi under
linux:
The Linux WLAN HowTo
http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Wireless.html#howto
Then, there is this page which is a pretty comprehensive listing of WiFi
cards from most manufacturers, and it lists not only the brand name, model
numbers, chipset used, but also which linux driver or module is used for
it, when known.
http://www.linux-wlan.org/docs/wlan_adapters.html.gz
Then there is this source of info, and source code, for loading the
Windows NDIS wired-ethernet drivers into your linux installation, for use
in your box for WiFi:
http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net
And then there is this company, which ALSO has a "DriverLoader" which
loads Windows NDIS wired ethernet drivers for use in your linux. This is
a commercial driver, with a free 30 day trial which can be activated as
long as you have a valid email address.
http://www.linuxant.com/driverloader
I myself use WiFi for my Internet Access *exclusively*. I have no other
connection, excempt via a WiFi provider. I have and use both Belkin older
802.11b cards, and a couple of newer Buffalo/Melco 802.11g cards. As a
new WiFi user, I would recommend reading ALL of the above referenced
materials before making an informed choice regarding any equipment
choices. Of course, I use WiFi with a microwave antenna mounted on my
roof, and I can connect in a radius from my home of many miles. This type
of usage is very non-standard, and I would only recommend this type usage
for an experienced user. For the typical usage involving an Access Point
and walk-about wireless usage around the home, the equipment needs are
'stock or off-the-shelf.'
Post here again with further questions, but DO read the above referenced
material to gain more insight into exactly what is involved.
Regards,
Valentin
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