Topic: Wireless NIC question

[jeffwallner]

I am taking a linux class and am using suse 11.1 as a dual boot on my laptop. I am thinking about trying to use Kubuntu and make the lappy a 3 boot OS machine....anyway that has nothing to do with this.

So  now that I have the linux bug I decided to try setting up a server and got SME server 7.10. But here is the problem. I am trying to set the server up using a D-Link WDA-1320 wireless NIC for the internet connection. I do not see a driver for this NIC. I have tried to go into the manual driver set up and choose a driver directly list. And I tried every D-Link card. No go. Am I not configuring something properly? Can someone hold my hand through this please. I tried to search the forum for this card and without success.
I appreciate any help that anyone can give me.
Thanks
Jeff

[Stefano]

hi

since SME doesn't support wireless, I think you have to change your hw..

btw, SME 7.10 doesn't exist..

ciao
Stefano

[jeffwallner]

There are wireless options when choosing the NIC connection....but not for my card. If the wireless is unsupported why are there some wireless options?
The reason I am trying to do the wireless is because I cant run a wire to the router...very inconvenient, but that is what I have to work with. So is this not going to be possible, even with a different wireless card?

As for the 7.10....oops I meant 7.4

Thanks again for the clarification and help!

Jeff

[David Harper]

Welcome to the forums

Most wireless cards require either Windows drivers - using a tool called ndiswrapper - or binary firmware.

Because SME Server is designed for servers, wireless NICs aren't really supported. However, Red Hat, our upstream provider via CentOS, does support wireless more generally, which is why the hardware may be detected and may in some cases even work.

FWIW, your card appears to use the native Atheros driver, if you wanted to experiment with CentOS 4 packages for this chipset.

Anyway, the way I usually handle wireless access is as follows:

In test environments, I use VMWare and create a NAT connection so SME can piggyback on the host's wireless adaptor without having to load a WLAN NIC driver.

In production scenarios, I set up a Netgear 614 wireless router as an Access Point on the LAN side of the SME Server. The 614 can act as an AP only with all routing functions disabled. It supports DHCP passthrough, so wireless clients can obtain DHCP addresses from SME Server in the same way that wired clients can.

[jeffwallner]

You are right, my install can "see" the atheros chipset. It states:
1. Use unknown for chipset "Atheros Communications Inc. AR2413 802.1....
2. Use dmfe for chipset "Davicom Semiconductor.....
3. Manually select driver....

So as you can see, the driver can be seen. But again no luck on it actually working. Now, you have pretty much lost me when you explain how to use VMware and NAT. If you could explain this in more detail I would appreciate it. I went to the VMware site and they have different packages for download...I am hoping something free is what you are talking about seeing as this is the first "server" I have ever tried to set up. And then the NAT translation part I dont really understand either. How do you set that up? I am in over my head here, but with a good explanation I will (hopefully) figure it out!
I also am assuming I will need to handle port forwarding as well? Or by setting up the communication with the VMware, etc will any port forwarding be an issue?
Also you mention setting up a netgear wireless as an AP on the LAN side. are you saying this works without the VMware solution? I am a little confused. I appreciate the help and if you want to email me, that is fine too.
Thanks again,
Jeff

[mercyh]

Also you mention setting up a netgear wireless as an AP on the LAN side.

It would look like this.

LAN
 v
 v
 v
Wireless AP
    I
    I
    I
Wireless AP
 v
 v
SME

The v's indicate a wired connection. The I's indicate a radio connection.

This allows the SME to use its wired NIC and lets the Access points handle the wireless issues.

If this is a school project on a budget it may not be viable as you would need to purchase two access points of some sort to create the "bridge".

[jeffwallner]

Ok, I think I get it. I hook up an AP to the server via ethernet cable, it gets communication via wireless and that is fed via the LAN side AP connected to the modem. So I need to just get one more WAP to use with the existing AP. Right? Does it really matter which one I get? The existing AP is a microsoft AP....what will I have to set in order for the 2nd AP to broadcast the first AP signal? Can I mix and match AP brands?
Thanks again!
Jeff

[David Harper]

The question is really whether this is for testing or for production, i.e. real-world use.

If this is a testing or development environment, where a lot of external access to the SME Server is not required, I recommend the free VMWare Server over purchasing hardware. Why spend money when there is no need to? Especially since you can always buy hardware later on if the situation warrants it.

That said, if you are rolling something out for a customer (or yourself) then some kind of hardware solution is definitely the way to proceed.

[mercyh]

I agree with David Harper. VMware will allow you to load a Host operating system that recognizes and manages the wireless NIC. You would then load SME in the virtual machine on that host and VMware will make that nic available to the SME in a way that SME can use it.

If you do not want to add the complexity of VM at this point the option of adding an AP would work well, remember that you are limiting your access to the server too the wireless speed.

Does it really matter which one I get? The existing AP is a microsoft AP

The AP's will obviously have to have the same protocol. 802.11g, b, a, etc. They will also have to have the capability of connecting to another wireless network. (This will be the tricky part to find.)

I would assume this is for testing purposes as on a production machine I would find a location that was physically located within the "wired" part of the LAN. SME can easily run "headless" with no or very little physical access to the box itself as administration is generally done remotely. This means that you need a temperature controlled environment, 1 outlet (to plug the box into), 1 or 2 LAN connection(s) and a space to physically set the box. You do not need a desk, monitor, keyboard, etc. for the SME.

[jeffwallner]

I am doing this more out of curiosity..and a learning experience than anything. I would like to have it functional so I can store and retrieve files on it from a VPN connection or FTP or something and figure out what all I can do with the server...maybe set up a mail server. You know, just screw around and learn as much as possible....for cheap..the desktop I put SME on is an old computer, definitely nothing fancy. Having said that, I would almost be inclined to purchase an access point and try setting up the bridge. I would like to understand the difference between configuring the server under somewhat normal conditions, then maybe play with the VMware and see how that differs...or maybe I should do it the other way around....Free is good!! lol. I guess I am a little worried that if I try to set up the VMware, I will not understand the actual set up....is there a step by step manual that you know of that can walk me through it? Would my link into the server be the same if using VMware than if I were signing into the server from a client computer?
Your help is appreciated.
Jeff

[mercyh]

I am no expert on VMware. (There are some on this forum that would qualify as such  ). Once the install is complete you would not know that the SME was not running on a dedicated box. You might run into issues with old hardware with this as you would then be sharing the resources between two os's.

I am somewhat familiar with the cheap home variety of wireless routers and access points and am not aware of one that will actually connect to another network. Linksys makes something they call a range extender that is supposed to do it with their routers but the one I have played with created a very unstable connection.

You will need to do your homework and look at the manuals before you purchase so you are certain the hardware can do what you need. My experience is that the sales people and the hardware packages simple cannot give you enough information to make an informed choice. You must download the manual and choose a model that will do what you need if you are doing anything more then very simple networking.
 

[CharlieBrady]

There are wireless options when choosing the NIC connection....but not for my card. If the wireless is unsupported why are there some wireless options?

What wireless options?

[jeffwallner]

When I was setting up the drivers and went to pick them manually there are some cards listed as wireless.