[Techtalk] 802.11b

[E. Sterling Wall]

> 1.	This is my first foray into "WiFi". Is the PCMCIA and adapter 
> to PCI, all I need to start my "wireless network"?
	Actually, there are PCI wireless cards, too. 

> 
> 2.	 I am a bit "foggy" on exactly what the orange iMac's needs 
> to connect to the above server using 802.
	OK... I'm not sure if I missed something, if you have a wireless
network running at all already, then ignore the bits you don't need to
do...

	You will need a wireless access point. There are several good brands of
these, in my company we usually use Netgear because they are less
expensive than 3COM or IBM and of very good quality.
(http://www.netgear.com and no, I don't own their stock or get kick
backs ;) )

	You will need PCI Wireless network cards for each of the desktop
machines on the wireless network.

	You will need PCMCIA Wireless network cards for any laptops you want to
stick on the wireless network.

	If you have a wireless access point that also includes a hard-wire
router or switch, you may also want to have a network cable to go from
your existing ethernet hub or your server to the wireless access point's
wired connection.

	The Wireless Access Point is pretty much plug and play. The PCI Cards
and PCMCIA cards are mostly plug and play, too, though for a Mac you may
need to load the drivers off of a CD that comes with the cards or off
the Internet. I know that Netgear.com has drivers for Macs for their
hardware on their site.

 
> 3.	I get the impression adding the 802 card to this sever is 
> like by-passing my firewall. 
	Only if you don't use encryption. Another reason I like Netgear is that
setting up encryption and security on your wireless network is insanely
easy. There is a Webmin type interface where you type in the key word
you want to use for your firewall (which you will also need to input in
your preferences on the computers connecting to the wireless network),
and also a place where you can type in the MAC addresses of each of the
cards that are ALLOWED to connect to your server. Very easy to do, and
quite secure unless someone is actually bound and determined to hack
into your system. (Most people are just looking for a free ride on the
Internet, and when they can't get that from your airwaves, they'll move
on to easier pastures.)

> Looks to me like there are two issues, 
> one is the security of the WiFi and second, having two CPU's 
> connected that are not supposed to have access to the bulk of the 
> information on the server.

	Ah, well this is something completely different... So, you are planning
on having two boxes connected to the network that should not have access
to most of what is on the server? That is fine, because you can lock
them out of permissions for various things (or give them limited
permissions) using something like ipchains. Someone who is more
knowledgeable about the inerds of firewall management should help you
with that, though. 

-- elizabeth

Sumgai Technology
http://www.sumgai.co.uk
p. 01628 780738
m. 07766 073235