[Techtalk] Designing a Wireless Network

[Rudy Zijlstra]

Kai MacTane wrote:
> Hi, Everyone--
>
> I'm looking at ways to redesign my current home network. The current 
> network topology looks like the following diagram. I've capitalized the 
> two main servers, just to make them stand out a bit.
>
> [start monospaced ASCII art]
>
> Internet ------ DSL modem --- switch -------  FINROD
>                                          |
>                                          |
>                                       GALADRIEL
>                                          |
>                                        switch
>                                          |
>                --------------------------------- wireless AP
>                |         |           |
>            various    Windows   workstations
>                |
>                |
>             printer
>
> [end monospaced ASCII art]
>
> Finrod runs Web, email, DNS, and related services. Galadriel is a mixed 
> machine, doing NAT/ipmasq firewalling and DHCP for the various Windows 
> boxes, and also serving up MP3s and other shared files using Samba. 
> (Plus she runs nightly backups of the Windows boxes, and then transmits 
> those backups offsite for disaster recovery.)
>
> Both Finrod and Galadriel are Slackware 10.2 machines.
>   
:)

familiar distro
> You'll note that there's a printer currently dangling off of one of the 
> Windows machines. The printer is an HP DeskJet 5740. (Since I've never 
> gotten CUPS working correctly, it was simpler to just plug the thing 
> into a Windows box and share it via Windows networking.)
>
> However, there's one problem with all of the above setup: any machine 
> that's connected wirelessly is on a different network segment from 
> everything else. That means that not only can it not print, it also 
> can't browse Galadriel's network shares, play MP3s, and so on.
>
>   
Reading this, i get the idea the wireless AP is giving out IP addresses. 
If you can set the AP in bridged mode, then Galadriel would simply hand 
out IP addresses to them from the already existing pool of addresses.

WPA-PSK would still be handled by the AP. Those two are separate 
functions and no need to have them conflict. WPA-PSK(2) is a security 
protocol on 802.11 level. DHCP is independent. Check your AP settings 
and see whether you can get it into bridging mode in stead of the 
apparent current routing mode. That should solve your problems.

Cheers,

Rudy