[Techtalk] wireless home network without router

[Rudy Zijlstra]

Miriam English wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> Is it possible to set up a home wireless LAN without a router? That 
> is, using wireless network cards in a couple of computers, connect 
> them as a small mesh network, similar to how you can connect a couple 
> of computers together using an ethernet cable.
Without a router is clearly possible, though not always easy to find the 
Access Point you need for this.

>
> It seems to me that it should be possible, as wireless cards transmit 
> and receive. But I can't find anything about it on the net. All the 
> pages I've found imply that a wireless router is necessary, and the 
> people I've spoken to in shops assure me a router is needed (quickly 
> followed by an attempt to sell me one).
router is not needed, but Access Point is strongly preferred to be 
present. A wireless router is actually a combination of Router and 
Access Point (AP) in a single device. Many shops will not make the 
distinction between router and AP (many shop assistants do not know 
better either).
>
> I know mesh networks are a recent development. Is it simply that this 
> technology hasn't trickled down to us plebs yet? Is there a way to 
> adapt mesh network software to do the job inside a home? Or am I 
> overlooking a more obvious solution?
What you do not know is that the WiFi MAC protocol is build in a way 
that prefers a master-client setup above a peer-to-peer setup. This is 
to make life easier on collision detection and handling. the AP is the 
"master" and although ad-hoc (peer-to-peer) is possible, it will 
typically result in lower through-put .

For 11g it used to be pretty easy to find an AP. For 11n this is 
becoming more and more difficult. What you might do is get a unit that 
can run openwrt, and  then convert it to openWrt. If i am not mistaken, 
openWrt will allow you to run it in "bridge" or pure AP mode.

Cheers,


Rudy