2007年2月5日星期一

Wireless LAN resources for Linux

http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/

Foreword

 The Linux Wireless LAN Howto is an Open Source project sponsored by Hewlett Packard (through my contribution) since 1996, and built with the contribution of many Linux users all over the world.

I first got involved in the Wireless LAN world by hacking the Wavelan drivers for Linux. I'm quite curious, so I start gathering information to know how the damn beasty was working.

Then, I realised that there was no central point where you could find all this information, links to the drivers and issues with Linux. So, I start stuffing it on my web pages, and it slowly evolved to what you see now.

I'm no longer active on the Wavelan drivers, but I'm also still following the work of Wireless LAN (called as well WLAN or Radio Ethernet), especially in relation with Linux. So, once every century, I update my Linux Wireless LAN Howto (html and pdf available below) and the collection of URLs (after the howto). I hope that it is usefull to someone...

The Linux Wireless LAN Howto

 I've decided to collect all the information about Wireless LANs and Linux that I was able to find. The goal was also to document my work and to become famous :-) You will find all that information in the Linux Wireless LAN Howto, available in PostScript, PDF and HTML (see below).

The original Linux Wireless LAN Howto is available as 3 postscript or acrobat (PDF) documents, which contains the same material but with the original presentation. So if you wish to enjoy a better reading experience or to print it, use those documents :

PostScript : Acrobat (pdf) :

The translation of the Howto to HTML lack the presentation but is more browser friendly, with cross references, external web links and support of HTML navigation. It is composed of the following documents :


My Howto finishes here, below is a huge collection of links ;-)
If you want to add links there, send me a nice e-mail...

Wireless LAN drivers web pages

 Lot's of people are working to make Linux better in supporting Wireless LANs, you will find down here some link to their web pages. This is only some shortcuts, you will find the complete list of drivers and all the details in the Howto.
  • Release notes for the Linux Wavelan drivers, that support only the very old Wavelan cards (now obsolete).
  • Release notes for the Linux Orinoco driver, that support most Orinoco cards, Symbol HR cards and PrismII cards.
  • John Markus Bjørndalen was the maintainer of the Xircom Netwave Linux driver.
  • Dag Brattli was the maintainer of the Xircom Netwave Linux driver and the Linux IrDA Project.
  • Jay Moorman was the maintainer of the Netwave AirSurfer plus driver (only in Netwave mode).
  • Dave Koberstein was the maintainer of the Proxim RangeLan2 Linux driver, and he had a mailing list about it.
  • David Leonard was working on a public domain Proxim RangeLan2 Pcmcia driver for OpenBSD and needs help.
  • Paul Fox was working on a driver for the IBM Wireless LAN Entry card (a product which is now discontinued).
  • Andreas Neuhaus was the maintainer of the Wavelan IEEE Linux driver.
  • Moustafa Youssef is the maintainer of the mwvlan driver, a modified version of wvlan_cs with scanning support.
  • Benjamin Herrenschmidt has modified the Wavelan IEEE driver to make it work with the Apple Airport card.
  • Lee John Keyser-Allen was the maintainer the Symbol drivers, and he had some discussion forums about it.
  • Cullen Jennings and Elmer Joandi were the maintainers of the Aironet Arlan Linux driver.
  • Thomas Corey has developed a driver for the Raytheon Raylink 802.11 wireless LAN (his old homepage).
  • Reyk Floeter was working on a GPL driver for the various cards based on the ATHEROS 802.11a chipset, and had preliminary source code available (not yet functional).
  • Jörg Albert is maintaining the old driver for the Elsa MC2 and ZCOM WL24 devices originally written by ZCOM and Elsa. He has a mailing list about it.
  • Bas Vermeulen has developed a driver for the No Wires Needed 802.11 wireless LAN.

Wireless Linux software on the Internet

 Linux Wireless support is not limited to Wireless LAN drivers, you can find tools, distributions and support for other wireless technologies.

Wireless Tools and Applications

Wireless LAN Protocol stacks

Wireless Linux Distributions

Most distributions support some Wireless cards out of the box, and have the infrastructure to support other cards when the proper driver is installed. Those distributions have a specific focus on Wireless LAN.
  • IT-University KTH has released Flying Linux, a Linux distribution with native support for wireless LANs (mostly Wavelan IEEE & Mobile IP).
  • The Linux Router Project (LRP) has also some support for some Wireless Lans, for example there is a Aviator2.4 LRP image and some Wavelan LRP images. Also, there is an LRP Aironet Howto.
  • Vladimir Ivaschenko has created parprouted, a daemon for transparent IP (Layer 3) proxy ARP bridging. This allow to do "IP bridging" on any 802.11 card (instead of MAC bridging).
  • Till Straumann has created a Linux distribution for Airport (to run Linux directly on the Airport or RG-1000 Access Point).
  • Instant 802 Networks, Inc have created OpenAP, a Linux distribution which directly on Prism II Access Points (such as the US Robotics, SMC or Addtron Access Points). This is based on the HostAP driver.
  • OpenWRT is a wireless distribution specific to Linksys WRT54G Access Points.
  • WISP-Dist is as embedded Linux distribution for wireless routers based on LEAF Bering and that support Orinoco/Aironet/PrismII cards.
  • Sputnik Gateway is a distribution that turn a regular PC with a wireless card into a Sputnik Gateway.
  • ROSE is a Linux distribution that Radionet use to deploy WiFi HotSpots. Like many others, it is based on the HostAP driver.

BlueTooth support

IrDA support

Other Wireless Technologies

  • Linux can also be used for Wireless WANs, such as Mobitex.

Security software for your Wireless LAN

 The security included in all Wireless LAN is cost effective, so if you want security over your Wireless LAN, you may want to check those packages.

Generic security solutions

Generic security protocols are totally independant of the underlying technology, so will work on any kind of wired or wireless connection. Those solutions are often classical, well defined and proven.
  • FreeS/WAN is the popular IPsec package for Linux. Only available with 3DES encryption.
  • WaveSec is a part of the FreeS/WAN project looking at how it FreeS/WAN applies to Wireless LANs. They provide tools, documentations and sample configurations.
  • Cerberus, an IPsec implementation from NIST. This implementation contain many different encryption cypher (including all the AES finalists), but is subject to US export controls.
  • OpenSSH, an Open Source implementation of the SSH protocol. A favorite for Unix users.
  • PoPTop, a PPTP server for Linux.
  • PPTP-Linux, a PPTP client for Linux.

802.11 specific security solutions

802.11 specific solutions are more complex and depend on hardware support. They come in two parts, the first part runs between the card and the Access Point (802.1x, WPA), the second part runs between the Access Point and an authentication server (Radius).

  • Open1x is an Open Source implementation of the 802.1x protocol (capable of using EAP/TLS to authenticate) for Linux and BSD. Recent version add support for the WPA and WPA2 protocols.
  • Adam Sulmicki has written a FAQ on how to setup 802.1x with Radius under Linux.
  • wpa_supplicant is complete implementation of the WPA protocol, providing enhanced privacy and security.

Public wireless LAN solutions

If you are deploying public wireless LAN access, you often don't want all those complication and can use a simple captive portal.
  • NoCat is a captive portal based on HTTPS authentication and firewall filtering for Linux currently in development.
  • Chillispot is a captive portal that support a Radius authentication server. It also works with WPA instead of the HTTP authentication.

Other Linux Wireless Howtos and help

 There is a lot of good documentation out there ;-)
  • Roberto Arcomano has written a good detailed Wireless Howto covering in depth the setup of some Wireless LANs.
  • Dries Buytaert has written an excellent Linux-wlan FAQ, answering common question mostly related to the linux-wlan-ng Linux driver for Intersil PrismII based cards.
  • Anindya has done a complete installation Howto for the PrismII and Aironet cards.
  • Craig has done some technical installation Howto for the TI, Atmel and ADMtek cards.
  • Personal Telco has a short Wireless FAQ.
  • Marcel Holtmann has a good page on Wireless LAN, in German.
  • The Arlan Wireless Router Howto explain how to use any wireless LAN as a point to point data link between distant houses.
  • Another excellent Wireless link Howto, where they describe in details all the step by step operations (theory, hardware, software...) of using the Symphony (or other Wireless LAN) as a point to point connection between distant houses. And they have a comprehensive list of links...
  • The Low Cost Wireless Network Howto explain how to use the Proxim card to create point to point links.
  • Simon Anderson has a Linux Wireless Access Point HOWTO, which include lot's of good information on various AP topics (HostAP, DHCP, DNS, routing, firewalling, NoCat...).
  • Yang-Hwee TAN has a quick Howto about Building a Secure Wireless Access Point using the HostAP driver and FreeS/WAN.
  • Jason Boxman has a pretty extensive Howto on how to use the HostAP driver, especially to set up an Access Point.
  • Ross Finlayson explain in details how to use Linux as a Wireless router for their wireless ISP (LIVE.COM).
  • Yunus Bookwala explain how to set-up a Wireless HotSpot, using OpenWrt and focusing mostly on the accounting/security back-end.
  • John G. Faughnan has a page on home networking, including Wireless LANs and Linux.
  • Mad Science Research labs explain you how to upgrade the Airport UFO to RC4 128 bits.
  • Harald Roelle has a page on how to set up a Wavelan IEEE under Linux-PPC and how to connect it to the "UFO" (the Apple Airport base station).
  • Elan Digital Systems has a very complete FAQ on how to setup PCI-Pcmcia bridges under Linux.
  • Jun Sun's has a howto on how to flash PrismII firmwares under Linux or Windows.
If after reading all the documentation above you still can't find the info you are looking, here are a couple of source of help to get in touch with other Linux users.
  • The Linux Pcmcia web site has the Pcmcia FAQ and some Pcmcia Wireless forums for all questions regarding drivers included in the Linux Pcmcia package and the Linux kernel.
  • For questions regarding point to point links, the Wavelan users in Autralia have set up a very useful mailing list...
  • Some individual drivers have specific mailing lists associated with them, those are listed in the Howto...

Public Wireless Linux networks

 If you don't want to play alone with your wireless equipement, there are lots of people setting up public wireless networks using Linux. I just picked a few of those with interesting info on their pages.
  • WiFiMaps has some maps of public wireless connectivity, and allow you to locate those public wireless Access Points.
  • Linux users in Australia are using the good old Wavelan or the Wavelan IEEE to create point to point data link between distant houses. They have set up a mailing list, which is not Wavelan specific and very useful.
  • Guerilla Net aim to setup a free network in the area of Boston.
  • Consume the net want to do the same in the area of London. Many mailing lists.
  • Elektrosmog wants fast Internet everywhere, starting in Sweeden.
  • Seattle Wireless wants to build a next-generation community wireless network.
  • Personal Telco want to build alternative communication networks in the area of Portland. Their web site contains a mountain of information, such as this Wireless FAQ.
  • NYCwireless wants Free Public Wireless Internet for New York City. They have some mailing lists.
  • BAWUG, the Bay Area (California) Wireless User group is pretty active and has some mailing lists.
  • Reseau Citoyen is deploying their wireless network in Bruxelles, Belgium, and has an extensive amount of information in french.
  • LIVE.COM want you to enjoy wireless coffee in Mountain View, California.
  • The Shmoo Group has setup a database of public Wireless LAN networks.

Wireless LAN Hardware (surveys and reviews)

 Various people maintain some approximate list of the hardware that is compatible with Linux :
  • Of course, I list a number of vendors in the various sections of the Howto...
  • Absoval has one of the most exaustive list of wireless cards, and list compatibility of PrismII cards with their own linux-wlan driver.
  • Hendrik-Jan Heins is now maintaining an updated version of the exaustive list from Absoval. This is very difficult task, so don't be surprised if you find minor errors.
  • Personal Telco has a short list of PrismII cards (for which many Linux drivers are available).
  • Seattle Wireless has a pretty long list of cards, but the information on this page is not always correct, so double check.
  • Kismet Wireless list card compatible with Kismet, and the corresponding driver.
  • Nicolai Langfeldt has a short list of 802.11g cards comaptible with Linux.
  • Jacek Pliszka has many tips on how to identify the various card, especially USB devices.
  • Jason Hecker maintains a list of all Atmel USB devices.
  • Tarmo Järvalt has long lists of cards containing various chipsets, one page per chipset, including some Google Ads.
Just a few reviews and guides here, not Linux specific.
  • Most manufacturer web sites are listed in the Howto...
  • Tim Higgins has a huge amount of 802.11 information on his web site (FAQ, articles, reviews, links), which is acurate, detailed and up to date.
  • Practically Networked lists and compares the main Wireless LAN products available on the market. Their list is long and they have reviewed in details a lot of products.
  • I've found a really good web page on the different radio products available (now quite outdated).
  • Network Computing has a long and complete article comparing various 802.11 products. Definitely worth a read, even if they don't mention Linux support ;-)
  • PC Magazine/ZDnet has done a short review of 802.11-b products. They have tested the latest products from the big names.
  • Toms Networking has frequent detailed reviews of various wireless hardware.
  • Synack Communications has done some testing of the Power Consumptions of some common Wireless LANs.

Other web sites of interest (Wireless LAN related)

 A random collection of links. I welcome your suggestions...
  • Roger Coudé has developped an impressive package to predict the performance and coverage of a radio system based on the characteristic of the environment.
  • The State University of Ohio has a basic Overview of 802.11.
  • Mark S. Mathews has a nice white paper on 802.11.
  • Intersil (formerly Harris) has a lot of white papers, but they tend to have a very strong bias towards what they are offering.
  • Lot's of links about Wireless (no longer updated).
  • Ben Gross has more links about Wireless (mostly Linux related, and quite up to date).
  • Jacco Tunnissen has lot's of links about Wardriving and Wireless Security.
  • Bernard Adoba has created The Unofficial 802.11 Security Web Page, with many links about security issues in wireless networks and 802.1x.
  • Delbert K. Matlock used to have a very complete page on Linux BlueTooth support, linking to all information available on the net on this subject, but hasn't updated it in since 2001.
  • Foo Chun Choong has a web page that link to various BlueTooth research projects and papers.
  • The NTIA maintain a chart of the frequencies in use in the US. Try to find the unlicensed bands ;-)
  • You may also want to check my paper page, especially if you look for either my publications or SWAP information.

Linux and other links

 Some personal recommendations on the web...
  • The project I'm currently officially working on for HP is called CoolTown.
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