[NTLUG:Discuss] wireless hardware, KVM switch, recommendations?

[John Fields]

KVM - can't help. The only good ones I know are EXPENSIVE. ;)
I use a 4port belkin at the house. It's OK.

WiFi I can help with!  The readers digest version:
If the 2+ computers are in the same room, performance issues say have 1 radio (an access point) and copper to the machines.
All 802.11 WiFi is Collision Avoidance, resulting in the more point sources (ie: radios, microwaves, etc.) you have the worse your 
throughput and latency is.

1) 802.11 "g" or "n"?
N is much better than G, from RF tricks to encryption schemes. Use it if you can.

2) 1 radio or 2?
If client machines are in the same room, awesome.

If not, you would need two radios.
In that case, a PCI WiFi card would work (with usual driver support question)
Keep in mind you might need an external antenna to get decent signal strength.
An advantage to the single radio (access point) is you can move it around the room without that affecting the location of client 
computers.
Also, single radio in client-bridge mode = ZERO configuration except for DHCP or static IP assignment.

3) Simple is good.

Tomato IS good. I use DD-WRT mostly though due to openVPN server support.

My suggestion: get a router supported by either/both, set it to client-bridge mode, use the 4 port ethernet switch in the back to 
connect to the client computers. Get 802.11n if you can, or 802.11b/g otherwise.  The difference may be small $ or buying 2x APs 
(one for your WAN side and one for your office side).

Netgear has 2 "open source" routers:
  WGR614L    (802.11b/g, 4x ethernet switch)
  WNR2500L  (802.11b/g/n, 4x ethernet switch, USB ports, more RAM, more FLASH)

I have used them both, they both work but the newer one is better all around, and has the 802.11n. :)
http://www.myopenrouter.com/ (<---community link)
Linksys has MANY supported models. DD-WRT has a great database of known working models.

The secret is the client-bridge mode.  This is the same as an XBox wifi adapter.  Whatever you plug into the ethernet port is 
bridged onto the wireless LAN, so a DHCP request gets served by what ever DHCP server you already had (ie: like your carrier's modem 
or AP you mentioned).  But an XBox adapter usually costs more and limits you to one MAC address.  Fair enough but not a technical 
limitation.

Will be glad to help you configure it up one evening when you choose hardware!
John Fields


On 06/30/2011 11:05 AM, discuss-request at ntlug.org wrote:
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 8
> Date: Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:05:22 -0500
> From: Stuart Johnston<saj at thecommune.net>
> To:discuss at ntlug.org
> Subject: Re: [NTLUG:Discuss] wireless hardware, KVM switch
> 	recommendations?
> Message-ID:<4E0C9EC2.4010008 at thecommune.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
>
> Are your desktops in same room?  If so, you can create a wireless bridge
> with a tomato (linux firmware) access point.  Then your desktops just
> plug in to the ethernet as usual.