wifi access points


Devices , devices u cant work withou them (Logic).So lets start.In this article ill talk about:Acess Points (AP)
Wifi Cards(PCI , PSMCIA , MINI PCI and USB)

Lets start with the AP.What is it.The AP is a stand alone device it doesent need pc to controll it it just needs powersuply.And to be connected to antenna or ethernet or both :).The ap has a firmware installed in it so u can set it up via html or ssh.Basicly all AP`s have html interface and some have ssh or telnet.
PLANET-4033 HTML interface
Planet-4003 HTML Interface
Ap as i said has a firmwavre so logicli u can chage id or hack it.The ap hacks are common , and there is alot of them hm u wounder why ?.Like at lan equipment the core of the devices is the main chip.For wifi most common chipsets are Prism Chipset , Atheros Chipset ,RealTek Chipset, And now days shitty RaLink Chipset.Prism was most active in the b standard and it is wery nice chipset but there is no prism g chip :(.So the best of the g is Atheros.Lets get back to ap , so how do manufactures make them i why is it important to hacking the firmware.The manufacturer orders a chipset to install to their aps or cards.And there are many manufacturers that uses the same chipset.Huh getting the picture about hacking.The manufacturer commonly litimts the devices with firmware but not all , some are phisicly limited.EG: I haid linksys wap11b that has the same chip like Dlink`s DWL900+ap.And i had a litle problem with linksys it is limited only to work with linksys equipment.The dlinks ap could work with any equipment so what i did? I installed the dlinks firmware onto linksys and it workd and i solwed the problem.Most common reason for hacking the ip is the outgoing power of the device (it is measured in mili-wats mW).For EG the Ovislink WL-5460AP has the outgoing power of 63mW but its capable to transmit 200mW power u just need to hack it or if u cant u can buy a new upgraded firmware thet unlocks the device from 63mW to 200mW :).The Ap has several regimes of work:
Acess Point Mode -it acts as the ap , (repetitor) it is also known as the Infrastructure Mode
*Acess Point Client -it acts as client it connects to the ap as a client
*Reapiter -it reapeats the signal from another ap its a bit difficult to understand so ill give u an example: I have ap1 on buildin1 and i have ap2 on building2 and ap3 on building3 ill turn ap1 in access point mode and ap3 in client mode associated to connect on ap1 (ap2 is off at the moment) and the signal goes from ap1 goes as far as building2 but it cant reach the building3 where ap3 is located so the ap3 cant connecto to ap1 ,now ill turn on ap2 and put it in reapeater mode ro reapeat ap1 signal.So the ap2 expanded the ap1 signal radius by reapiting its signal so the ap.
*WDS -Wireless Distribution System the ap acts same as the AP mode but can communicate with other aps in wds mode Eg: again we have ap1 , ap2 and ap3 if we turn ap1 and ap2 in wds mode ap3 in client mode ,and want to connect to the one of the aps we can connect ap3 eather to ap1 and ap2 it is the same because they are in wds mode and they are linked without an use of backbone wds mode is useful for hotspots but for somthing more searius as community networks where there is a lot of traffic is not because it uses the same traffc comunnicating when communicating with ohter ap`s and clients.The aps come in warious forms most common are indor , but there are outdoor solutions that are expensive so if u want an outdorr ap , u can stil use indoor ap`s just get ur self an metal box and isolate it:)
and there is ur outdor solution.
Lets go to the cards abit now.There isnt much to say tha compatability of the card is weary imortant.The most cards have 2 modes Client and Adhoc adhoc is something like WDS mode with aps bud in adhoc there are no clients just other Adhoc devices.
But also there are cards that can act as AP (access point mode) do not try that on windows linux is the way to go so the most respected cards are able to act as the ap and are compatible with linux it mainly depends on the chipset.Most people prefere cards then aps as i do i have more possibilites to put a PC with PCI or PCMCI or MINIPCI card on the roof and install linux/mikrotik ruter OS then dealing with ip , for me ap is great for clients but for Setting up a node i prefere the card + mirktik :)
Huh u think wooot a fool :) getting a pc on the roof , its incredible easy u can go with 2 ways metal or plastic boxex i use both just put alitlle isolation and thats it.
Plastic Box with Pc in it by Me
Plastic Box With Pc+Tplnik 551G PCI CARD(Atheros Chip)+Mikrotik OS by Me
Metal Box With Pc in it by LePiaf(Bgwireless)
Metal Box With Pc In it By LePiaf(Bgwireless)

Thats about device although there were some attempts to make Stand Alone Repeater... But when the manufacuters saw thet reapeater usage is rare they abandoned the project...