Nuts I know, but bare with me.

I'm wanting to set up an internet connection for my partner and I's
flat. We live across the road from the University campus, which give
free WiFi access to students, which we both are. However the wifi
signals only just reach the front window of the building, no good for
my partner wanting to surf the web in the back study.

I devised a work around, where we have a pc attached to a high gain
antenna, and then attached that PC to a ethernet network switch, which
then goes into a Wireless Access Point. Using the Network Wizard on
XP, i set the PC to an internet gateway, to the switch which then sent
the internet signals to the access point, so my partner could use the
net in the back bedroom, as well as sharing files between the Gateway
PC and her laptop.

The problem with the system is that obviously only works when the PC
is on, and being a bit hefty it really chugs on the electricity bill.

I looked into getting a wireless access point of the same make/model
as the one used by the university itself, so i could set up a simple
repeater, but that would have costed $4000, not exactly in my price
range. :-s. And even if I did that I wouldnt have the same security of
sharing files, as I would be using the university network, and not my
own in-house network, with MAC address blocking set up on the Access
Point.

What I'm looking for is a box, that can sit by the window, using
preferably the high gain antenna i already have (from Hawking
Technologies http://www.hawkingtech.com/products/productlist.php?CatID=32&FamID=58&ProdID=152
) as pick up from the source from across the street as the input for a
router with Wireless access to the rest of the flat. That way I can
share my files around the network without having to worry about anyone
else in the street having access to the same files.

Still with me here... :-s

I know its a pain, and its probably impossible as I'm usually in the
knack of coming up for useful products in my head that just havn't
been built yet, but if you can help me out here, it would really make
my day, and my partners!

Good luck...

Hi,

I have a potential solution that utilizes two relatively inexpensive components.

First, you'll need a Linksys WRT54G that has alternate open-source
firmware loaded - eg. DD-WRT (from www.dd-wrt.com). The WRT54G also
has removable RP-TNC connectors that allow for higher-gain antennae to
be installed. At the same time, the open-source firmware provides some
features not available in the factory firmware.

The features of import to you are:

1. Increase in signal transmission power (up to 251mW).
2. Operation mode modification that allows the wireless side to act as
a wireless client (as opposed to an access point). In this fashion,
the WRT54G's wireless interface will be the WAN port and the LAN ports
will be the "private" side. The Internet (WAN)port will not be used.

Once the client wireless session has been associated, you can connect
your PC to the LAN switch ports and access the University's net and
beyond.

At that point, simply attach an inexpensive access point to any of the
LAN ports and you've extended that network wirelessly!

Easy! Let me know if you need further clarification!

Kaiguy

Wow!

I am officially impressed, I never thought to think of that kind of
solution. Hats off to you.

I do have a couple of things I want to straighten out though. 

Can this edited wireless router, and access point, independently
without having to be connected to a pc? Can it just sit by the window,
connected to a power supply and function?

Also, are there any issues or hang ups with installing this new
firmware on the router? My networking knowledge is fairly limited, and
my girlfriend Tina even less so. I should be able to install the
firmware, but as far changing the options that might prove more
difficult unless I have more detailed instructions.

And with the changes made to the router, will internet browsing be
effected at all. I downloaded the firmware, and there is this mention
in the notes attached:

"chillispot notes:

chillispot works only if the redirect url is a valid url which ends
with a slash '/'
chillispot should be able to resolve the ip of this url hostname. so
please setup your local router network to a valid gateway and dns
the userurl field is possibly null in the current chillispot release.
this is no dd-wrt issue, but a know issue in the current chillispot
release"

Also, I take it that there are still no 'all-in-one" solutions to the problem yet?

Thanks very much for all your help with this, VERY VERY much appreciated.

Andrew

Hi again,

Q: Can this edited wireless router, and access point, independently
without having to be connected to a pc? Can it just sit by the window,
connected to a power supply and function?

A: Absolutely. The units will work together in a stand-alone fashion -
no PCs are required. You'll need to configure the units, of course,
but once that's done, you're all set - the LAN side of the linksys
will provide you with a NATed private IP address.

Q: Also, are there any issues or hang ups with installing this new
firmware on the router? My networking knowledge is fairly limited, and
my girlfriend Tina even less so. I should be able to install the
firmware, but as far changing the options that might prove more
difficult unless I have more detailed instructions.

A: The firmware works quite well - we have over 100 of them set up
with minimal issues - make sure that you DO NOT enable chilispot -
that feature is for setting up a Hotspot (for processing credit cards,
using authentication via RADIUS, etc.), which you'll not be using - it
simply complicates your setup! Oh, and of course make sure you install
the appropriate version of the firmware for the hardware that you
have.

Q:Also, I take it that there are still no 'all-in-one" solutions to
the problem yet? Thanks very much for all your help with this, VERY
VERY much appreciated.

A: That's correct, in order to do what you want to do, the "unit" will
have to have 2 radios that operate independently of each other with
firmware sophisticated enough to manage them separately and assign
different tasks to each - my solution is - IMHO - the simplest and
cheapest.

Also, Andrew, if you need more detailed instructions, let me
know...however, the setup really is pretty straight-forward - just
don't be intimidated by the number of features available in the
firmware - most of them you'll not need to use.

Kai

Hi there Kai,

That all sounds great, going to start looking into buying the router now.

Does it have to be the WRT54G router, or can it be another type of WRT
Linksys router? I'm asking because I've got in contact with a local
plastics factory, who are going to a build up a custom enclosure, for
the two wireless radios and antenna in one box. But obviously the
smaller the components, the smaller the box can be overall. What is
the smallest linksys router and access point I can use?

I realise that this may fall out of bounds of the original question,
so I dont mind adding an extra $25 for the fee of the question if
you'd like?

Also, as you offered it'd be great if you provide me with as full a
set of instructions as you possibly could for installing this set up?

I dont think this is possible, but if it is, some kind of instructions
on how to get the two radios working from one wall socket power
supply, (for when they are enclosed in the same box) would be
absolutely fantastic.

Thanks very much Kai,

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Q: Does it have to be the WRT54G router, or can it be another type of WRT
Linksys router?

A: Not necessarily, but the WRT54G is the most flexible (and
inexpenssive), so I would HIGHLY recommend it. The other unit that
works is the WRT54GS, but that's more $. None of the other units
support the type of firmware needed for your application. If you need
a smaller form factor, you can certainly take the "working parts" out
of the case, which makes it MUCH smaller to fit into a custom case -
we actually take the electronics (PCB) out and put them into small
NEMA enclosures for outdoor deployment. In terms of the access point,
you can use anything you'd like - that's not as important a piece of
the puzzle, since it'll just be running the factory firmware. For that
matter, you could use a dual WRT54G setup where one unit is acting as
the wireless client/router and the other is simply acting as an access
point!

One other thing to consider is that the WRT54G can be set up to use
PowerOverEthernet (POE), which makes it easier to install in places
where power is not readily available - the WRT54Gs are nice because
the board supports power input ranging from 5-12 Volts DC, so it's
incredibly flexible.

We've actually created our own POE adapters using the existing power
adapters and a dual-RJ-48 jack block - one for the data and one to
split out the DC. This will require some soldering and will void your
unit's warranty, but if you're handy with soldering and are somewhat
adventurous, it's kinda fun.

Anyway, if distance from the power outlet is not an issue, the
simplest way to get both units running off a single transformer is to
split the power cable in such a way that you actually have two
connectors coming out of the transformer block - you'll need another
piece of cable (with the end that plugs into the WRT) and splice that
into an existing transformer. Here's where the flexibility of the
WRT's power requirements come in - since the voltage supplied will
certainly see a drop from the standard 12-13 volts coming out of the
transformer (since you're powering 2 units), the WRT will not complain
as long as it sees at least 5 volts, which will not be a problem.

I hope that makes sense!

Regarding the setup, the key items to remember are:

1. Install the DD-WRT firmware and make sure that after you flash it,
telnet into it first (username: root, password: admin) and at the
#prompt type:

mtd erase nvram
reboot

This will make sure that the config file stored in NVRAM is not corrupted.

2. Log back in and make the WRT a client unit (under the wireless tab,
under wireless mode) and input the proper SSID for the university's
network.

3. Go to the wireless security subtab and make sure you choose the
proper encryption/authorization format for the network.

4. Under the advanced settings subtab, increase the Xmit power to
200mW (that should be more than sufficient)

5. Under setup, define the Internet connection type to be "automatic
configruation - DHCP"

6. Specify your internal network address range - you can leave it as
192.168l.1.1/24

7. Make sure you change your password and test it with an ethernet
connection into the WRT! That should be it for the client/router.

####### AP config

8. If that worked (the hard part is done!), you can configure the AP.
Assuming we use another WRT54G, upload the DD-WRT firmware.

9. Turn off the WAN interface (disable it). Set the LAN address to be
192.168.1.2 and turn off DHCP. Make the gateway address 192.168.1.1.

10. Set your wireless network with the appropriate SSID and wireless
channel -0make sure it's different than the client/router unit's.

11. Crank up the Xmit power, change the password and you're DONE!

Questions?

Kai

Hi there,

I think I have just stumbled upon a problem, but its my fault as I did
not include it in the original question. When accessing the University
Wireless network from across the street, you still need to type in a
username and password to a VPN to get full internet access. Without
that all you can do is kind of pass files around the connected
machines. How can I get the Router/AP to enter through the VPN
gateway? So sorry for that... :-s

If this setup can still work with the new problem of a VPN gateway,
can you tell me more about these NEMA enclosures.

Would I have to send out another question for this though? I was
hoping to find out how I can install the circuit boards into them, as
I'm assuming the screws for fixing down the boards not going to have
complimentary screw holes in the NEMA plastic case. And where I could
get them from in the UK, preferably in Edinburgh, Scotland. And if I
was wanting something more sophisticated and custom, what kind of
company around here would manufacture the case?

Also, how do I increase the monetary amount for this question? You've
obviously done a lot more work than a usual $50 dollar question would
ask for, and I really do think that the effort you've put in so far is
worthy of at least another $25 on top.

Thanks very much for all your help Kai,

Andrew.

PS. Just out of curiousity, what is it that you've done before this or
still doing to build up all this experience in computing/networking?

Andrew,

You've just tossed a small wrench into the works here...:-0

I do think that the NEMA enclosure topic should be a separate question
if we can get passed the VPN impasse.

I'm glad that the answers have been helpful. I think the simplest way
to increase the amount for the answer is to add a tip for the
additional amount.

Now, on to the topic at hand - the question here is: What kind of VNP
is it? I need to know protocols. Also, does it require software to be
loaded onto a PC to authenticate and establish the tunnel? If that's
the case, you may have problems, since it requires the actual binary
for the VPN software to be loaded onto the router - since it's the
actual "client." And, that's not a very feasible process since the
router is just a simple "linux" box...

I need to know more information to be helpful, specifically what is
the current process of connecting a PC to the wireless network - the
more detailed, the better.

Regarding your PS question, I run a WISP where we provide broadband
wireless Internet access.

Cheers,
Kai

Hi there,

Well, firstly good news. You do NOT need to have any software running
on the client PC to log into the VPN. There are two methods;

1. Connect to the wireless network (SSID = 'central') and then open up
any webpage. The browser is then redirected to a university webpage
that prompts you to type in your username and password to continue.
Once done, the page refreshes and then redirects you to your original
target page within 5 seconds.

2. (my method) Connect to the wireless network (again) and then use
the Network Setup Wizard in XP, to create a VPN connection to the
address 'vpngate.net.ed.ac.uk'. Then when the 'Connect To' dialog box
comes up, set the computer to remember my username and password, by
passing the need to log in at the University's own log in webpage.

I realise that that may not be enough information for you to go on, so
I've taken a few snapshots of my connection settings, and hopefully it
will help

The most useful one I think is this one; 
http://static.flickr.com/35/71979696_3ecc2835e5_o.jpg

But if you can browse through other snapshots here;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/true_scotsman85/sets/1547521/

Hopefully this will be enough information to figure this one out. :-s

If you need anymore information or need me to download certain tools
to find out other details, just let me know.

Thanks again,

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

Sorry about the delay in getting back to you - I was out of town on a conference...

Anyway, regarding the connection to the UniNet, my recommendation is
to attack it step-by-step.

First, I would certainly get a WRT54G and have the unit flashed to
DD-WRT firmware. After that, connect it to UniNet via the wireless
client mode and then connect a PC directly to the LAN port of the WRT.
At that point, you will be able to test the connection to see if
there's an IP address assigned to it - btw, the UniNet is running
hostspot software that does redirection, so you should obtain an IP
address on the WRT's wireless interface. Once you've verified that you
should be able to open up a browser window and get an authentication
dialogue box - the only difference is that the access will be NATed
through the WRT.

Let me know if that works - if it does, then I think you're home free
- you will not be able to establish an IPSEC connection directly from
the WRT since it does not support that as protocol.

Good luck,

Kai

Hi there Kai,

Went out today to buy the WRT65G, and ran into a few problems.

The first one being that the Hawking Antenna that i mentioned earlier
in the post, did not attach to the back of the linksys router; wrong
type of connection.

And the second one, and more importantly, I couldnt update the
firmware to the DD-WRT version in the router. I seem to have a Version
5 of the router which seems to causing the problems according to this;

http://www.linksysinfo.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=9209&highlight=ddwrt

Where am I going to find a router of an earlier model that isnt being
made anymore, does this mean we're back to square one?

Sorry if im sounding a bit panicked, just spent around £70 getting
this router, and its all falling apart at the seams... :-s

Catch you later,

Andrew

Andrew,

Sorry you're having problems...most of the WRT54Gs we're getting
stateside are version 3-4...version 5 does not support linux firmware
upgrades because it uses another OS called VxWorks. I would return
that and see if you can find one between version 3 and 4...btw,
pricing for the WRT54G units run about US$60...70 quids is quite a lot
to pay!

Regarding the antenna, the linksys units have a standard
reverse-polarity TNC connector, so it's farily easy to get an antenna
for it.

The following is a list of serial numbers and what hardware version they match.
Serial numbers begin with:

CDF0 = WRT54G v1.0 
CDF1 = WRT54G v1.0 
CDF2 = WRT54G v1.1 
CDF3 = WRT54G v1.1 
CDF5 = WRT54G v2.0 
CDF7 = WRT54G v2.2 
CDF8 = WRT54G v3.0 
CDF9 = WRT54G v3.1 
CDFA = WRT54G v4.0 
CDFB = WRT54G v5.0 (runs VxWorks, not Linux) 

BTW, you can also try getting a WRT54GS if available...the SNs start with:
CGN0 = WRT54GS v1.0 
CGN1 = WRT54GS v1.0 
CGN2 = WRT54GS v1.1 
CGN3 = WRT54GS v2.0 
CGN4 = WRT54GS v2.1 
CGN5 = WRT54GS v3.0 
CGN6 = WRT54GS v4.0 

I'm really sorry about this...I forgot about the new releases of the
WRT54G units since we're not seeing them here yet.

Kai

Hey there Kai,

Seriously, no worries about the firmware mix-up. Easy enough to sort
out now that I know we dont have to start from scratch. But now you
know why we have the nick-name of 'Rip-Off Britain'.

-Warning: Slight Ramble Ahead) Price fixing has always been an issue
here. Tina (my girlfriend and also American citizen) has definetely
noticed it. Even though the Pound and the Dollar have difference
values, they still have the same buying power sometimes, but usually
for us brits its even worse than that. So im just stuck paying 60 and
70 quid for the router.

But if you're ever in the UK, saying quids is a dead giveaway. If you
want to blend in, you can say 70 quid, and always scream at the TV
when there's a Scotland/England game on at the pub. Its worked for me
for years!

But I digress...

I was mentioning the antenna before because I already have that one in
my house, so I'm assuming I can get some kind of adapter for the
antenna connection. I'll try and get my hands on a different model of
router, and I'll get back to you. And if you're wondering what the
hell I'm on about before, I'm going to put it down to it being really
quite late here, so I hope I didnt confuse you too much.

Hope you're conference went well,

Andrew

Andrew,

Thanks for the explanation...

Regarding the antenna, I took a look at the link you provided in your
original post and the description of the antenna says that it includes
an RP-TNC connector...take a look at the bottom of the page...

FYI, I just went over to our local walmart and picked up a version 4.0
WRT54G for $49.95...

Kai