[Leaplist] an ipcop question

[Bryan J Smith]

On Sun, 2008-12-14 at 16:37 -0500, John Simpson wrote:
> i understand that- you may also want to clarify that "bridging" here  
> refers to the IP layer, or at the very least, passing layer-3  
> broadcast traffic (i.e. IP packets where the destination address is  
> 255.255.255.255) between the wireless and LAN segments. this is  
> necessary for DHCP if the client and server are on different sides of  
> the LAN/wireless gap.

It's actually layer-2.  It bridges 802.3 and 802.11, even though they
are different layer-2 frames.  That's why bridging is "more costly" than
just layer-3 routing.

> i fully agree. but when you're standing in compusa, and contemplating  
> $70 for a real access point, compared to $30 for a cheap wireless  
> ritter, that can be a hard choice to make. at least if people have the  
> details about what the different units are capable of, they can make  
> an INFORMED decision.

If you're only going to have 2-3 nodes utilizing 256-bit AES, then any
modern 'Ritter will do.  Heck, they may be putting in better
microcontrollers nowdays into 'Ritters.  Atmel's ARM options are getting
quite powerful for sub-$1 in typical core+peripherals.  Eventually Atom
will even get there from a cost/performance standpoint (although far
from yet).

> for the record, i've actually seen notes on the retail packaging for a  
> few d-link ritters which explicitly say that the unit can be used as  
> an access point. this may be true, and i suspect it probably is true,  
> for most of the other ritters on the market, but d-link is the only  
> manufacturer i've seen so far who actually puts it on their retail  
> boxes.

All the new 'Ritters I've used in the last 2 years are so do full
802.3-to-802.11 bridging.  Several can even do some of the more advanced
functions, like bridging Wired LANs over Wireless (transparent Wired LAN
bridging over Wireless).

> if you're not sure, spend a few minutes reading the boxes, and if the  
> store has computers for product research (compusa has a few machines  
> with browsers which default to their own web site, for example) do a  
> google search for the model numbers and see what kinds of results  
> other people have had. otherwise, write down the specific model  
> numbers (and versions- linksys has five different "WRT54G" units on  
> the market) and do the research at home, then come back the next day  
> and buy the one you want.

I still prefer full APs when I'm throwing a half-dozen or more nodes
doing 256-bit AES.  I'm at 7 devices at home now, anywhere from 2-4
hitting my WLAN AP hard during the weekend (possibly harder if I'm
playing my wife PSP v. PSP while downloading stuff in the background on
our notebooks).


-- 
Bryan J  Smith                Professional, Technical Annoyance
Mugshot Homepage:  http://mugshot.org/person?who=58wDcGKx6NcZAb
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