Things to expect at Warpstock 2006: Wi-Fi Setup & Troubleshooting

Still debating about making the trip to Windsor? Here's a preview of some of what I plan to cover in Thursday's Wi-Fi workshop.

We're going to progress from some concepts and fundamentals to building a 2-AP Wi-Fi network to installing GenMAC and XWLAN, and finally what to do when things just won't work.

After a brief (really, I mean it...well, I'll try) presentation on current Wi-Fi definitions and available technology for small networks, we'll take two LinkSys WRT54GL (yes, that's an "L") 4-port Wi-Fi routers, flash them with the latest and greatest build of DD-WRT firmware, and configure them as a wireless bridge.

Next, we'll swap antennas to better focus our signal (enabling us to extend the range of our bridge), using a pair of cantennas.

Obviously, while it may be exciting for some to get two LinkSys routers chattering away between themselves, most of the rest of us would like to get some clients on that little network, so we'll take a clean ThinkPad with eCS 1.2 and an internal Wi-Fi card, install GenMAC and XWLAN, and examine the differences between connecting to public hotspots and creating profiles for private (or frequently used) WLANs. This should pose an excellent opportunity to discuss what encryption schemes are currently available for us on OS/2, what's on the horizon (pardon the pun referencing my talk on Warpstock, scheduled for Sunday), and how to configure not only the router, but the client, as well.

In the final phase, I'll "break" something in the configuration, and test the group's troubleshooting skills to determine what's wrong and the best way to fix it. We may go through this exercise a few times, depending upon how much time we have, or if we have enough troubleshooting issues between us, we may just move into a straight Q&A; I'll leave that up to the group.

Somewhere along the line, while imparting some tips I've picked up the past couple of days out here in Milpitas at the Wi-Fi workshop, I'll explain how to run two 802.11a, b, or g networks on the same channel without having them interfere with one another.