Building Wireless Community Networks

by Flickenger, Rob

• ISBN13: 9780596005023
• ISBN10: 0596005024
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-09-01
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

Building Wireless Community Networksis about getting people online using wireless network technology. The 802.11b standard (also known as WiFi) makes it possible to network towns, schools, neighborhoods, small business, and almost any kind of organization. All that's required is a willingness to cooperate and share resources. The first edition of this book helped thousands of people engage in community networking activities. At the time, it was impossible to predict how quickly and thoroughly WiFi would penetrate the marketplace. Today, with WiFi-enabled computers almost as common as Ethernet, it makes even more sense to take the next step and network your community using nothing but freely available radio spectrum. This book has showed many people how to make their network available, even from the park bench, how to extend high-speed Internet access into the many areas not served by DSL and cable providers, and how to build working communities and a shared though intangible network. All that's required to create an access point for high-speed Internet connection is a gateway or base station. Once that is set up, any computer with a wireless card can log onto the network and share its resources. Rob Flickenger built such a network in northern California, and continues to participate in network-building efforts. His nuts-and-bolts guide covers: Selecting the appropriate equipment Finding antenna sites, and building and installing antennas Protecting your network from inappropriate access New network monitoring tools and techniques (new) Regulations affecting wireless deployment (new) IP network administration, including DNS and IP Tunneling (new) His expertise, as well as his sense of humor and enthusiasm for the topic, makes Building Wireless Community Networksa very useful and readable book for anyone interested in wireless connectivity.

Author Biography

1. Rob Flickenger

   Rob Flickenger has been a professional systems administrator for more than 10 years, and all around hacker for as long as he can remember. Rob enjoys spreading the good word of open networks, open standards, and ubiquitous wireless networking. His current professional project is Metrix Communication LLC, which provides wireless hardware and software that embodies the same open source principles he rants about in his books. Rob also works with the U.N. and various international organizations to bring these ideas to places where communications infrastructure is badly needed. He hopes that all of this effort is contributing toward the ultimate goal of infinite bandwidth everywhere for free. He is the author of two other O'Reilly books: Linux Server Hacks and Wireless Hacks.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
Wireless Community Networks	p. 1
Why Now?	p. 2
The WISP Approach	p. 4
The Cooperative Approach	p. 6
About This Book	p. 8
Defining Project Scope	p. 9
The Standards	p. 9
Hardware Requirements	p. 13
Site Survey	p. 14
802.11b Channels and Interference	p. 15
Topographical Mapping 101	p. 17
Network Layout	p. 19
Layer 1 (Physical) Connectivity	p. 19
Wired Wireless	p. 23
Vital Services	p. 25
Security Considerations	p. 30
Summary	p. 38
Using Access Points	p. 39
Access Point Caveats	p. 41
The Apple AirPort Base Station	p. 42
Access Point Management Software	p. 43
Local LAN Access	p. 45
Configuring Dialup	p. 45
NAT and DHCP	p. 45
Bridging	p. 46
WEP, MAC Filtering, and Closed Networks	p. 48
Roaming	p. 49
Channel Spacing	p. 49
Host-Based Networking	p. 51
Anatomy of a Wireless Gateway	p. 52
Long-Range Networking	p. 69
Topo Maps 102: Geographical Diversity	p. 70
Antenna Characteristics and Placement	p. 74
Other Applications	p. 93
Software	p. 93
Point-to-Point Links	p. 95
Point-to-Multipoint Links	p. 97
Home-Brew Antennas	p. 98
Redundant Links	p. 106
Repeaters	p. 107
Security Concerns	p. 111
NoCatAuth Captive Portal	p. 113
Fun with IP	p. 116
In Closing	p. 120
Radio Free Planet	p. 121
Universal Wireless	p. 125
The Future	p. 128
Radio Free Sebastopol	p. 129
OSCON 2000	p. 129
The Campus	p. 130
Coffee, Coffee, Coffee	p. 131
Online From Home, No Strings Attached	p. 131
Seattle Wireless	p. 132
NoCat	p. 133
The Community Takes Notice	p. 134
The Portland Summit	p. 135
And So On	p. 136
Regulations Affecting 802.11 Deployment	p. 137
Path Loss Calculations	p. 157
Simple Scheme Management	p. 158
Index	p. 161
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.