Building a Wireless Access Point on Linux
By Peter Seebach2005-04-12
Why bother?
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Maybe I should start with "Why not to bother." It's pretty clear that buying an off-the-shelf device is a lot cheaper than building a custom box. The hardware that went into this ran me around $400, and that's not including the possible value of a few hours of my time. Having said that, there are two good reasons to build your own wireless access point.
The first is flexibility and customizability. Want a firewall? No problem. Custom routing? NAT? All easily managed. Custom Web-based configuration? Half an hour's work with CGI scripts. You can add traffic graphing if you like. That off-the-shelf box may have a special Windows-only configuration tool, so it won't be possible to ssh in and change your settings. You won't be able to run your weblog off of the Web server. If there's a problem, you have to wait for a "firmware upgrade" -- which may or may not address your problem.
The other -- and perhaps more compelling -- reason is that it's fun, and it's a good way to learn about the issues you may face running an embedded Linux system. Think of this as a hobbyist's test project, and if you come up with a killer app for it, you might just be able to make a profit anyway.
Tutorial Pages:
» Custom Solution Offers Flexibility and Customizability -- and a Chance to Learn
» Why bother?
» Requirements
» Project Plan
» Conclusions
» Resources
First published by IBM DeveloperWorks
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