On Fri, 3 Oct 2008 01:46:48 -0400 Chris Metzler <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I have exactly zero experience with wireless -- I've never owned a laptop, > and have just never needed it. My gf, as part of her job, needs to bring > home a laptop with that other OS on it, and wants wireless access to > our broadband. > > We currently have a DSL connection: phone to DSL modem, ethernet out the > back of the DSL modem to our one desktop machine. I'm assuming that what > I want is a wireless router with LAN ports: ethernet cable from the DSL > modem to the wireless router, and ethernet cable from the wireless router > to the desktop machine while her laptop talks to the router by wireless. > We have a static IP address; I'm presuming that this wired/wireless router > will need to be configured with that address, and then will do NAT with > the desktop and the laptop. > > 1. Does what I just wrote make sense? Am I getting this correctly? Yes, that's the bog standard way of doing this, although there are OWTDI, as Alex has begun to suggest. > 2. If I'm on the right track, what about IP addresses for the desktop > and the laptop? Do I have to set them manually to addresses within > a non-routeable block? Or do such routers typically do DHCP or something > like that? They always (AFAIK) offer DHCP, but you don't have to use it. There are advantages to setting static IPs - you can set up host files and refer to the hosts by name, and I think that bringing up interfaces is a good few seconds quicker with static IPs than with DHCP. > 3. What about configuring the router (with the static IP address, any > DHCP operating parameters, etc.)? Since my desktop will be wired, I'd > like to be able to configure the router using my desktop -- which means > using Linux. If an application on an accompanying DVD is needed to > configure the router, I'm guessing that app is only going to work on > that other operating system. Or are there routers out there that are > configurable from a Linux machine in a straightforward manner? AFAIK, SOHO routers / APs / switches are generally configurable via a web interface, which will work with any platform. Note, though, that they often recommend, or even require, Javascript, which can make using a TUI browser such as links difficult or impossible. > Chris Metzler [EMAIL PROTECTED] Celejar -- mailmin.sourceforge.net - remote access via secure (OpenPGP) email ssuds.sourceforge.net - A Simple Sudoku Solver and Generator -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
