Linux Wireless Internet

Home > Tips & Tweaks > Linux > Linux Wireless Internet

Linux Wireless Internet

Setting up a wireless home network can certainly cut down on the amount of cables snaking in and out around your house. A wireless network is a convenient way to share a single broadband connection with all your computers without the need for cables to facilitate the connection between the router and the nodes�computers�on your network.

When we abstract a wireless network it looks like this: a wireless router will connect to your broadband modem; this router will communicate with all your computers on the network; this wireless communication is possible because each computer on your network has a wireless network card installed.

It's as simple as that; unfortunately, the concept is simple, but setting up the actual physical network can sometimes require troubleshooting.

What exactly is a Wireless LAN?

Wireless networking is a technology that makes it possible to share an internet connection without the restrictions of wires and cables. This wireless connection is usually accomplished by way of radio or infrared technology.

LAN is an acronym for �Local Area Network�. LANs are usually good for small networks such the kind you find in a single household.

A Thrifty Wireless Network: Linux

The majority of home wireless networks will use XP as the operating system installed on each node on the network. XP makes setting up a wireless network extremely easy; all you need to worry about is that if each computer has a wireless network card and that you've set up your router correctly.

A popular alternative to XP is Linux. One of the chief advantages of Linux is that it's free. You don't need a new license to install it on a myriad of machines; download it once, and install it on as many PCs as you desire. This free usage of Linux is enough for many people to want to give it a try.

Unfortunately, the steps to getting your wireless network up and running with Linux are more involved than with a simple XP setup; it's definitely not for the faint of heart. If something goes wrong during the setup process, you'll need to know where to start troubleshooting, as Linux is not usually as user-friendly as Windows XP.

A Wireless LAN with Linux

The exact steps required to successfully configure a wireless LAN with Linux can get quite involved and depends on your particular distribution. For this reason, a walkthrough of each step is beyond the scope of this article.

There's a great deal of information pertaining to Linux and wireless LANs on the web. Some good links to get you started are below:

http://www.wi-fiplanet.com/tutorials/article.php/3066371

http://www.faqs.org/docs/Linux-HOWTO/Wireless-HOWTO.html

Back To Tips Homepage