Wireless LAN resources for Linux



Wireless Tools Orinoco driver Wavelan drivers Linux-IrDA BlueTooth Papers Main page

Linux Wireless LAN Howto Wireless+Linux links Other Howtos Wireless hardware Linux links


Foreword

The Linux Wireless LAN Howto is an Open Source project sponsored by Hewlett Packard (through my contribution) since 1996, and built with the contribution of many Linux users all over the world.

I first got involved in the Wireless LAN world by hacking the Wavelan drivers for Linux. I'm quite curious, so I start gathering information to know how the damn beasty was working.

Then, I realised that there was no central point where you could find all this information, links to the drivers and issues with Linux. So, I start stuffing it on my web pages, and it slowly evolved to what you see now.

I'm no longer active on the Wavelan drivers, but I'm also still following the work of Wireless LAN (called as well WLAN or Radio Ethernet), especially in relation with Linux. So, once every century, I update my Linux Wireless LAN Howto (html and pdf available below) and the collection of URLs (after the howto). I hope that it is usefull to someone...


The Linux Wireless LAN Howto

I've decided to collect all the information about Wireless LANs and Linux that I was able to find. The goal was also to document my work and to become famous :-) You will find all that information in the Linux Wireless LAN Howto, available in PostScript, PDF and HTML (see below).

The original Linux Wireless LAN Howto is available as 3 postscript or acrobat (PDF) documents, which contains the same material but with the original presentation. So if you wish to enjoy a better reading experience or to print it, use those documents :
PostScript : Acrobat (pdf) :

The translation of the Howto to HTML lack the presentation but is more browser friendly, with cross references, external web links and support of HTML navigation. It is composed of the following documents :



My Howto finishes here, below is a huge collection of links ;-)
If you want to add links there, send me a nice e-mail...

Wireless LAN drivers web pages

Lot's of people are working to make Linux better in supporting Wireless LANs, you will find down here some link to their web pages. This is only some shortcuts, you will find the complete list of drivers and all the details in the Howto.

Wireless Linux software on the Internet

Linux Wireless support is not limited to Wireless LAN drivers, you can find tools, distributions and support for other wireless technologies.

Wireless Tools and Applications

Wireless LAN Protocol stacks

Wireless Linux Distributions

Most distributions support some Wireless cards out of the box, and have the infrastructure to support other cards when the proper driver is installed. Those distributions have a specific focus on Wireless LAN.

BlueTooth support

IrDA support

Other Wireless Technologies


Security software for your Wireless LAN

The security included in all Wireless LAN is cost effective, so if you want security over your Wireless LAN, you may want to check those packages.

Generic security solutions

Generic security protocols are totally independant of the underlying technology, so will work on any kind of wired or wireless connection. Those solutions are often classical, well defined and proven.

802.11 specific security solutions

802.11 specific solutions are more complex and depend on hardware support. They come in two parts, the first part runs between the card and the Access Point (802.1x, WPA), the second part runs between the Access Point and an authentication server (Radius).

Public wireless LAN solutions

If you are deploying public wireless LAN access, you often don't want all those complication and can use a simple captive portal.

Other Linux Wireless Howtos and help

There is a lot of good documentation out there ;-) If after reading all the documentation above you still can't find the info you are looking, here are a couple of source of help to get in touch with other Linux users.

Public Wireless Linux networks

If you don't want to play alone with your wireless equipement, there are lots of people setting up public wireless networks using Linux. I just picked a few of those with interesting info on their pages.

Wireless LAN Hardware (surveys and reviews)

Various people maintain some approximate list of the hardware that is compatible with Linux : Just a few reviews and guides here, not Linux specific.

Other web sites of interest (Wireless LAN related)

A random collection of links. I welcome your suggestions...

Linux and other links

Some personal recommendations on the web...
Wavelan, Orinoco and Wireless Tools - jt@hpl.hp.com
Updated 25 July 07
Copyright © 1996-2007 Jean Tourrilhes
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