802.11: The Mother of All IEEE Wireless Ethernet
While definitely showing its age, the original 802.11 gear still has its uses
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802.11a: The Betamax of the 802.11 Family
802.11a offers more channels, higher speed, and less interference than other protocols, but it still just isn't popular
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802.11b: The De Facto Standard
Many people continue to use 802.11b, the protocol of the Wi-Fi revolution
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802.11g: Like 802.11b, only Faster
Turbo charge your wireless network without leaving your 802.11b users in the cold
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802.16: Long Distance Wireless Infrastructure
The long awaited Municipal Area Network protocol is on the way, but isn't here just yet
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Bluetooth: Cable Replacement for Devices
Bluetooth eliminates the need for cables that tether your tiny devices
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900 MHz: Low Speed, Better Coverage
Ubiquity is sometimes more important than speed. If you absolutely need to make a link that isn't possible with 802.11, then this older gear might be for you
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CDPD, 1xRTT, and GPRS: Cellular Data Networks
If you can't roll your own wireless, you might try one of these mobile phone carrier networks
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FRS and GMRS: Super Walkie-Talkies
Use these high powered radios in places where mobile phones just don't cut it
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802.1x: Port Security for Network Communications
Secure access to virtually any network port (wired or wireless) with 802.1x
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HPNA and Powerline Ethernet
These nontraditional networking protocols can save you a ton of effort
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BSS Versus IBSS
BSS/Master/AP/Infrastructure/IBSS/Ad-Hoc/Peer-to-Peer: these all refer to 802.11b operating modes, but what does it all mean?
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Remote Control OS X with a Sony Ericsson Phone
Use your phone as a remote control for presentations or iTunes, or for about anything you can script with AppleScript
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SMS with a Real Keyboard
Stop fiddling around with your phone's keypad and use your laptop for text messaging
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Photo Blog Automatically with the Nokia 3650
Instantly publish your photos from the road, without even logging in
The Code
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Using Bluetooth with Linux
Get Bluetooth up and running quickly under Linux 2.4
The Code
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Bluetooth to GPRS in Linux
Use your Bluetooth phone as a modem when Wi-Fi isn't available
The Code
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Bluetooth File Transfers in Linux
Exchange data freely between your Bluetooth device and your Linux box
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Controlling XMMS with Bluetooth
Use your Bluetooth device to control your music remotely under Linux
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Find All Available Wireless Networks
Locate all wireless networks in range without installing any additional software
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Network Discovery Using NetStumbler
Find all available wireless networks with this infamous monitoring tool
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Network Detection on Mac OS X
Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the networks available in your area
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Detecting Networks Using Handheld PCs
Easily monitor wireless networks while walking around
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Passive Scanning with KisMAC
Glean detailed network information with this passive scanner for OS X
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Establishing Connectivity
What to do first when you just can't get your wireless connection working
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Quickly Poll Wireless Clients with ping
A quick and dirty method for determining who is on your local subnet
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Finding Radio Manufacturers by MAC Address
Find out what sort of radio cards and laptops are in use on your local network
The Code
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Rendezvous Service Advertisements in Linux
Let your users know what services are available on your network, even if you aren't running OS X
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Advertising Arbitrary Rendezvous Services in OS X
Rendezvous isn't just for web pages and iChat. Use this OS X app to advertise whatever you like
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"Brought to you by" Rendezvous Ad Redirector
Spam your fellow Rendezvous users with sponsored links
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Detecting Networks with Kismet
Troubleshoot network problems with one of the most advanced wireless monitoring tools available
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Running Kismet on Mac OS X
Run Kismet natively on OS X using the Viha AirPort driver
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Link Monitoring in Linux with Wavemon
Monitor radio parameters in real time using Wavemon, a curses-based tool for Linux
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Historical Link State Monitoring
Comprehensively track the performance of your wireless links over time
The Code
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EtherPEG and DriftNet
Get a compelling visual representation of what people are looking at on your network
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Estimating Network Performance
Just how quickly can you squeeze data through your AP?
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Watching Traffic with tcpdump
This famous command-line packet capture tool is invaluable for troubleshooting thorny network problems
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Visual Traffic Analysis with Ethereal
Sift through network data with one of the most advanced protocol analyzers available
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Tracking 802.11 Frames in Ethereal
Use Ethereal to track wireless frame data it normally can't capture
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Interrogating the Network with nmap
When you absolutely need to know everything you can about a network or host, nmap can help
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Network Monitoring with ngrep
See who's doing what, with a grep for your network interface
The Code
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Running ntop for Real-Time Network Stats
See who's doing what on your network over time with ntop
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Add-on Laptop Antennas
Improve the range of your laptop with an add-on antenna
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Increasing the Range of a Titanium PowerBook
Radio waves just don't penetrate titanium, but that shouldn't keep your TiBook from getting online
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WET11 Upgrades
Significantly increase the range, sensitivity, and functionality of your WET11
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AirPort Linux
Turn your Graphite AirPort (or other KarlNet based AP) into a full-fledged Linux router
The Code
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Java Configurator for AirPort APs
Configure your AirPort or Lucent-based AP from a Java applet
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Apple Software Base Station
Use an OS X machine with an AirPort card as a true access point
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Adding an Antenna to the AirPort
Significantly extend your range when using an AirPort base station
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The NoCat Night Light
Put your AP where everyone can see it—on the ceiling
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Do-It-Yourself Access Point Hardware
Use one of these popular embedded PC boxes as a building block for your access point project
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Compact Flash Hard Drive
Make your own tiny hard drive with no moving parts and very low power consumption
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Pebble
Use this tiny Debian-based distribution for your own custom wireless access point
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Tunneling: IPIP Encapsulation
IP tunneling with the Linux IPIP driver
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Tunneling: GRE Encapsulation
IP tunnels with GRE for supporting multicast and Cisco devices
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Running Your Own Top-Level Domain
Set up your own TLD in BIND for ease of navigation
The Code
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Getting Started with Host AP
Use a Prism II radio card with Linux as if it were a hardware access point
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Make Host AP a Layer 2 Bridge
Make a simple Ethernet bridge with Host AP and one other network interface
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Bridging with a Firewall
Regain control over your Layer 2 bridge with iptables and ebtables
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MAC Filtering with Host AP
Filter MAC addresses before they associate with your Host AP
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Hermes AP
Enable BSS master mode on Hermes-based radios
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Microwave Cabling Guide
There are myriad antenna feed cables available. Which is the right one for the job?
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Microwave Connector Reference
Be able to tell one microwave connector from another with this field reference
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Antenna Guide
How do you know which antenna is the best for the job? This guide will explain
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Client Capability Reference Chart
A quick guide to what's what in the world of consumer wireless gear
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Pigtails
Use a short length of feed line to connect your wireless device to an antenna
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802.11 Hardware Suppliers
Where to get hard-to-find parts and supplies
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Home-Brew Power over Ethernet
Power your access point without running a separate power cable by using free pairs on the CAT5
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Cheap but Effective Roof Mounts
Install wireless gear on your flat roof without piercing it with mounting hardware
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Deep Dish Cylindrical Parabolic Reflector
This simple design provides high gain without pigtails or modifying your AP
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"Spider" Omni
Possibly the smallest and simplest omnidirectional antenna there is
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Pringles Can Waveguide
How to make the infamous Pringles cantenna
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Pirouette Can Waveguide
Build a simpler, higher-gain antenna-in-a-can
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Primestar Dish with Waveguide Feed
Use a cantenna waveguide in conjunction with a recycled satellite dish
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BiQuad Feed for Primestar Dish
Make an even higher gain antenna out of a recycled Primestar dish
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Cut Cable Omni Antenna
Make a high-gain omni out of bits of feed cable
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Slotted Waveguides
Make a high-gain, horizontally polarized omni or unidirectional antenna. And it looks cool too!
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The Passive Repeater
Use a passive device that requires no power to shoot around obstacles
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Determining Antenna Gain
Figure out the approximate gain of your home brew antenna—without a spectrum analyzer
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Establishing Line of Sight
Use these methods to quickly tell if a long distance wireless shot is possible
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Calculating the Link Budget
Figure out whether a long distance link is even possible before you buy any equipment
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Aligning Antennas at Long Distances
By working methodically and communicating well, you can easily bring up wireless links several miles apart
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Slow Down to Speed Up
On a flaky link, talking slowly can actually speed up data transfers
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Taking Advantage of Antenna Polarization
Use electromagnetic polarization to avoid noise from other antennas in the same spectrum
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Map the Wireless Landscape with NoCat Maps
Manage many wireless nodes with this open source mapping project
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Making the Best of WEP
While not the answer to every wireless security need, WEP can still be effective if used properly
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Dispel the Myth of Wireless Security
Find out for yourself just how "secure" your standard wireless network really is
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Cracking WEP with AirSnort: The Easy Way
Use a dictionary attack to test the security of your WEP key
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NoCatAuth Captive Portal
Provide cryptographically sound access control using only a web browser
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NoCatSplash and Cheshire
If you need a simple "splash screen" for your wireless users, try either of these simple captive portals
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Squid Proxy over SSH
Secure your web traffic from prying eyes—and improve performance in the process
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SSH SOCKS 4 Proxy
Protect your web traffic using the basic VPN functionality built into SSH itself
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Forwarding Ports over SSH
Keep network traffic to arbitrary ports secure with SSH port forwarding
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Quick Logins with SSH Client Keys
Using SSH keys instead of password authentication to speed up and automate logins
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"Turbo-Mode" SSH Logins
Even faster logins from the command line
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OpenSSH on Windows Using Cygwin
Use any of the powerful OpenSSH hacks in this chapter on a Windows box
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Location Support for Tunnels in OS X
Easily choose between encrypted and unencrypted communications using the Network Location feature in Mac OS X
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Using vtun over SSH
Connect two networks together using vtun and a single SSH connection
The Code
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Automatic vtund.conf Generator
Generate a vtund.conf on the fly to match changing network conditions
The Code
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Tracking Wireless Users with arpwatch
Automatically keep a database of MAC address to IP address mappings
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