How can I turn a PC into an Access Point?

I want to use a wlan-PCI card in my Windows Server 2003 as an Access Point.
Can anybody point me in the right direction?
I know it is faster, easier and very cheap to by en external access point,
but this is not the point.

On Wed, 12 Oct 2005 14:20:25 +0200, "Erik Palsbo"
<erik@_nospam_palsbo.com> wrote:

>I want to use a wlan-PCI card in my Windows Server 2003 as an Access Point.
>Can anybody point me in the right direction?

I don't know of anything that will run on Windoze Server 2003 that
will act as an access point unless you want to setup an ad-hoc network
which has no access points and everyone connects to everyone else.
Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, ad-hoc may be adquate.

Some of the older Orinoco drivers have a registry key called "APMode"
that allows the driver to simulate an access point, but that probably
will not run on Windoze Server 2003. I suspect that even if you could
find an AP spoofing program, you might have driver difficulties with
an internal PCI card. I don't think any of the card vendors even
support Windoze Server 2003 for their drivers although I'm fairly sure
that the XP NDIS5 drivers will work.

>I know it is faster, easier and very cheap to by en external access point,
>but this is not the point.

Ah, it's the challenge. I see...

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

> On Wed, 12 Oct 2005 14:20:25 +0200, "Erik Palsbo"
> <erik@_nospam_palsbo.com> wrote:
>
>>I want to use a wlan-PCI card in my Windows Server 2003 as an Access
>>Point. Can anybody point me in the right direction?
>
> I don't know of anything that will run on Windoze Server 2003 that
> will act as an access point unless you want to setup an ad-hoc network
> which has no access points and everyone connects to everyone else.
> Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, ad-hoc may be adquate.
>
> Some of the older Orinoco drivers have a registry key called "APMode"
> that allows the driver to simulate an access point, but that probably
> will not run on Windoze Server 2003. I suspect that even if you could
> find an AP spoofing program, you might have driver difficulties with
> an internal PCI card. I don't think any of the card vendors even
> support Windoze Server 2003 for their drivers although I'm fairly sure
> that the XP NDIS5 drivers will work.
>
>>I know it is faster, easier and very cheap to by en external access point,
>>but this is not the point.
>
> Ah, it's the challenge. I see...
>
Well if you want a challenge, convert from Windows to Linux and then
if you have a suitable wireless card being an AP is easy. Exactly which
driver you need depends on the card, and only some drivers support AP mode
but all Prism 2/2.5/3 cards, Prism 54 cards, Intel 2x00 cards, Atheros cards
and several others are all supported as APs. In fact if you look in many
APs you will find Linux is what is driving them.

David
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On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 10:32:25 +0100, David Goodenough
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>
>> On Wed, 12 Oct 2005 14:20:25 +0200, "Erik Palsbo"
>> <erik@_nospam_palsbo.com> wrote:
>>
>>>I want to use a wlan-PCI card in my Windows Server 2003 as an Access
>>>Point. Can anybody point me in the right direction?
>>
>> I don't know of anything that will run on Windoze Server 2003 that
>> will act as an access point unless you want to setup an ad-hoc network
>> which has no access points and everyone connects to everyone else.
>> Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, ad-hoc may be adquate.
>>
>> Some of the older Orinoco drivers have a registry key called "APMode"
>> that allows the driver to simulate an access point, but that probably
>> will not run on Windoze Server 2003. I suspect that even if you could
>> find an AP spoofing program, you might have driver difficulties with
>> an internal PCI card. I don't think any of the card vendors even
>> support Windoze Server 2003 for their drivers although I'm fairly sure
>> that the XP NDIS5 drivers will work.
>>
>>>I know it is faster, easier and very cheap to by en external access point,
>>>but this is not the point.
>>
>> Ah, it's the challenge. I see...

>Well if you want a challenge,

Not me. I already have too many challenges.

>convert from Windows to Linux and then
>if you have a suitable wireless card being an AP is easy.

Sorta. NDISWrapper impliments the Windoze NDIS interface on Linux and
allows the use of the Windoze drivers on Linux.
http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net

>Exactly which
>driver you need depends on the card, and only some drivers support AP mode
>but all Prism 2/2.5/3 cards, Prism 54 cards, Intel 2x00 cards, Atheros cards
>and several others are all supported as APs.

Yep. HostAP for example:
http://hostap.epitest.fi
However, the current version also supports NDISWrapper drivers which
allow it to be used with a wide variety of hardware besides the ones
you mentioned.

>In fact if you look in many
>APs you will find Linux is what is driving them.

Yep, but they don't use NDISWrapper. They really need the native
driver support for the wireless chipset to keep the code size
reasonable and for performance reasons.

The original challenge was to do it on Windoze Server 2003, which is
basically Windoze XP with server features. I couldn't find an XP
implimentation of something like HostAP.

--
Jeff Liebermann (E-Mail Removed)
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

> On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 10:32:25 +0100, David Goodenough
> <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
>>Jeff Liebermann wrote:
>>
>>> On Wed, 12 Oct 2005 14:20:25 +0200, "Erik Palsbo"
>>> <erik@_nospam_palsbo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>>I want to use a wlan-PCI card in my Windows Server 2003 as an Access
>>>>Point. Can anybody point me in the right direction?
>>>
>>> I don't know of anything that will run on Windoze Server 2003 that
>>> will act as an access point unless you want to setup an ad-hoc network
>>> which has no access points and everyone connects to everyone else.
>>> Depending on what you're trying to accomplish, ad-hoc may be adquate.
>>>
>>> Some of the older Orinoco drivers have a registry key called "APMode"
>>> that allows the driver to simulate an access point, but that probably
>>> will not run on Windoze Server 2003. I suspect that even if you could
>>> find an AP spoofing program, you might have driver difficulties with
>>> an internal PCI card. I don't think any of the card vendors even
>>> support Windoze Server 2003 for their drivers although I'm fairly sure
>>> that the XP NDIS5 drivers will work.
>>>
>>>>I know it is faster, easier and very cheap to by en external access
>>>>point, but this is not the point.
>>>
>>> Ah, it's the challenge. I see...
>
>>Well if you want a challenge,
>
> Not me. I already have too many challenges.
>
>>convert from Windows to Linux and then
>>if you have a suitable wireless card being an AP is easy.
>
> Sorta. NDISWrapper impliments the Windoze NDIS interface on Linux and
> allows the use of the Windoze drivers on Linux.
> http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net
>
For that to work the windows driver would have to have AP functionality,
and then it would work in windows as well. No you have to have a native
linux driver with the specific AP functionality.
>>Exactly which
>>driver you need depends on the card, and only some drivers support AP mode
>>but all Prism 2/2.5/3 cards, Prism 54 cards, Intel 2x00 cards, Atheros
>>cards and several others are all supported as APs.
>
> Yep. HostAP for example:
> http://hostap.epitest.fi
> However, the current version also supports NDISWrapper drivers which
> allow it to be used with a wide variety of hardware besides the ones
> you mentioned.
The hostapd (the d is important) support does support client authentication
for ndiswrapper drivers that does not give you AP support.
>
>>In fact if you look in many
>>APs you will find Linux is what is driving them.
>
> Yep, but they don't use NDISWrapper. They really need the native
> driver support for the wireless chipset to keep the code size
> reasonable and for performance reasons.
>
> The original challenge was to do it on Windoze Server 2003, which is
> basically Windoze XP with server features. I couldn't find an XP
> implimentation of something like HostAP.
>
As far as I know there is none. That is why I said you need to use Linux.
David
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Thanks Jeff and Dvid for reply.
I had the feeling that this was not that easy. After all - it may not be a
good idea for security reason, but I liked the idea of only one box.

"Erik Palsbo" <erik@_nospam_palsbo.com> wrote in message
news:434cff85$0$156$(E-Mail Removed). ..
>I want to use a wlan-PCI card in my Windows Server 2003 as an Access Point.
>Can anybody point me in the right direction?
> I know it is faster, easier and very cheap to by en external access point,
> but this is not the point.
>

In article <434eb025$0$187$(E-Mail Removed)>, "Erik Palsbo" <erik@_nospam_palsbo.com> wrote:
>Thanks Jeff and Dvid for reply.
>I had the feeling that this was not that easy. After all - it may not be a
>good idea for security reason, but I liked the idea of only one box.

Just to jump in and throw a little water on the fire, why would you want to
covert a $300 or so computer into a $70 AP in the first place? I mean
computers make really good calculators too, but I'd rather go to Kmart and
pay $5.00 then convert my computer to the task <wink>.

Just a thought from the wet blanket crowd.
>
>"Erik Palsbo" <erik@_nospam_palsbo.com> wrote in message
>news:434cff85$0$156$(E-Mail Removed) ...
>>I want to use a wlan-PCI card in my Windows Server 2003 as an Access Point.
>>Can anybody point me in the right direction?
>> I know it is faster, easier and very cheap to by en external access point,
>> but this is not the point.
>>
>
>

fundamentalism, fundamentally wrong.

> Just to jump in and throw a little water on the fire, why would you want to
> covert a $300 or so computer into a $70 AP in the first place? I mean

That and the fact that even my wife can reboot an AP (power off/on)

Much easier than trying to get her to remote diagnose a stuffed server.

David.

On Thu, 13 Oct 2005 21:06:19 +0200, "Erik Palsbo"
<erik@_nospam_palsbo.com> wrote:

>Thanks Jeff and Dvid for reply.
>I had the feeling that this was not that easy. After all - it may not be a
>good idea for security reason, but I liked the idea of only one box.

If you read any of my rants in this snoozegroup, you'll find that I'm
a big fan of seperate functions in seperate boxes. Usually, that
means seperate boxes for the DSL/cable modem, for the router, and for
the wireless access point. The reason is that each box wants to live
in a different environment. The router and modem wants to live under
a desk, in a close, buried in a basement, or other RF disgusting
location. Meanwhile, the radio (access point) wants to live as high
as possible and away from any sources of interference. These
requirements are mutually incompatible.

This also applied to a server with a PCI wireless card. Actually,
it's an even worse situation. The radio is next to the biggest source
of interference. The antenna is shielded by a big metal computer box.
It's also tangled among a bunch of cables and often buried under a
desk or in a server closet. I could not think of a worse RF
environment unless you want to bury it underground.

I'm not sure why you like the idea of having all your eggs in a
Microsoft basket, but I would suggest you reconsider your preferences.

--
Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
831.336.2558 voice
http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS
http://802.11junk.com Skype: JeffLiebermann
(E-Mail Removed) (E-Mail Removed)

Erik Palsbo <erik@_nospam_palsbo.com> wrote:

> I had the feeling that this was not that easy. After all - it may not be a
> good idea for security reason, but I liked the idea of only one box.

Even when it's easy, it's still lousy. Just about everybody who tries it
soon moves on to a dedicated hardware base station. Having always-on,
no-hassle wireless access is well worth the price.