Simple situation, need advice

How do i give a laptop running WindowsXP access to the internet (and
samba/cups printer queue) through a linux workstation that hosts a pppoe
dsl connection and a printer? (I don't mean how do I create a lan w/ NAT
and DHCP, but what do I need to put the laptop in a NATed lan behind the
Linux box?)

It's just one laptop that's being added. The Linux station already
exists and is always on and always connected to the internet via
ethernet to dsl bridge.

Along with routing/firewalling the internet access for the laptop I want
the Linux box to share the printer to the laptop. I have experience
setting up lan's and samba shared printers, but none at all with
wireless, especially not wireless across platforms.

Do I just need two same brand 802.11b cards in both the WinXP laptop and
the Linux box (the ad hoc network)? Or do protocols like SMB not work
right in ad hoc situations?

Would it work better with an external wireless router attached
"downstream" of the linux box, something like the Netgear MR814NA or
WGR614 or the D-Link DI-514 ?

thanks

hazzmat wrote:
> How do i give a laptop running WindowsXP access to the internet (and
> samba/cups printer queue) through a linux workstation ...

I meant to write "how do i give it WIRELESS access through/to the Linux
box." (Must monitor blood sugar before posting.)

well, should you have experiences with LAN env, the wireless would not
be the problem. Only this you need is the drivers for both the
platform to work out. these days, almost all the networking products
carries linux driver diskset or you can download that from the
manufacturer's site.

raqueeb hassan
congo (drc)

Raqueeb Hassan wrote:
> well, should you have experiences with LAN env, the wireless would not
> be the problem. Only this you need is the drivers for both the
> platform to work out. these days, almost all the networking products
> carries linux driver diskset or you can download that from the
> manufacturer's site.
>
> raqueeb hassan
> congo (drc)

Thanks --so do I need a wireless router (I do not mean a full access
point), or can I share internet access as well as the samba printer
queue in ad hoc mode? This, plus the fact that one system is Linux and
the other Windows, is the main problem I'm getting at.

I'd like to use the cheapest solution practical because this network
arrangement--the addition of just one WindowsXP laptop--will be very
temporary.

Ad hoc ?
or external router?

I'm asking this because the howto's and postings from google I've read
are very confusing. Some say sharing internet doesn't work in ad hoc
mode, some say that certain other services won't work between Windows
and Linux in ad hoc mode. Adding to the fun, almost all Linux-wlan
information--aside from usenet posts which are automatically
timestamped--is UNDATED (a maddeningly sloppy practice), and so you read
along wondering what, if anything, in the howto before you is still true.

Seems to me at a minimum I'll need DHCP services, plus Samba running on
the Linux system, as well as NAT set up through my firewall scripts--I'm
not worried about the NAT stuff once I have the two systems talking.
The overall state of documentation on Linux wireless matters is ABYSMAL.
It's all either undated and probably obsolete, or it's written by driver
hackers for other driver hackers.