On Mon, Oct 31, 2016 at 03:22:15PM +0000, Laurie Brown wrote:
On 31/10/16 15:16, Chris Green wrote:
On Mon, Oct 31, 2016 at 09:34:56AM +0000, Huge wrote:
On Sun, 2016-10-30 at 21:46 +0000, Chris Green wrote:
This isn't really specifically a Linux question but I'm sure the ALUG team should be able to come up with an answer.
I want a box which is an ethernet switch/hub (ideally an 8-port though five might be just enough) and also provides WiFi. I.e. a switch with both wired and wifi connections. It doesn't have to have any other intelligence, it doesn't need to be a router or anything.
This is to hang onto the ethernet port of an outdoor WiFi access point which is running in WISP Client mode (a TP-Link TL-WA7210). The TL-WA7210 provides DHCP and DNS (via the WiFi hotspot it's connected to) so all I want is a box to provide multiple wired and wifi connections to the LAN side of the TL-WA7210.
Is there such a beast? Is there a specific name for it?
I Gioogled for "wifi ap with ethernet switch" and found this;
https://www.amazon.co.uk/NETGEAR-WN604-100UKS-Wireless-Access-Point/dp/B003T...
I'll leave you to investigate further ...
Yes, "Access Point" seems to be the magic formula, thanks, I'm now looking at several possibles.
May I suggest you look at DD-WRT and get yourself a compatible device from Ebay rather than a mainstream one?
http://www.dd-wrt.com/site/index
"DD-WRT is a Linux based alternative OpenSource firmware suitable for a great variety of WLAN routers and embedded systems. The main emphasis lies on providing the easiest possible handling while at the same time supporting a great number of functionalities within the framework of the respective hardware platform used."
I have already got an openwrt based device and, to be quite honest, it's a pain in the proverbial. When I got the openwrt compatible (a Mikrotik router) I looked at DD-WRT as well and it looked even more impenetrable than openwrt.
Going to the DD-WRT site the first problem one encounters is that it's backwards when searching for a compatible device. You have to guess a manufacturer that might make compatible devices.
It also seems that neither openwrt nor DD-WRT offer any sort of upgrade path. There is usually just one build and that's it. For example for my TP-Link WA7510N it has just:- V24 PreSP2 [Beta] Build:21061 and the files are dated 2013. It doesn't fill one with confidence.