With some open-source software, some hardware, and a lot of handiwork, you can make your own WAP.

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  1. Attach the null-modem cable to the WAP and your computer's serial port. (Check the BIOS to see if your serial port is enabled. The serial ports on IBM Thinkpads are disabled by default.)
  2. Open your favorite terminal application and set the baud rate to 19200 (the Soekris default).
  3. Power up your WAP.
  4. Once you see the boot counter, hit Ctrl + P on your keyboard to stop the comBIOS boot process and enter the monitor command prompt.
  5. Type "set conSpeed=9600" (without quotes) to set the console speed to 9600 baud. See an example.
  6. Turn off the WAP and unplug it.
  7. Set the baud rate for your terminal application to 9600 baud.
  8. Reapply power to the WAP, and you should see the boot process begin again.
  9. You should see the m0n0wall serial configuration prompt. Here's what it looks like.
  10. Assign the wireless device to the m0n0 configuration. Press 1 to assign interfaces. Now enter sis0 for the LAN interface, sis1 for the WAN interface, and wi0 as the optional interface, as shown here. Finally, hit Return. The system will now reboot.


Use the Web interface

After completing the above steps, you're going to use the Web interface to configure the WAP.

  1. Connect the Ethernet port on the WAP to a switch, hub, or to your computer with a cross-over cable.
  2. Open your Web browser, enter "http://192.168.1.1" (without quotes) in the URL box, and hit Return.
  3. A dialog box should appear.
    • User name: admin
    • Password: mono
    You should see the main webGUI configuration window.
  4. Click on the OPT1 entry under Interfaces. This will take you to the wireless configuration page.
  5. You want to select the "Enable Optional 1 Interface" box, and enter a name in the description text box. I used the name WiFi.
  6. Under IP Configuration, you want to select LAN from the pull-down menu where it says "Bridge with." This will create a bridge between your wireless network and LAN so all of your computers share the same LAN segment.
  7. Now set a name, or SSID, for your network and leave everything else the same. We're not setting the WEP key here because we want to make sure things work. If you desire additional protection, you'll need to look into using the IPsec support provided with m0n0wall.
  8. Click Save and wait for the page to update itself.
  9. Now we need to add a firewall rule so traffic from the LAN interface is forwarded onto the WiFi interface. Select Rules under the Firewall column. You should see this screen with one default rule listed.
  10. Click on the rightmost + sign to add the new rule. Then modify the following settings.
    • Action: Pass
    • Interface: WiFi
    • Source: LAN subnet
    • Destination type: Any
    • Description: Enter a name so you can recognize the rule
    .
  11. Save the rule. On the next screen click Apply changes. Your changes won't go into effect until you click this button.
  12. There is only one more thing to configure: the password. In the gray column on the left, click General Setup.
  13. You should be at the System: General setup page. Under the Password setting, enter your new password in the provided spaces.
  14. Under Time Zone, pick the zone closest to you.
  15. Click Save.


Final steps

  1. Assuming your ISP provides you with an address via DHCP, take a network cable and connect the Eth1 port of the WAP to your cable/DSL modem. The Eth0 port is your local area network; connect that one to a switch or hub. If you want to make a direct connection to your computer without a switch or hub, then you need a cross-over cable.
  2. Now reboot your wireless AP/firewall, and it should obtain an address from your ISP. Once the system has rebooted, you can connect your computer to the switch/hub or wireless network. The system contains a DHCP server so you shouldn't have to do any configuration on your computers as long as they're set up to use DHCP which most are.
  3. Now from a terminal window on your computer, enter the command ping 192.168.1.1. This will test your WAP. If you get a response, then try and ping a host on the Internet such as ping www.techtv.com.
  4. Go back and set a WEP key for the Wi-Fi interface as well as on all of your wireless computers. Not using WEP will leave your network wide open for anyone who cares to use (or abuse) it. WEP was not turned on initially here only to make initial testing easier.
  5. After you set the WEP keys, turn WEP on and you're done.

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