linux router as wireless accesspoint

[VJ]

Hello,

Simple question... There are a lot of linux distribution out there that can be used as a router:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_router_or_firewall_distributions
(I'm using IPFire for now)

A change of network configuration made me wonder: which distributions can turn the PC into a wireless accesspoint? I know Zeroshell can, but I don't really like this one... So are there others?
Thanks!

Jörg

[Haig]

Hi Jorg,

You can use hostapd with any distribution. If you are using the ath9k driver, I think you would need to use a specific kernel.

[MultimediaMan]

DD-WRT has an i586 release (though not for free) they sell it for about 15 Euros

iMedia Linux has a router box distro; supports quite a few wireless cards; has some excellent compact flash options.

M0n0Wall (BSD) supports many wireless cards.

Astaro Security Linux Supports a wide variety of wireless cards; also has a very regular development cycle.

Smoothwall Express v4 (which has not been officially announced) is rumored to have WiFi support.

[Marshmallowman]

smoothwall?

http://www.smoothwall.org/

[MultimediaMan]

The same... version 4 is not out, nor has it been talked about, but it is in the cooker so says a couple of sources.

[VJ]

Thanks guys!
I like smoothwall; I've recompiled it with a new kernel to get support for my 3G modem, but didn't know 4.0 is not that far off... Monowall also seems good, so I'll give that one a go.

Still not sure if it is the best option; a hardware router might be more convenient, but I'll check things out.


Jörg