[rescue] OT: Linux and USB on Intel

[Sheldon T. Hall]

In reply to my asking about appropriate routing software for an Intel box
with a USB device, Klaasjan Brand <kjb at studenten.net> said ...

> First, forget about DOS ;)

Probably, but I used DOS to route dial-up and ISDN with packet drivers and
IPRoute for some years, and it was both reliable and secure.  It was also
more flexible and "smarter" than my dedicated ISDN router is.  In fact, my
old '386 with DOS 6.22 and IPRoute is still sitting here, still plugged in,
and still ready to spring into action if the ISDN arrangements go down.
It's a 5-gallon bucket that stills holds 5 gallons.

> Check http://www.linux-wlan.org/index.html for linux wlan device
> support. Not all devices seem to have a working driver.

It's that "not all devices have a working driver" bit I'm trying to sort
out.  I really don't want to waste the time installing something and trying
to set it up, only to find that the driver for the USB device doesn't work.
I already have a W98 set-up that doesn't work, at least it doesn't work for
more than an hour at a whack.

... and Frank Van Damme wrote ...

> Why use a floppy based distro if you have a 1.2 gig hd?

I'd like to use the HD elsewhere, and a read-only floppy is a bit more
secure.

... and Chris Hedemark said ...

> I haven't tried it with a USB ethernet adapter, but I see no reason why
> it shouldn't work.  Check out the OpenBSD project at
> http://openbsd.org.  OpenBSD will let you route between those networks
> nicely and set up a very solid firewall (or better yet, VPN from your
> wireless network to your wired network).

That's certainly in the hunt, but I looked all over the site and didn't see
anything like a list of supported USB peripherals.  What did I miss?

This router is going to sit between a dedicated wireless connection to a
WISP about 5 miles away, and my LAN, which includes both wired and wireless
portions.  We can get a 1 mbps WiFi connection on the 5-mile haul with a
minorly hacked 30 mW PCMCIA card in a laptop, connected to an old satellite
dish.  If I can solve the router/USB problem, I'll be able to use a 200 mW
USB device to drive the antenna.  This will mean I can put the antenna in a
better location and run USB cable to it, as well as get better speed on the
link.

-Shel