[KLUG Members] Wireless Access Point recommendation?

[Bob Kanaley]

Once again, thanks for all the feedback KLUGites.

Wireless, Wireless, Ah, What is Wireless, really?

802.11b, 802.11b+, 802.11g and 802.11a, 802.1x, 802.1Q, 802.11i, ...

I work for a small company of about 45, so no Radius server, no Cisco Secure
Access Control Server, no Cisco Access Registrar, no Active directory, no
Domain controller, no LDAP server, so no Cisco LEAP security capabilities.

I believe that a RADIUS server would be beyond our reach (read my
capabilities and time to learn how) for the immediate need of one to five
laptop users, but I can certainly try to do 128 bit WEP keys on a user to
user basis.

I have always read good things about Cisco Aironet, and I can get Cisco
really cheap right now, but it is 802.11b. I don't know if the WAP and/or
cards are upgradeable to the faster speeds of 802.11b+, 802.11a, 802.11g, or
the greater security of 802.11i.

Bruce’s reference to the Jan/Feb Paranoid Penguin how to series on a
FreeS/WAN VPN is great, but in the article Nick Bauer makes a point to say
that FreeS/WAN is exclusively Linux. So, I had discounted FreeS/WAN for a
VPN because the laptop users will be on windbloz until our developer
finishes porting all our mission critical apps to Linux. We won’t be all
Linux for at least two years.

If anyone has any OpenSource suggestions for winbloz clients to attach to a
Linux VPN wireless gateway, I would love to hear about it. The problem is
clearly on the M$ client side.

If I have to go with 802.11b it sounds like MAC restrictions, frequent WEP
key changes and some kind of a VPN might be my best bets for increased
security.

It seems that wireless is fast moving towards WPA, TKIP, AES and 802.11i. I
hate to lock into cheap, insecure old equipment only to have more secure
non-compatible equipment comes out in April and cheap secure equipment come
out in June.

I guess my palms will be sweating for a while.

Bob

Robert V. Kanaley
Manager Information Systems
Agdia, Inc.
rvk@agdia.com
http://www.agdia.com