1. Home
  2. Wireless Networking
  3. Win98SE and WPA - again (sigh) ....

Win98SE and WPA - again (sigh) ....

Our current configuration is a Billion BiPAC 5200G R4 router on an ADSL connection, serving various points within the building with cat5/5e network cabling, and a wireless XP/SP3 laptop. The wireless link employs WPA. One legacy task is supported by a Win98SE laptop which currently connects via a wired NIC and there are no issues.

However due to a relocation of that Win98SE task to another area where cabling is not a practical proposition, we are considering wireless and that is where I am running into problems. If anyone reading this is of a mind to suggest "dump_98" then please don't bother - the legacy issue *cannot* be supported by later OS/hardware.

The W-NIC at hand for the 98SE box is an Enterasys CSIBD-AA, which is reputedly a reasonable device. On the Enterasys site their 7.86 driver release notes state that this card will support WPA under 98SE (etc) with a 3rd party supplicant (I hate that term, reminds me of suppository - maybe that's the idea, something you shove up the backend of your problem area?). The 7.86 drivers were loaded and the card fires up fine, seeing the router with good signal level but obviously no connectivity. Email exchanges with their support regarding potential supplicants was a total waste of time.

So the search for a 3rd party WPA supplicant ("3PS") began. Much deep Googling uncovered numerous prospects and newsgroup/forum threads as far back as 2003. Funk Odyssey and Meetinghouse AEGIS were early (paid) candidates. The Aegis bundle was reported to have success with a wide range of cards, and was also located freely downloadable from a well-known network hardware manufacturer's site - but this failed to install. It was looking for either (both?) of two files which were not present in the driver suite.

Subsequently Wireless Security Corp's free WPA Assistant was tracked but the widely reported link was dead, presumably as a result of WSC's takeover by Cisco. It has been reported that the Cisco 30-day trial bundle still contains that product, and it can be retained after the bundle is disabled at the end of the trial period. I haven't to date gone that route.

There was also Buffalo's Client Manager v2 which was reported to work with a variety of non-Buffalo cards ("don't use v3, it only works with Buffalo cards - get v2"). Searching on their site only revealed v3, but I located a driver download site with v2 (2.21). This seems to be for their Air Station range, but maybe it is the good oil. In the absence of any installation guide, from scouring the .ini files it isn't clear whether this is a complete driver set or just the WPA supplicant.

So to my questions:

  1. WSC-Cisco. Can anyone confirm whether a currently downloadable trialware bundle will provide the required WPA client side support and remain operative/legal after the trial period?

  1. Buffalo. Is that Client Manager a full driver suite or just the WPA supplicant?

  2. Other. Is there another available (preferably free) 3PS that I should pursue?

  1. Am I better off trying to set up a wireless bridge to the 98 machine's new area and run the existing PC-card NIC?

Thanks for any constructive advice and experience shared.

Reply to
rebel
Loading thread data ...

[snip]

#4 would be my pick. If you don't already have the hardware to do it, consider getting a wireless router that supports dd-wrt firmware and run it in Client Bridge mode.

Reply to
Char Jackson

just out of curiosity, have you considered powerline networking?

Reply to
Peter Pan

I would convert the w98 to a VM. Chance are if the box is the original w98 box which now has a lot of mileage on it it is time to retire it before it dies of old age. This avoids finding the old box is toast someday and trying to figure out what to do.

Reply to
George

Just speculating since the O.P. didn't specify, but a frequent reason for retaining a Win9x machine is to support ICE hardware, debuggers, device programmers, etc. whose associated software depends on access to the underlying metal, unavailable from a VM.

Michael

Reply to
msg

Email me your email address and I will send you a copy of the software. It works really well on my old 486/Win98SE laptop.

Reply to
delete

Michael, I tried replying to you but get "queued, timed out" responses from mail server.

Reply to
rebel

I've actually got a Belkin Wireless G router (model F5D7230-4) which claims to be able to operate as a bridge between segments, but I have been singularly unsuccessful in getting any connectivity yet. Setup efforts continue but with reduced expectations.

Reply to
rebel

No, mainly because I already have at hand the hardware to provide the required functionality.

Reply to
rebel

Correct, and that is but part of the legacy issue.

Reply to
rebel

e:

I think that you will usually need two wireless bridges. A previous poster suggested - Oh there he is above - using a box that operated as a "Client Bridge". This would be able to interoperate with an existing Access Point. I doubt that many APs will allow both normal AP mode and Bridge Mode at the same time. However, I could be wrong. Of course if you get one with two radios then I would expect that the modes configured could differ between the two radios.

I also seem to recall that some APs that do support Bridge Mode are proprietary in Bridge Mode and may not interoperate with other vendors equipment.

Reply to
bod43

Tried via another account/server combo. Maybe more luck this time.

Reply to
rebel

Well, you need two "ends" of a bridge. The existing Billion wireless router currently supports one roaming XP laptop, and I was exploring whether the Belkin box could be turned into the other half of the bridge pair to allow a second wired segment. Where's Jeff L when I need him? ;-)

That may well be the issue here.

Reply to
rebel

Its always good to keep everyone guessing when looking for suggestions.

Reply to
George

I have no experience with Belkin products, but I know that Linksys WRT54GL boxes (with dd-wrt firmware) work very well for what you're trying to do.

Reply to
Char Jackson

okay, so you want to make what you have already work in a new way/on a new wireless network, instead of using an off the shelf product that will work with the wired network you have already... umm don't you already have a wired system now, and electricity at the new spot for the old computer? do you already have the hardware for win98/wireless/wpa? maybe it would be easier just to connect the ac wiring to your network...

at any rate, i moved a tivo to another room where wireless didn't reach Two of these (kits come in pairs, anywhere from $50 up)

formatting link
into ac and the router downstairs, and the second anywhere elsei wanted wired ethernet (handy so I can move the tivo to any room i want,rooms already have ac power) took less than a minute, and the tivo is alinux box, (but happily uses a wired ethernet connection)

Reply to
Peter Pan

[...]

Buffalo's ClientManager2 v2.1 is a supplicant. I've used it with a Belkin F5D7010 card and the cards Belkin driver, using WPS-PSK (TKIP) under W2K, which does not come with a (built-in) supplicant. Try/use it with the Enterasys 7.86 driver.

[...]

The bridge (kit, with 2 WNHDE111s) goes under the name WNHDEB111.

Reply to
Axel Hammerschmidt

rebel

Try this address: wildbear(=AT=)o2.co.uk

Reply to
Smit

I agree completely with this resolution. May I suggest the Linksys WRT54GL, Newegg has them right now for about $50. These units are perfect for this application, plus it's much easier to load the dd-wrt firmware onto the "GL" version.

Reply to
Will D

Yep, the WRT54GL is exactly what I had in mind when I wrote that. I have a few of them on the shelf at the moment, in various configurations. I have a Client, a Client Bridge, a NAT router, and I'm not sure how the others are currently configured, but dd-wrt makes it easy to have this one piece of hardware do many things.

Reply to
Char Jackson

Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.