One of the sad ironies of this new world of wireless multimedia sharing is that although many gadgets out there use an integrated Linux OS to get music from point A to point B, very few of them actually allow Linux users to indulge in music-sharing fun. Enter the Sonos Digital Music System. The Sonos system is called a system for a couple of reasons.

First of all, it’s split up into components rather than being an all-in-one solution. The basic setup consists of a wireless base station, known as the ZonePlayer, and a portable handheld remote control, known as the Controller. Second, it’s designed to be a multiroom solution. You can place up to 32 ZonePlayers and Controllers around your house or workplace and stream different tracks to each of the different zones.

The Zoneplayer

The ZonePlayer is the heart of the system. It’s designed to connect to your home network, stream music from shared folders on your local home network and communicate wirelessly with other ZonePlayers in your house. The first ZonePlayer you hook up in your home must connect to your home network using an Ethernet connection; additional ZonePlayers then will connect wirelessly through the first ZonePlayer using a proprietary wireless networking system called Sonosnet, in order to minimize interference from other wireless equipment in your home. If you want to place the first ZonePlayer in a room that doesn’t already have an Ethernet connection, your choices will be fairly limited, but you can get around the issue with a pair of powerline networking adapters.

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Coyote sharing his experience with a famous Singapore tech forum on how to get wireless networking working in linux. He is using DWL-G520 network card and Fedora Core 4 linux to demonstrate how easy to get wireless networking in Linux.

According to Coyote, basically there are two parts in getting it working:
1) Installing the linux drivers for the D-Link DWL-G520 network card.
2) Getting the OS to be support WPA encryption, such that the card can connect to the router using the protocol.

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Before setting up a Wireless LAN, you first must plan your equipment purchase.

The wireless approach to networking has one obvious big advantage: You don’t need Ethernet cables. With this approach, each computer in the network still gets its own Ethernet adapter. As always, this might be an internal card that you have to install yourself. Or it can be an external device you just plug into an existing USB or IEEE 1394 port. In either case, the adapter is essentially an antenna that sends signals to a special wireless Ethernet hub.

Despite the obvious convenience of going wireless, you need to be aware of some potential disadvantages. One is that there’s a limit to how far the signals will travel. You need to estimate your distance requirements before you go shopping and make sure you get a wireless networking kit that can reach far enough to meet your needs.

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Digital cameras are relatively new to the Wi-Fi scene, but the idea makes sense: You have to transfer pictures from your camera somehow, and using Wi-Fi eliminates worries about forgetting USB cables or flash memory adapters.

The EasyShare-one

The EasyShare-one is one of the Wi-Fi camera able to connect directly to the Internet. You can upload pictures straight to Kodak’s EasyShare Gallery via 802.11b, and e-mail links to friends. You can also wirelessly transfer photos to your computer.

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If you like saving big bucks on long-distance and international calls with a Voice-over-IP phone plan, you’d probably love being able to use it with a Wi-Fi handset that lets you enjoy wireless freedom. Since Wi-Fi is available all over the world, you could bring a Wi-Fi handset on your European grand tour, yet pay no more than your normal monthly fee for all the calls home you care to make. Others could call you, too, at your regular number, anywhere in the world, at domestic prices. Just try that trick with a cell phone.

The snag, of course, is that Wi-Fi is nowhere near as ubiquitous as cell network coverage and the first-generation handsets not yet support the log-in screens found at most public hotspots. A Wi-Fi travel router will let you use the phone (and your Wi-Fi–enabled laptop) in hotel rooms with wired broadband access via ethernet, though.

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Though your new wireless network allows you to have the freedom to surf the Internet anywhere in your house, it also is good news to your neighbors. With your wireless network, your neighbor can now surf the Internet for free, at your cost. I always highlight the important of wireless security to public, and I don’t mind to re-post this topic again in this blog.

Unlike a wired network, where you need to have physical access to a network access point, wireless networks extend beyond the four walls of your house. Most wireless access points and routers provide a web-based configuration program for configuring the wireless access point. The following are some pointers for securing your wireless network:

Disable SSID Broadcast

By default, most wireless access points will broadcast the SSID to all wireless devices. Anyone with a wireless network card can detect the SSID you use and gain access to your network. This brings us to the next point.

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Follow-up from yesterday’s post; Addressing Wireless Remote Access Design Considerations, here on how to configure remote access policies for your wireless connections.

To enable wireless connections, you need a basic remote access policy to allow wireless users.This policy can restrict access to a group, require certificate-based authentication, and/or mandate a high level of encryption.You can use the following steps to create a policy for wireless access.

Create a Policy for Wireless Access

1. From the IAS or RRAS console, select Remote Access Policies in the left-hand column.

2. Select Action –> New Remote Access Policy from the menu.

3. A welcome message is displayed. Click Next to continue.

4. The Policy Configuration Method dialog box is displayed. Select Use the wizard to set up a typical policy and enter Wireless access in the policy name field. Click Next to continue.

5. The Access Method dialog box is displayed. Select Wireless and click Next.

6. The User or Group Access dialog box is displayed. Select Group and click Add. Enter Domain Admins and click OK, and then click Next.

7. You are prompted to choose an EAP type to allow. Select Smart card or other certificate and click Next.

8. A completion message is displayed. Click Finish to exit the wizard.