Knoppix laptop as an internet relay

[Rich Ernst]

On Wed, Sep 28, 2011 at 2:42 PM, R S <rafazapa at yahoo.com> wrote:
>> From: Gus Wirth <gwirth79 at gmail.com>
>> Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2011 3:42 PM
>> Subject: Re: Patriot 802.11n USB dongle not PnP on stock MythDora 12
>>
>> On 07/18/2011 10:10 PM, R S wrote:
>>>  Various attempts to update my MythDora 12 box have all failed. I now
>>>  have another option to try.
>>>
>>>
>>>  My current situation is that I have internet via wifi, but not
>>>  wired.
>>>
>>>  I have attached a Patriot wifi dongle. It doesn't "just work"
>> so I
>>>  need to figure out why. It DOES work on my windows 7 laptop. I
>>>  searched for this problem online, but most of what I find is either
>>>  totally irrelevant or for a PCI version with the same exact model
>>>  number, except that the PCI decoy has one extra letter (RTL8191SE
>>>  whereas mine is only RTL8191S).
>>>
>>>
>>>  # cat /proc/version Linux version 2.6.32.11-99.fc12.i686
>>>  (mockbuild at x86-05.phx2.fedoraproject.org) (gcc version 4.4.3 20100127
>>>  (Red Hat 4.4.3-4) (GCC) ) #1 SMP Mon Apr 5 16:32:08 EDT 2010
>>>
>>>  Upon inserting: # dmesg (trimmed)usb 2-3.1: new high speed USB device
>>>  using ehci_hcd and address 8
>>>
>>>  usb 2-3.1: New USB device found, idVendor=0bda, idProduct=8172
>>>
>>>  usb 2-3.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
>>>
>>>  usb 2-3.1: Product: RTL8191S WLAN Adapter
>>>
>>>  usb 2-3.1: Manufacturer: Manufacturer Realtek
>>>
>>>  usb 2-3.1: SerialNumber: xxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>
>>>  usb 2-3.1: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
>>>
>>>
>>>  # lsusb (trimmed) Bus 002 Device 008: ID 0bda:8172 Realtek
>>>  Semiconductor Corp.
>>>
>>>  I only see lo and eth0 when invoking ifconfig, iwconfig, and "ip
>>>  addr". And iwconfig says both have "no wireless extensions"
>> (as
>>>  expected since those are not this).
>>>
>>>  System => Preferences => Network Connections has nothing under
>>>  Wireless and only eth0 under wired.
>>>
>>>  What's next?
>>>
>>
>> It looks like the driver for this chip didn't get developed until May of
>> this year according to the Linux Wireless mailing list. That means your
>> Mythdora 12 is too old to natively support it. I think it's in the
>> mainline 2.6.39 kernel so even that wouldn't help you.
>
> Interestingly, it looks like Knoppix v6.4.4 (which works) was released 2011-01-30, whereas Fedora v15.0 was released 2011-May-08. On F15 (probably v15.0), it says something like it's missing firmware (even on the internal wifiG module, IIRC). I suppose if I really want Fedora, I could download the latest v15.1 release (2011-Jun-03). Maybe that will have what my wifi devices need.
>
>
> This is strange. On Knoppix, every word in text boxes has the squiggly red underline
> (indicating bad spelling). (I *know* my spelling is not that bad.) But
> that is a minor issue. (Ah kno hau 2 spel jis fahn.) Maybe Knoppix is set for another language.
>
> Can I use my Knoppix laptop's wifi connection as a relay to my stock MythDora12 box? This is what I would like to do:
>
> web <wifiN> Knoppix laptop <wifiG> router <cat5> Myth
> ***                          ###
>
> *** I have no physical access to the web device. (I call it the web device only to distinguish that inaccessible router from *my* router.)
>
> ### I could connect the laptop to the router either by wifiG or by cat5.
>
> The only part of that layout that is not there yet is the connection between the laptop and the router, as well as configuring the laptop as a bridge, or relay of some kind.
>
>
> On the laptop, between the internal wifiG device and the USB wifiN device, it always defaults to the internal device (whether windows or Knoppix). How do I tell Knoppix to make the USB wifiN the default so that internet traffic prefers that one? I tried searching the web for this but perhaps I'm just not searching with the right terms. I guess it would just be easier to connect via cat5.
>
>
> My MythDora12 box is wired into a router (which has wireless) that is otherwise connected to nothing. I can use my laptop's internal wifiG device to connect to that
> one, or I can connect to that one by wire.

Is there no way you can bring this box to an installfest or friend's
house to get your updates?  Are you really tied up 7/24, vs. the time
(and $) you've already spent on this problem?

How about a device like this Cisco-Linksys WET11 Wireless Ethernet
Bridge to go from your web device to ethernet for $25 or less?

http://preview.tinyurl.com/3fjxe3h

This is only 802.11b, but there are similar devices that do g and n.

Rich