LESSrich's dashboard

This is a great project, Ryan. Here are the challenges:

1. Supported NIC are limited to the drivers that were included at the time of the distribution. If/when you add an unsupported NIC, you will need to locate and add the relevant drivers and any other dependent files

2. We looked into solving this problem ourselves several years ago, but stopped when we realized that the location of the Hotspot Server (PC) may not be an ideal location for the wireless card, ie, it was often located in an office when it should actually be out in a dining room or in a ceiling. This would mean using a wireless card with a jack for an antenna. So the question became which was better--running a long antenna or making an ethernet run to an access point?

Ultimately, we solved the problem (for ourselves) by porting the Hotspot Server software to the Linksys WRT 54GL. This eliminates the need for the Hotspot Server by combining the gateway software with the wireless router. The ability to easily locate this unit near the intended audience surpasses the Hotspot Server. Still, the Hotspot Server is a great choice if you need a beefy server for high-traffic venues. We've recently learned of a large venue that has over 100 AP's VLAN'd into 2 Hotspot Servers. Wow!

--r

Thanks, Amy. I'm looking forward to this.