3

Is it possible to accomplish in Linux the functionality of Windows Virtual Router (http://virtualrouter.codeplex.com/)?

In another words, i want to have a NIC connected to an access point, and the same NIC acting as an access point. Is there anyone that have done such a thing in Linux?

Many thanks.

Improve this question
1

3 Answers 3

Reset to default
1

Hostapd allows management of a wireless card in AP mode, but then its normal usage requires forwarding the connection to a different IF, which is what the Arch Linux article is all about. Instead, the question was whether an AP could be set up with a single IF, acting simultaneously in AP mode (the virtual IF managed by hostapd) and in station mode (i.e., as a client to an existing access point). All cards I know prevent use of the card in station mode, if there is a virtual IF in AP mode. Which is why I am interested in an answer to the very same question.

A guy here claims to have accomplished this with a Ralink RT2790 driven by rt2800pci, which however is not found on usb devices. This site claims instead to have accomplished this with wifi onboard cards driven by ath5k/ath9k. Since ath9_htc is the usb counterpart of the onboard ath9k driver, it may be conjectured that all devices driven by this module support this configuration. The list of these devices can be found on Linux Wireless.

Once again, I am not sure, I am going to try out this solution myself.

Improve this answer
0

This method works for me:

  1. Open system settings
  2. Open network under the hardware section
  3. In the new window, on the left side you can see Use as Hotspot button

I have tested this on my ubuntu 12.04

Improve this answer
0

Yes, as long as the Linux driver for your card supports it. There are many howtos on this out there, just google "Linux access point". The basic steps (taken from the Arch wiki) are:

  1. Install hostapd from your distribution's repositories. On Debian-based systems you can install with this command:

    sudo apt-get install hostapd

  2. Create it's config file /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf, make sure to set SSID (whatever you want the broadcasted network to be called) and the pass phrase accordingly:

    ssid=YourWifiName
wpa_passphrase=Somepassphrase
interface=wlan0
bridge=br0
auth_algs=3
channel=7
driver=nl80211
hw_mode=g
logger_stdout=-1
logger_stdout_level=2
max_num_sta=5
rsn_pairwise=CCMP
wpa=2
wpa_key_mgmt=WPA-PSK
wpa_pairwise=TKIP CCMP

However, the details will depend on whether your wireless driver supports "Access Mode" mode, which you can check by seeing what is listed under "Supported INterface Modes" when running:

iw list

I highly recommend you read the Arch wiki article I linked to, other useful resources are:

http://www.cyberciti.biz/faq/debian-ubuntu-linux-setting-wireless-access-point/ http://nims11.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/hostapd-the-linux-way-to-create-virtual-wifi-access-point/

Improve this answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .