Fon-Tastic! II

Well, after a lot of experiments and configuration changes, Ive managed to bridge an open network I have close by. I’m still experimenting some issues..

Most importantly, when Bridged, I cannot find a way to connect back to the Fonera. This is a bit of a problem, as I will probably have to bridge to different access points around because they are not available all the time.(I have read about a script that automatically connects to an open access point. This, when everything is working as expected, would be a nice option).

I will now look into bridging it using a cabled connection. This way, I believe, I should be able to access both my Fonera and the Access point router.

Developping Distance

As promised in a previous post, Here is a shortlist of the first things I discovered when moving from Lotus Domino to ASP/SQL as an application Development platform.

Of course this is far from complete, but gives you an idea what its about. I will populate it over time. As I have just created one small app, I cannot list all the possible differences….. for the moment, the most obvious:

biggest differences between developing a simple database driven application on the Domino platform compared to the MS ASP.NET/SQL Environment
		DOMINO		ASP/SQL
Data Layer	No Intervention req. Using the Domino designer, only the fields need to be planned.		+	SQL Database needs to be planned and set up.	-
				Data connections need to be planned and set up.
Application Layer	Formula language, very easy to learn. (ex. @mailsend(“Alex K”;”cc name”;”bcc name”;;”Subject”;”Mail Body text bla bla)		+	ASP / SQL Both not an easy language to learn. However not impossible either, depending on your capabilities.	-
	Lotus script, very similar to plain VBScript.		-/+	to create a simple application, no coding is required.	+
Presentation Layer	Domino Designer is not really made for developing for web clients. However, using css pages, and “render as HTML” make it possible to layout your site well. However This is not very straight-forward, and will take a bit to get a hang of.		-	The Microsoft VWD is clearly a web development tool. Layout and design are really easy.	+
Other	Access control easily managed, up to field level		+	Access control depends on set-up, Active Directory access makes things easier, while using roles in the asp.net user management console can be quite complex when managing multiple applications	-
Application: 1 database table 1 form for entering data 1 reporting view Access Control

un-fonned

Last week, Ive been looking into the whole idea of using the La Fonera Router to extend my wireless coverage. I have changed the plan a bit, as I started learning about the new possibilities of my new La Fonera router

Since the FON hot-spot I have close by, does not reach me I have been looking into alternative solutions.

I found the DD-WRT firmware. Supposedly after flashing the router with this firmware, the very limited FON router turns into a highly configurable router, able to act as a wireless bridge or a repeater.

However when I started reading I quickly found that the whole subject is quite extended, not to say complex. There are many many versions of the dd-wrt firmware available, and an equally amount of way’s to “brick” your fon router. (leave it unusable… as a ). Consider this a warning, as I believe to have bricked it twice, and was just plain lucky to get it back again.

There are many websites that explain how to upgrade your firmware, and I wont explain the whole process here, as I think it differs a lot depending on the type of fonera router you’ve got.

I recieved a La Fonera 2201 router (fon+) and managed to upgarde the firmware finally with the explanation given here: [LINK] (I also used the firmware linked to on that site. This however, is an older version. Use the link below to get the same with SP1 included)

I managed flashing it with the the V24 firmware, and the router booted fine. Opening The DD-WRT router configuration menu gave me the feeling my laptop reconnected to a different access-point! completely different, and it actually looked like a real full-blown router.

However, (not sure its due to the treatment the router received, or the old version of the firmware Ive put on) after a couple of hours of use (and after making about a thousand of undocumented configuration changes), the router keeps resetting and therefore it is not fit yet for a connection.

I have downloaded the newer version of the firmware(V24-SP1) here, and will give it a try tonight, hoping the SP 1 will fix the restart issue.

The second part of my plan did not change. When i am able to set the router up as a repeater, I am sure that with a stronger antenna, (I will probably modify my satellite dish with a can-tenna, Bas… if you’re reading this…. send me some pictures of your “vergiet-tenne”) I can repeat one of the very weak open wifi signals I receive.

For the moment, I did some tests (while the flashed router was still working fine) and the EZ12 Windsurfer, a small reflector on top of the FON router already gave me some surprising results: I could connect to the double amount of access points, and the signal of the ones I used to receive with my laptop wifi card has increased allmost a 20%! Ans that is still just inside my appartment.

!!Happy 2008!!

best wishes!!

didn’t want to elf myself…. so no pic here!