From owner-freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.ORG Thu Jun 5 21:52:32 2008 Return-Path: Delivered-To: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Received: from mx1.freebsd.org (mx1.freebsd.org [IPv6:2001:4f8:fff6::34]) by hub.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 0FB181065670 for ; Thu, 5 Jun 2008 21:52:32 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from stapleton.41@gmail.com) Received: from wa-out-1112.google.com (wa-out-1112.google.com [209.85.146.182]) by mx1.freebsd.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D5F708FC14 for ; Thu, 5 Jun 2008 21:52:31 +0000 (UTC) (envelope-from stapleton.41@gmail.com) Received: by wa-out-1112.google.com with SMTP id j4so481653wah.3 for ; Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:52:31 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=domainkey-signature:received:received:message-id:date:from:to :subject:cc:in-reply-to:mime-version:content-type :content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition:references; bh=5BAyKg0lzO9fJwQxiVOp3+cs065DV8WnKqr3HTYw5mc=; b=gs17nXGuEB84Bm0qmSyQG/wKJLRk6HPpmidj/AWG8XQN8lPTg9rX1C/dt60v0gdUDi MNBDXTMJ7z28X3z9S7zXxXXfuIa3Aq5cR1uG84OJErSE9PkkdpyXfXPugIpwxdNiywAt XVL5k8tNiL39ail5s8SrFY8GcmMhtt/m/wGU4= DomainKey-Signature: a=rsa-sha1; c=nofws; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=message-id:date:from:to:subject:cc:in-reply-to:mime-version :content-type:content-transfer-encoding:content-disposition :references; b=yCQIlPvGO6WWNysoz1uT1BxWNe7QXWbwhsWZf/+1wdTmQFQF2f/A6T6gX4IigQfB5U YXXCsKoCRnE0qNGXzzd36zK5Q5wa55KtOs5FI1vKZZ0x5jqJN2GNKT3AmCU6jtRlX7cJ 81xos8bjuWEAWWsK/p51fTgPUQxTwAFeizyfg= Received: by 10.114.146.1 with SMTP id t1mr2289817wad.76.1212702750392; Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:52:30 -0700 (PDT) Received: by 10.114.150.14 with HTTP; Thu, 5 Jun 2008 14:52:30 -0700 (PDT) Message-ID: <80f4f2b20806051452i62ff9862vafb4091dafee2e81@mail.gmail.com> Date: Thu, 5 Jun 2008 17:52:30 -0400 From: "Jim Stapleton" To: "Chris Whitehouse" In-Reply-To: <48403EDE.1090409@onetel.com> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline References: <80f4f2b20805300608s13ec0fa7x7034f1a89ea07c46@mail.gmail.com> <48403EDE.1090409@onetel.com> Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org, connexion@psand.net Subject: Re: Best solution - mobile wifi hotspot X-BeenThere: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: User questions List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , X-List-Received-Date: Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:52:32 -0000 On Fri, May 30, 2008 at 1:52 PM, Chris Whitehouse wrote: > Jim Stapleton wrote: >> >> My dad makes instruments and goes to a lot of festivals. They are >> typically in the middle of nowhere, without internet. Many vendors >> still bring notebooks as they provide quick & easy access to many >> things, but there is no internet. For credit cards, many use their >> cell phones to make the transaction. My dad wants to get a satellite >> connection (pure sattelite, no phone), and set up something to offer a >> wireless hotspot. >> - Some shows will just pay a flat fee, and have the hotspot open. >> - Some shows won't pay a fee, and so he'll want to charge to recover >> some of the cost. >> >> For the open hotspots, a simple wireless router will do. For the >> charge hotspots, we'd want something a little more flexible. My first >> thought was 'FreeBSD can do that!'. The trick is that we will be using >> battery power most of the time. Low power is the key. I'm thinknig >> sub-20W max power drain worst case, SUB 10-15W is ideal. >> >> >> With that background info, my questions are: >> 1) Is building a low power computer based on FreeBSD the right way to >> go? Or would you all recommend something else? What? >> 2) Does anyone have experience with the GeodeNX or VIA C7 boards >> available on NewEgg? Heads ups and pointers? >> 3) Does anyone have experiences with these and a given wireless >> adaptor, How good/bad is/was it? >> >> Thanks, >> -Jim Stapleton >> _______________________________________________ >> freebsd-questions@freebsd.org mailing list >> http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-questions >> To unsubscribe, send any mail to >> "freebsd-questions-unsubscribe@freebsd.org" >> > > This particular wheel has already been invented several ways :) > > http://psand.net/ > > https://en.wiki.aktivix.org/SquatTelecoms Well, my dad wants to provide something for cheaper than hiring a third-party vendor to come out into the middle of nowhere and do this (amongst other things, since he's out there, he doesn't have to use hundreds of miles of gas + extra man hours). As for the second, that seems to be 'how to get an ISP', which he already has researched, he is more looking to /be/ the ISP. > To keep power down you probably want to opt for a dedicated wireless router > box not a computer (unless you are also saving bandwidth with squid etc). > And to generate electricity use wind or solar. Do you know of a wireless router that can provide individual user authentication, without requiring a complex setup? Some places may not want to pay for the internet connection, so he'll need to 'rent out' connection bandwidth to other vendors. Thanks, -Jim Stapleton