I'm thinking of building a linux server out of an old box I have lying around. Not sure what distro I want to use yet but I'm thinking about Fedora. I need this box to connect via wifi and I would like to know if anybody has tested any of the firewall/router combos out there along with any adapters that perform well with Linux. I have another PC that has Windows XP with a Linksys WMP54GS adapter (broadcom based) that will also need to be able to connect to the router. I have read on some posts that atheros based adapter work the best under linux. Is that correct? If so I was researching some routers like the netgear FWAG114 but read that it doesn't work well with broadcom adapters. Also there is the SMC2304WBR-AG but is that going to work crappy with the linksys adapter as well since both the routers mentioned are atheros based or is the netgear the only model that will cause grief.

If anybody out there is doing what I want to do and has suggestions on good 802.11 g hardware? (adapters and firewall/routers) If so it would be greatly appreciated. If possible I would like to have a VPN pass through option on the router since I would like to play around with that.

Welcome to LQ!

There are 2 places I would suggest for you to find that information.

1 - LinuxQuestions Hardware Compatibility List

2 - Wireless LAN resources for Linux

I happen to be partial to LinkSys and Atheros 5212 chipsets. Work good for me with madwifi and wpa_supplicant.

What about the router chipset? Does that make a difference? In other words should I buy an atheros based router as well. Keep in mind that it has to work with a broadcom based linksys pci adapter.

The broadcom "speedbooster" and atheros "superg" don't play well together. There are several articles on the net I've read about it, but a quick google only turned up this one:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/11...heros_for_bad/

Anyway, for 'real world' experience, just look at my latest screenshot:
http://members.aol.com/critophilippatos/suse93.jpg
Despite having a strong signal, the other people in the building using broadcom WiFi esentially rendered my connection useless due to "noise". The friggin' thing almost acts like a WiFi jammer.

I don't know who to blame, but the only solution seems to be replacing all my speedbooster and superg devices with new SRX-MIMO ones. Having invested a considerable amount of money in the older technology however, I'm not particularly thrilled about the idea. I just haze zero confidence in broadcom and atheros working out their differences.

The hardware should work together as long as they are using the same standards, however I heard that they work better if you use the same brand.

How about using another channel, 6 is the default for everybody. I set mine to 3 and the difference was huge.

That helps with "normal" interference, but not with this. You might be able to use two access points on two different channels though, one just for broadcom chipsets and the other just for atheros. I'm personally not wasting any more of my money on either one of these company's chipsets until they get their poop in a group, however.

Ralink, GPL'd drivers without any external firmware to mess with.

http://ralink.rapla.net/

A little more info to add to thread.

It's rumored MIMO will be incorporated into the 802.11n standard, which will replace 802.11g. Unfortunately it's also rumored the approval process could take a couple years.

Well, it's not a rumor, MIMO is definitely in, but apparently the problem was over whose version to use. Latest news I found indicates a compromise may have been reached and we might actually get 802.11n this year:

http://www.unstrung.com/document.asp...WT.svl=news3_1

So, personally, I'm holding off buying any more wireless stuff until the new standard is approved.

Well, with a Linksys WRT54GS you get to be able to eventually change and modify its operating system: it's Linux.

http://openwrt.org/

http://www.hyperspacehome.com/hyperwrt/

http://www.sveasoft.com/

... and maybe even make your own modifications, who knows ?

Cheers.