New Expensive Toy(s)

Computer Hardware and electronics in general.
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Stavros
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New Expensive Toy(s)

Post by Stavros »

So a friend of mine works in the network department of my university (iTech). Recently they've started upgrading the network replacing all their A/B/G Access Points with A/B/G/N APs. My friend got a hold of a couple (with permission). He said he was going to either hock it on eBay or give it to a friend of his, but he knew I liked to tinker with electronics and knew I had a lot of free time so he gave me an AIR-AP1131AG-A-K9. Unfortunately I can't use it since there's some issue with not being compatable with a 64-bit operating system. That should be remedied shortly since he's giving me a server that's just collecting dust at his parents house. I plan to put a RADIUS server, ssh server, and file server on it.

Anyway, here's a few pictures I snapped of it.

AP with power cord and 9-pin serial-to-usb cord for programming
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Fuzzy shot of the back plate
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Opened up to show power, ethernet and console mode ports
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So I'm not really sure what all I can do fwith it. From what my friend says there's a lot of stuff to tinker with configuration-wise. Right now I just plan on putting it on the other side of the house so the house will be completely covered with wifi.
Last edited by Stavros on 12 Nov 2009, 22:38, edited 1 time in total.

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lilrofl
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Post by lilrofl »

focus focus foooooooooCUuuuuuuus

Joking of course... but not really.

Looks good though, have fun!

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bad_brain
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Post by bad_brain »

nice! :) how will you run it? as independent AP or as repeater for the already existing one? :-k
and don't forget to post pics of the server once you have it... :D

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Stavros
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Post by Stavros »

Right now I just plan on using it as a repeater in the living room. The wireless signal just kind of craps out around the dining room/kitchen. It's not very strong when I'm sitting in front of the living room TV.

What would the benefits of an independant AP be?

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Post by bad_brain »

there would be kinda none, that's why I asked... :wink:

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Post by Stavros »

Alright. Got new pictures of the server. It's an old piece of crap that was used by B.P. (British Petroleum) near a tiny town called Collins that was used to control the injection of the substance they market as "BP with invigorate". It's supposed to help reduce the build up of grime on pistons and the rings. Anyway, here's some pictures.

Server front has tape drive, CD drive and floppy.
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Innards. Pulled out the RAM apperently has 128MB
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Backplate with ancient serial ports (just what I need to program the AP)
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Comes with 4port NIC!
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So the thing has roughly 128MB. I have no idea how much HD space (I'm thinking 40-80GB. Maybe.) and about Pentium 3 processor. Does this seem like it's too week to run Debian as a file server, ssh server, and RADIUS server?

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Post by bad_brain »

128MB is enough if you don't use a desktop environment like Gnome or KDE....lightweight ones like xfce would work fine, but no need for a server imo.

I have to admit I am a little jealous about the tape drive, most might think it's totally outdated, but it's still often used in professional server environments as backup device... :)
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Post by Stavros »

Ok, so my hard drive guess was a little off. It's 18GB. Not really a big deal since I don't plan on using it as a major server. All I'm really worried about is if I can use it as a RADIUS , File, ssh and IRC server.

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