Wireless: Difference between revisions

From CSCWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
(csc-wireless appears to be defunct. technical information preserved for posterity)
m (802.1Q, not 802.11q)
Line 149: Line 149:
==== Wireless Interface Configuration ====
==== Wireless Interface Configuration ====


First, load the Atheros and 802.11q modules:
First, load the Atheros and 802.1Q modules:


modprobe ath_pci 8021q
modprobe ath_pci 8021q

Revision as of 13:07, 25 November 2009

csc-wireless no longer exists. Members are advised to use uw-wireless or uw-secure.

Motivation

The UW wireless network has a couple of major deficiencies:

  1. Weak signal in MC 3036, preventing some laptops from connecting
  2. Aggressive throttling of bandwidth, even to wired systems within the club office
  3. Ignorance of the "Don't Count" list

The second point is quite important: UW's wireless will begin to throttle high bandwidth connections after a minute or two, decreasing bandwidth slowly from 1MB/s or more down to 40KB/s or less. Members can expect to sit in the office for an hour or more if they want to download many packages off of the CSC mirror.

To work around this problem we have an access point in the Computer Science Club.

Configuration

  • ESSID: csc-wireless
  • AP: 00:11:95:ff:da:ec
  • Channel: 36 (5.18 GHz)
  • Network: auth3net (129.96.192.0/23)

Clients must authenticate to the Network Authentication Appliance (NAA) as with uw-wireless, in accordance with this IST policy, points #2 through #4.

Technical Overview

The AP connects to glucose-fructose through a secondary NIC. On glucose-fructose, the following decision is made:

  • IP packets destined for mathstudentorgsnet are brouted with SNAT to wireless-nat.csclub.uwaterloo.ca
  • All other ethernet frames are bridged to auth3net

The network is identical to connection through uw-wireless in all respects, except for the special treatment of mathstudentorgs traffic. This special treatment bypasses uw-wireless throttling for machines on our network.

Wireless Performance

  • uw-wireless
    • 400MB Ubuntu CD image
    • Initial speed: 2.13MB/s
    • Final speed: 19.9KB/s
    • Time: finished in 1h 41m, ETA increased for first half.
mike@freyr:/tmp/test$ wget http://mirror.cs.uwaterloo.ca/ubuntu-releases/dapper/ubuntu-6.06.2-server-sparc.iso
--2008-04-22 15:56:53--  http://mirror.cs.uwaterloo.ca/ubuntu-releases/dapper/ubuntu-6.06.2-server-sparc.iso
Resolving mirror.cs.uwaterloo.ca... 129.97.152.77
Connecting to mirror.cs.uwaterloo.ca|129.97.152.77|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 412856320 (394M) [text/plain]
Saving to: `ubuntu-6.06.2-server-sparc.iso' 

 0% [                                        ] 942,080     2.13M/s             
 1% [                                        ] 5,607,872   2.19M/s             
 4% [>                                       ] 19,587,072  1.97M/s  eta 3m 3s  
 8% [==>                                     ] 33,109,664  2.24M/s  eta 2m 51s 
12% [===>                                    ] 50,850,640  2.19M/s  eta 2m 42s 
16% [=====>                                  ] 69,363,112  2.22M/s  eta 2m 32s 
23% [========>                               ] 98,991,832  2.25M/s  eta 2m 18s 
36% [=============>                          ] 148,809,128 2.25M/s  eta 1m 56s 
38% [==============>                         ] 157,883,088  140K/s  eta 2m 2s  
38% [==============>                         ] 160,275,112  140K/s  eta 2m 26s 
41% [===============>                        ] 170,110,968  117K/s  eta 3m 58s 
42% [===============>                        ] 175,448,880  101K/s  eta 4m 50s 
43% [================>                       ] 180,703,184 99.7K/s  eta 5m 44s 
43% [================>                       ] 181,581,296 88.5K/s  eta 5m 52s 
44% [================>                       ] 184,742,376 77.8K/s  eta 6m 26s 
48% [==================>                     ] 200,324,016 57.6K/s  eta 9m 34s 
50% [===================>                    ] 208,982,344 46.3K/s  eta 11m 27s
50% [===================>                    ] 209,633,064 46.2K/s  eta 11m 37s
52% [====================>                   ] 216,817,944 25.9K/s  eta 13m 39s
53% [====================>                   ] 218,983,984 58.8K/s  eta 14m 6s 
54% [====================>                   ] 224,401,792 28.9K/s  eta 15m 20s
55% [=====================>                  ] 227,171,400 27.4K/s  eta 15m 56s
56% [=====================>                  ] 232,991,392 28.8K/s  eta 17m 2s 
56% [=====================>                  ] 233,810,808 36.9K/s  eta 17m 10s
57% [=====================>                  ] 236,375,144 37.0K/s  eta 17m 35s
58% [======================>                 ] 241,916,248 54.0K/s  eta 18m 22s 
60% [=======================>                ] 247,920,448 37.2K/s  eta 19m 2s 
64% [========================>               ] 265,272,456 37.3K/s  eta 20m 8s 
65% [=========================>              ] 269,241,248 37.3K/s  eta 20m 14s
67% [=========================>              ] 278,040,112 37.4K/s  eta 20m 15s
68% [==========================>             ] 281,901,936 37.4K/s  eta 20m 11s
69% [==========================>             ] 287,954,592 29.1K/s  eta 19m 59s
72% [============================>           ] 300,107,216 25.1K/s  eta 19m 19s
73% [============================>           ] 302,555,672 36.6K/s  eta 19m 8s 
77% [=============================>          ] 319,476,656 54.3K/s  eta 17m 30s
77% [==============================>         ] 320,267,688 37.8K/s  eta 17m 24s
78% [==============================>         ] 322,482,128 36.8K/s  eta 17m 9s 
78% [==============================>         ] 323,057,312 23.9K/s  eta 17m 5s 
80% [===============================>        ] 332,393,496 37.0K/s  eta 15m 52s
81% [===============================>        ] 338,212,672 37.1K/s  eta 15m 2s 
82% [================================>       ] 341,035,936 36.7K/s  eta 14m 36s
84% [================================>       ] 346,986,264 31.9K/s  eta 13m 40s
89% [==================================>     ] 368,645,832 38.0K/s  eta 9m 47s 
91% [===================================>    ] 378,088,272 42.9K/s  eta 7m 53s 
96% [=====================================>  ] 398,174,800 37.5K/s  eta 3m 29s 
99% [======================================> ] 411,232,768 37.5K/s  eta 24s    
100%[=======================================>] 412,856,320 19.9K/s   in 1h 41m 

2008-04-22 17:37:55 (66.5 KB/s) - `ubuntu-6.06.2-server-sparc.iso' saved [412856320/412856320]
  • csc-wireless
    • 700MB Ubuntu CD image
    • Initial speed: 2.12MB/s
    • Final speed: 2.43MB/s
    • Time: finished in 3m 31s
mike@freyr:/tmp/test$ wget http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/ubuntu-releases/hardy/ubuntu-8.04-beta-server-i386.iso
--2008-04-17 05:34:44--  http://mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/ubuntu-releases/hardy/ubuntu-8.04-beta-server-i386.iso
Resolving mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca... 129.97.134.71
Connecting to mirror.csclub.uwaterloo.ca|129.97.134.71|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 302 Found
Location: http://taurine.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/iso/ubuntu-8.04-beta-server-i386.iso [following]
--2008-04-17 05:34:44--  http://taurine.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/iso/ubuntu-8.04-beta-server-i386.iso
Resolving taurine.csclub.uwaterloo.ca... 129.97.134.34
Connecting to taurine.csclub.uwaterloo.ca|129.97.134.34|:80... connected.
HTTP request sent, awaiting response... 200 OK
Length: 526323712 (502M) [application/x-iso9660-image]
Saving to: `ubuntu-8.04-beta-server-i386.iso'

 2% [                                        ] 10,988,599  2.12M/s  eta 4m 36s 
 4% [>                                       ] 21,247,679  2.43M/s  eta 3m 58s 
 6% [=>                                      ] 31,897,719  2.41M/s  eta 3m 41s 
16% [=====>                                  ] 85,867,575  2.40M/s  eta 3m 2s  
27% [=========>                              ] 143,900,519 2.36M/s  eta 2m 38s 
38% [==============>                         ] 203,245,351 2.36M/s  eta 2m 11s 
43% [================>                       ] 228,489,783 2.43M/s  eta 2m 2s  
51% [===================>                    ] 269,462,391 2.41M/s  eta 1m 45s 
58% [======================>                 ] 309,395,335 2.48M/s  eta 88s    
67% [=========================>              ] 354,638,095 2.41M/s  eta 70s    
78% [==============================>         ] 410,898,984 2.41M/s  eta 47s    
84% [================================>       ] 444,207,328 2.42M/s  eta 33s    
94% [====================================>   ] 498,937,384 2.39M/s  eta 12s    
97% [======================================> ] 514,212,336 2.39M/s  eta 5s     
99% [======================================> ] 524,255,664 2.43M/s  eta 1s     
100%[=======================================>] 526,323,712 2.43M/s   in 3m 31s  

2008-04-17 05:38:15 (2.38 MB/s) - `ubuntu-8.04-beta-server-i386.iso' saved [526323712/526323712]

Detailed Configuration

Required Packages

To install required packages, type: 

sudo aptitude install madwifi-source madwifi-tools wireless-tools vlan bridge-utils ebtables iptables iproute

Then build the modules for the installed kernel via: 

sudo m-a a-i madwifi

Wireless Interface Configuration

First, load the Atheros and 802.1Q modules: 

modprobe ath_pci 8021q

These need to be loaded early in the boot, so add them to /etc/modules: 

ath_pci
8021q

Next, configure the wireless interface. Use the following snippet: 

auto ath0
iface ath0 inet manual
        pre-up wlanconfig ath0 destroy || true
        pre-up wlanconfig ath0 create wlandev wifi0 wlanmode ap
        post-down wlanconfig ath0 destroy
        wireless-mode master
        wireless-channel 36
        wireless-essid csc-wireless

Finally, make a bridge between the wireless and auth3net. Use the following snippet, replacing IFACE by the interface connected to auth3net 

auto br192
iface br192 inet manual
        bridge_ports IFACE ath0
        bridge_stp yes
        up brctl setbridgeprio br192 40000
        up ip route add 129.97.192.0/23 dev br192

Brouting Configuration

Additional setup is needed to enable fast communication between mathstudentorgsnet and auth3net. We take the minimally invasive approach of pulling packets destined for mathstudentorgsnet off the bridge and routing them, masquerading as wireless-nat.csclub.uwaterloo.ca. Masquerading is needed to ensure responses are routed correctly.

First, add 129.97.134.85 as a secondary IP address. You might do so by adding this snippet, replacing IFACE by the interface connected to mathstudentorgsnet: 

auto IFACE:nat
iface IFACE:nat inet static
       address 129.97.134.85
       netmask 255.255.255.0
       network 129.97.134.0

Second, enable routing, by typing the following: 

echo 1 >> /proc/sys/net/ipv4/ip_forward

To make this permanent, add the following snippet to sysctl.conf: 

net.ipv4.ip_forward=1

Third, configure ebtables to pull packets off the bridge. Type: 

ebtables -t broute --flush

ebtables -t broute -A BROUTING -i ath0 \
    -p ipv4 --ip-src 129.97.192.0/23 --ip-dst 129.97.134.0/24 \
    -j redirect --redirect-target DROP

invoke-rc.d ebtables save

Finally, configure iptables to masquerade wireless users as wireless-nat.csclub. Type the following, replacing IFACE by the interface connected to mathstudentorgsnet: 

iptables -t nat --flush

iptables -t nat -A POSTROUTING -o IFACE \
    -s 129.97.192.0/23 -d 129.97.134.0/24 \
    -j SNAT --to-source 129.97.134.85

invoke-rc.d iptables save

Ensure the appropriate routing table entry for auth3net exists--masquerading will not work without it. It is included in the bridge configuration snippet above.

External Links

Retrieved from "https://wiki.csclub.uwaterloo.ca/index.php?title=Wireless&oldid=2297"