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Linux networking and wifi

VirtualLarry

No Lifer
Let's say I want to learn some Linux networking. I want to learn how to use a USB wifi as an AP (I guess Linux calls this "Master mode"). I've heard of wifi-utils and hostapd.

I also want to learn how to connect two LANs, through bridging and routing (over wifi).

Ideally, both LANs would have a FIOS WAN, but would be able to share LAN resources, such as a NAS and a networked printer.

Edit: Would it be best to segment the LANs, assuming a routing topology, into
LAN A, LAN B, and shared LAN. 192.168.3.x for LAN A, 192.168.4.x for LAN B, and 192.168.5.x for shared LAN. 192.168.1.x would be FIOS router LAN A, and 192.168.2.x would be FIOS router LAN B.

I'm not super-clear on what to do at that point. Other than I would want the default gateway for LAN A to point to FIOS router LAN A, and the default gateway on LAN B to point to FIOS router LAN B. That's so that each LAN could have it's own proper internet connection.

Then both LAN A and LAN B would have a static route to shared LAN.

I am a little fuzzy on whether the networked printer will work with a routed LAN, rather than bridging.

I'm also a little fuzzy on whether I need a seperate subnet for the wifi links between LAN A and LAN B, or whether I can assign one of the wifi adaptors to LAN A as 192.168.3.2, and one of them to LAN B as 192.168.4.2, and have them talk to each other? I guess that wouldn't work, and I would need to put both wifi NICs on their own subnet together, and route between subnets/interfaces.

(I'm not a networking professional. I fix PCs, and install SOHO router networks. I can deal with multiple SOHO routers chained together, but I get fuzzy on these advanced topics. I'm also only intermediate as far as my Linux knowledge.)

Are default gateways per-host, or per-interface? I guess, based on my Windows networking knowledge about the GUI that lets you input parameters, that the default gateway is per-interface. I've never configured multi-homed networks before.

So if the two sides of the LAN A and LAN B wifi link, are on Wifi LAN (192.168.6.x, specifically, 192.168.6.1 and 192.168.6.2), then would the default gateway for each end of the link, be the IP address of the other side of the link?

Let's let the NAS be 192.168.5.2, and the printer be 192.168.5.3.

So, LAN A would be physically-connected to shared LAN, LAN B would be connected over the wifi link.

Should I use hostapd for the wifi link, and have one end of the link be Master mode, and one end be Client mode, or should I try to use both in Ad-Hoc mode?
 
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