Socket Releases New WLAN CF & SD Drivers!

[Jon Westfall]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.ppcw.net/?itemid=2266' target='_blank'>http://www.ppcw.net/?itemid=2266</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Socket recently released a new driver and utility for their W-LAN CF and SD cards which adds a couple of new handy features. While many/most Pocket PCs have W-LAN inbuilt today, a couple still exclude W-LAN - like the famous HTC Magician (aka i-mate JAM, O2 Xda II mini and T-Mobile compact)." </i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/westfall-20050228-socketwlanfromppcw.gif" /> <br /><br />Arne at PPCW.net has posted an informative piece on Socket's new drivers. Unlike some manufacturers that simply provide a bare bones piece of software to get your WLAN card up and running, Socket's WLAN tools sports a nice GUI that allows you to not only connect to a particular network, but also to find other networks. Socket also provides a nice interface to PING and Traceroute directly from their software, making it a nice troubleshooting tool!

[beq]

Assuming this is free (I seem to recall a long long time ago Socket charges $$$ for card owners to download driver updates?), does anyone know if this new driver adds additional security options such as WPA &amp; WPA-PSK (TKIP or even AES) support?

I've been forced to drop WPA-PSK (TKIP) on my router and go back to WEP because the Socket WLAN CF card on my iPAQ 2210 doesn't support the former. Everything else (including my PDA2k) supports WPA-PSK...

Then again perhaps the always-changing TKIP key is too much processing for older PPCs to handle?

[lonesniper]

For the old card the Socket website states "Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) is NOT supported in this release." which is fine for me and my old AP.

I am so happy with this release, as it has been a long time since any new driver for the older Socket cards has come out. The GUI is amazing and so easy to use with lots of information and features. I can't wait to walk up and down Tottenham Court Road and find all the open AP's :lol:

[boanerges]

It's a shame that there is no way to set a priority to a particular WiFi router. I have a neighbor with a WEP enabled router and I connect to it about half the time by default. Very annoying... It makes zero config a joke for me because I have to check my connection and switch to my router constantly.

[Stik]

Assuming this is free (I seem to recall a long long time ago Socket charges $$$ for card owners to download driver updates?), does anyone know if this new driver adds additional security options such as WPA &amp; WPA-PSK (TKIP or even AES) support?

bitequator,

I've read where the download was going to be free for a limited time only, but Socket has evidently pulled that language from their website.

http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=36990

lonesniper correctly pointed out that WPA is not supported in the older cards. In the new cards however, Socket states...

Supports open, 40/64 and 128-bit WEP encryption. 802.1x authentication with EAP-TLS or PEAP is supported on Windows Mobile 2003 and Windows XP

Supports WPA and WPA-PSK on Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition, original WM 2003 with ROM upgrade (some devices), Windows XP SP2, and Windows XP SP1 with WPA Wireless Security Update.

http://www.socketcom.com/product/WL6004-322.asp

Hope this helps answer your question.

[Darius Wey]

I've been forced to drop WPA-PSK (TKIP) on my router and go back to WEP because the Socket WLAN CF card on my iPAQ 2210 doesn't support the former. Everything else (including my PDA2k) supports WPA-PSK...

From what I've seen, the same thing happens with the Sandisk SD Wi-Fi cards on WM2003 devices. Even though the card supports WPA-PSK, IIRC, the OS doesn't, since WPA was a relatively new feature that became fully supported when WM2003SE was released. Hence, the reason why WZC in WM2003 only shows the WEP option, and not the WPA option natively (unless the driver tweaks it). Because of this, more often than not, it fails to work properly under a WPA-based network. What a bummer.

[Doug Rausch]

I think Socket is really to be commended for continuing to make software of this caliber available for their older card. They state on their website that the card is beyond end of life but adding the new driver gives my old card that "new card smell" effect all over again.

[amnon]

I wonder - does this utility work in any way on PPCs with built in WiFi? Would Ping / Trace route / statistics work or nothing?

[Darius Wey]

I think Socket is really to be commended for continuing to make software of this caliber available for their older card. They state on their website that the card is beyond end of life but adding the new driver gives my old card that "new card smell" effect all over again.

Yes. It'd be nice for Sandisk to update their aging drivers too. A nice GUI would be good! :D

[Darius Wey]

I wonder - does this utility work in any way on PPCs with built in WiFi? Would Ping / Trace route / statistics work or nothing?

I doubt it. Usually, the drivers are designed to interact with the embedded chip included in the SDIO/CF Wi-Fi card. These chips, more often than not, differ to those seen in integrated Wi-Fi Pocket PCs. If you were after Ping, TR, etc. commands, there are freeware programs available that do that.

[amnon]

You're right. I tried and though no bad things happened no good things happened either...

[Stik]

I wonder - does this utility work in any way on PPCs with built in WiFi? Would Ping / Trace route / statistics work or nothing?

You may not have a long time to wait for this capability amnon. Socket put out a CeBit pr today. In the pr language was an interesting blurb, " Socket will preview its Wi-Fi Companion, an intuitive graphical software application with advanced tools that greatly improves the user's experience with WLAN connectivity. "

http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&amp;newsId=20050308005583&amp;newsLang=en


WiFi Companion? A very reliable source has told me that," WiFi Companion is designed to serve a broader market than just working with Socket’s Wi-Fi products. That market will include built in Wi-Fi products on the most popular Pocket PCs and will improve the user experience. People can see the product in action at Socket’s booth at the CeBit show in Hannover, Germany. "

My understanding is that the WiFi Companion is currently in beta testing, and is a couple of months away from being a marketable software product.

Hows that for a rumor? :mrgreen:

[amnon]

Great rumour... thanks.

[Sven Johannsen]

For those looking for free software to do ping, traceroute etc, one of the best IMHO is found at www.cam.com. Look for vxUtil, and vxIPConfig in their CE section.