Frequently Asked Questions - operation FAQ

Beginning with Vista, Microsoft decided to be discriminatory to Ad-Hoc networks and you cannot connect to them automatically the same as to Infrastructure ones.

However, there's netsh.exe which can be started on a schedulable event like computer startup or user logon, to do the required task. Details in this blog post.

If you don't like setting up a schedule manually, consider getting a utility program that can automatically connect. A good example is Maxidix Wifi Suite.

The option with the scheduled task is better for servers, Maxidix Wifi Suite is better for end-user computers.

Although the main program logic is operating at the packet level, Daihinia keeps track of some WLAN-specific notifications that are not available with a virtualized generic adapter that is usually provided by virtualization solutions like VMWare, VirtualBox or Parallels. Such notifications include the SSID query response (to turn meshing on only when connected to "Daihinia" SSIDs) and the association/disassociation notifications (to keep track of neighboring nodes).

However, if you have a USB adapter, and plug it into the VM as a USB device, then Windows inside the VM sees it as a real WLAN adapter and provides all the necessary functionality. In fact, precisely this configuration is exploited extensively while developing/debugging Daihinia.

Daihinia™ should work with any adapter. The best experience, however, is with adapters that have good signal power and sensitivity, and a good implementation of the 802.11 stack.

A typical low-cost WiFi adapter has only 100mW output power, while FCC allows up to 1000mW (ten times more). Luckily, WIFI-Link™ offers 1000mW adapters with excellent sensitivity. (Be caerful, though, as they drain all their power from USB)

During our internal tests, our general impression of various chipset manufacturers is as follows:

• Atheros: good power and sensitivity, very bad IBSS implementation.
• Intel: good power and sensitivity, excellent IBSS implementation.
• Ralink: bad power and sensitivity, rock-solid IBSS implementation.
• Realtek: good power and sensitivity, decent IBSS implementation.

Yes, Daihinia is ready for IPv6. Tested and confirmed to work.

By design, Daihinia si ready for any protocol that can be carried in Ethernet frames, including exotic/proprietary protocols. As long as the drivers of such protocols are well-behaving and query the underlying layer for the maximum packet size (and not blindly assume 1500), they will all work correctly.

No, it does not replace your adapter's driver. It works on top of the existing driver, transparently adding the mesh network functionality when your adapter is connected to an ad-hoc SSID prefixed "Daihinia".

All adapters capable of Ad-Hoc Mode are supported. For a more detailed answer, please see some recommendations.

1. Install the driver for your WiFi adapter, as you would normally do (skip this step if already installed).
2. Make sure your adapter works in Ad-Hoc mode (most adapters do).
3. Download and install the Daihinia package, it will start the Control Application automatically.
4. Press Proceed Automatically from the Control Application.
5. When prompted to select the adapter, click on your WiFi adapter in the provided list, click OK.
6. Create the Ad-Hoc network prefixed "Daihinia" in the network name (SSID), if not performed automatically.
   Examples: "Daihinia" (for an open network), "Daihinia:Joe's-network" (for a private network). The default "Daihinia" SSID is reserved for open networks with no encryption that are available for anyone to join, and the "Daihinia:your-net-name" SSIDs for private and/or secured networks.
   Note: multihop capabilities are turned on only when you are connected to networks with the prefix "Daihinia" in their names.
7. If you created the network manually, make sure the security parameters are the same on all computers in the network.

If you update from a previous version, it is sufficient to press the Proceed Automatically button. It will remove the old driver, install the new one, then prompt you to select the adapter.

See also: How to connect the mesh network to Internet?

It is sufficient to start the Control Application and press the Select Adapter button, then deselect your wifi adapter in the list.

Beginning with v1.0.1132, the driver activates the mesh network functionality only when connected to SSIDs prefixed "Daihinia", thus you don't need any manual action when connecting to a regular wifi network.

Same as you would normally do -- via the Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) feature of Windows.

Open the properties of the adapter that is connected to Internet, select the Advanced tab, then select the Allow other network users to connect through this computer's Internet connection check box. If there's a drop-down list near the check box, select your wireless connection.

Daihinia is a network layer based on the Ad-Hoc mode of WiFi operation, while the connection to an AP is the infrastructure mode. These are two WiFi modes that work completely different and cannot be mixed with one another. One given WiFi adapter cannot be connected to an Ad-Hoc and an Infrastructure network at the same time.

However, if you have two WiFi adapters on the same computer, you can set up traffic routing between them at the IP level, in this case one adapter should be connected to the AP and another one operates on the Daihinia-based mesh network.

With two adapters set up as said above, you can share the Internet connection provided by the AP to your local Daihinia-based mesh network in the same manner as you would share an usual wired connection (see the related question).

You have to install Daihinia driver on all stations of your daihinia network; without the driver computers will not have access to the traffic in the daihinia network.

No, it does not deal with power/sensitiity. It just repeats the packets that were sent by nearby stations so other stations could receive them. Thus, we can say it increases the range of packet destination, not the range of any given radio.