Tech Forum

Over the past couple of weeks I've been trying to find compatible wireless cards to work with the Odyssey Client. After a few phone calls to global support, they sent me a card compatibility list, and said that any other product may or may not be compliant. From that list, I finally settled on the Netgear WG311 802.11G because it is one of the few cards on the list still being sold by its manufacturers.

Because I don't want to go to E-Bay to purchase our stake equipment, does anyone know if the compatibility list is being updated to include any off the shelf wireless cards? Does anyone know where the incompatibility lies? Is it with the Odyssey client, the access points, or with the pix?

If the problem lies with the pix, then is there a possible IOS upgrade that may answer some of these compatibility issues? If the problem lies with Odyssey, then are there alternate clients available, or at least newer releases?

SC_Matt wrote:Over the past couple of weeks I've been trying to find compatible wireless cards to work with the Odyssey Client. After a few phone calls to global support, they sent me a card compatibility list, and said that any other product may or may not be compliant. From that list, I finally settled on the Netgear WG311 802.11G because it is one of the few cards on the list still being sold by its manufacturers.

Because I don't want to go to E-Bay to purchase our stake equipment, does anyone know if the compatibility list is being updated to include any off the shelf wireless cards? Does anyone know where the incompatibility lies? Is it with the Odyssey client, the access points, or with the pix?

If the problem lies with the pix, then is there a possible IOS upgrade that may answer some of these compatibility issues? If the problem lies with Odyssey, then are there alternate clients available, or at least newer releases?

Is is possible you're shopping with an outdated "supported hardware" list? As far as I know, the only REAL requirement for the Odyssey client is that it fully supports the 802.1X protocol, which most modern cards do. (OK, they are having issues with their Vista client and Broadcom chipsets, but that will probably get resolved soon.)

For what application are you trying to access Odyssey? You may not be aware that in a collocated facility e.g. FHC in a stake building, Odyssey is no longer required. You can call GSD and ask them to push out the "LDS ACCESS" profile to the Cisco AP's and then they can give you a WPA key so that personal laptops can access the internet.

Just thought you might like to know...
Troy

tsheffield wrote:You may not be aware that in a collocated facility e.g. FHC in a stake building, Odyssey is no longer required. You can call GSD and ask them to push out the "LDS ACCESS" profile to the Cisco AP's and then they can give you a WPA key so that personal laptops can access the internet.

I am extremely grateful to rmarchant and tsheffield for their illuminating posts regarding wireless options. But although I have no reason to doubt them, and I very much welcome what they say, I find it quite curious that official channels of communication have been completely silent on the topics of:

• Pushing the LDSACCESS option to WAPs connected to existing CCNs
• Odyssey client no longer required
• Connecting non-Church computers to CCNs

Yes, we have seen the 11 Feb 2008 letter from the Presiding Bishopric. But it only said that "Computers in the offices of stake and ward clerks can now be connected to existing broadband connections." It said nothing about wireless (pro or con), but it certainly said nothing that would allow a non-Church computer to connect to the Internet via the CCN.

Yes, we have seen the 29 Feb 2008 letter from the Presiding Bishopric. But it does not cover facilities with existing CCNs at all, and it of course only applies to those stakes (beginning with the NA SW Area) who have been explicitly notified that this new option applies to them. The letter directs us to look at clerk.lds.org, but the Meetinghouse Internet link there displays documentation that clearly only applies to the new program, not to existing CCNs.

Why is there no policy statement, no MLS message, no article on clerk.lds.org that would give us any guidance on the three important points I listed above? Those of us who frequent this forum are blessed to receive helpful information on these topics, but what about the thousands of clerks (poor, unenlightened souls ) who don't get information from this forum?

Alan_Brown wrote:I am extremely grateful to rmarchant and tsheffield for their illuminating posts regarding wireless options. But although I have no reason to doubt them, and I very much welcome what they say, I find it quite curious that official channels of communication have been completely silent on the topics of:

• Pushing the LDSACCESS option to WAPs connected to existing CCNs
• Odyssey client no longer required
• Connecting non-Church computers to CCNs

This is a great point. We are working on clarifying our answers and communicating through more official channels.

Alan_Brown wrote:I am extremely grateful to rmarchant and tsheffield for their illuminating posts regarding wireless options. But although I have no reason to doubt them, and I very much welcome what they say, I find it quite curious that official channels of communication have been completely silent on the topics of:

• Pushing the LDSACCESS option to WAPs connected to existing CCNs
• Odyssey client no longer required
• Connecting non-Church computers to CCNs

Am I missing something or am I asking the wrong questions when I call the GSD? As an STS I am trying to get 4 administrative computers access to the CCN for the broadband capabilities. I specifically asked for the security key but was denied and was told that it was an absolute necessity that Odyssey client was required and that ONLY church owned computers could be connected to the CCN.

What gives?

JD

I think it depends on who you talk to at the GSD. I spent about 2 hours, talked to 4 different people, downloaded 2 client versions, and still was not able to use the linksys adapter I had, although the level 2 person tried a lot of things, including a Landesk session. I am considering tapping a cable from each of the access points that are near the offices and forgetting the wireless option for now.

jdlessley wrote:Am I missing something or am I asking the wrong questions when I call the GSD? As an STS I am trying to get 4 administrative computers access to the CCN for the broadband capabilities. I specifically asked for the security key but was denied and was told that it was an absolute necessity that Odyssey client was required and that ONLY church owned computers could be connected to the CCN.

What gives?

JD

The idea of pushing the LDS Access policy and allowing clerk pc's to connect to the existing wireeless infrastructure without Odyssey is new. It's clear that we need to do a better job of communicating this direction and training with the GSD. I'm sorry for your frustrating experience when calling the GSD.

Today or tommorrow we will write a knowledge base article that gives the GSD the information that they need and clarifies the policy. We will post the Knowledge Base # and you can give that # to GSD when you call. That should solve the immediate problem ... and we will continue to work with GSD to improve training and communication regarding the changing policies.

rmarchant wrote:The idea of pushing the LDS Access policy and allowing clerk PC's to connect to the existing wireeless infrastructure without Odyssey is new. It's clear that we need to do a better job of communicating this direction and training with the GSD. I'm sorry for your frustrating experience when calling the GSD.

Today or tommorrow we will write a knowledge base article that gives the GSD the information that they need and clarifies the policy. We will post the Knowledge Base # and you can give that # to GSD when you call. That should solve the immediate problem ... and we will continue to work with GSD to improve training and communication regarding the changing policies.

One of our FHC's has been given the WAP (Cisco Aironet) and Linksys adapters for their computers by the Family History Support in SLC. We already have the Cisco Pix 501 in place.

When I recently called FH Support, I was told they had to use the Odyssey client to hook up to computers in the FHC and that non-Church computers were locked out.

So does what you are saying mean we no longer have to have the Odyssey client in the FHC and that patrons can use their laptop's wi-fi to hook up to the Internet while in the FHC or is what you are saying only relevant to the Stake/Ward/Branch clerk computers?

Any info appreciated on this!