Software
We will probably end up using a mixture of distributions of Linux and BSD as the software for router nodes.
We have found that Mandrake 8.1 will recognise Lucent Orinoco cards straight out of the box, as does Windows
ME. Windows 2000 is a little bit more tricky - if you get stuck, see this FAQ.
Consume.net have a useful linux access point HOWTO at: http://consume.net/software/howtos/software/Linux-Access-Point.txt
nocat.net has a WRP (Wireless Router Project) floppy disk image that can be downloaded and written to
a floppy which can then be used as a wireless router. It supports several wireless cards (including the orinoco), the ISA->PCMCIA
and PCI-PCMCIA adaptor cards, and a range of ethernet cards.
See http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/
for other details about Linux and wireless networking.
Other Software