How the h3ll to buy a SUPPORTED USB wifi dongle?

Chris_H

Chris_H

Greetings,

Over the last couple of years, I've bought some 12 USB Wi-Fi dongles. As a consequence, I've learned a lot about setting up wifi on FreeBSD, but still don't have anything that works. Which begs the question; how on earth does one know how to get one that works? I recognize that it all depends on the chipset. But that requires either cutting the plastic shell off, to see it, or bringing it home, and taking the output of:
usbconfig -d ugenN.N dump_device_desc

But I haven't been able to find a store that will let me cut open their stock, to see what chipset is inside. Is there any "sure–fire" way to get a good, and supported USB wifi dongle, or is it always a case of roulette?

Thank you for all your time, and consideration.
 
Another way is to check out the manufacturer's website for the specific model you are interested in and then, under specs, check the chipset.
 
I wonder if anyone from the FreeBSD Foundation ever wrote these manufacturers and asked for their help, specifically Broadcom since they are so prevalent.

On a side note, I used to be an electronic engineer, building whole machines from the chip and transistor level, and occasionally get the bug to build and sell hardware that would be FreeBSD specific, like wifi modems, but I just don't know how much of a market for that there would be. Not that I need to build a whole company on it but the financial incentive is a motivating factor.
 
Chris_H said:
I recognize that it all depends on the chipset. But that requires either cutting the plastic shell off, to see it, or bringing it home, and taking the output of:
usbconfig -d ugenN.N dump_device_desc.
Click to expand...

Or just looking it up on the net before buying. Or use the hardware listed in the man pages.

I prefer Atheros, but have only used internal mini PCI/PCIe cards. Newegg has a refurb TEW-444 for not too much that is listed in uath(4).

Depending on use, there might be other alternatives. For a desktop, a good old WRT54G could be used in client bridge mode as a wireless adapter, and the desktop would just connect via Ethernet.
 
I went to a store told them I have FreeBSD, want a wireless adapter and not all chipsets work on it. They unpacked one, I inserted it into my laptop. No driver available, next one. The second was a rum(4) and worked. I bought it and went home. :e
 
nakal said:
I went to a store told them I have FreeBSD, want a wireless adapter and not all chipsets work on it. They unpacked one, I inserted it into my laptop. No driver available, next one. The second was a rum(4) and worked. I bought it and went home. :e
Click to expand...

Greetings, and thank you for the reply.
That's fine, if you're using it for a laptop, and it's the same RELENG, and CPU (AMD/INTEL). But I've got a server farm to convert to a fully wireless system. I think the time is long overdue for "Daemon certified equipment". Manufacturers need to understand that they need to accommodate the BSD family of operating systems. We all need to lobby manufacturers to add the Daemon emblem to their products!
Thanks again for your reply.
 
Well, we've been talking about USB dongles here. If you want a PCI(e) card, it's difficult. Product names have nothing to do with the chipsets inside. You'll learn this sooner or later and you will be disappointed, when you don't consider this problem.

The only way is to find out the PCI chipset ID. I always grep the kernel sources (recursively on /usr/src/sys/dev) to find hints if it is supported.

When you are lucky and you can insert a live DVD, you can find out the PCI ID with:
Code: 
pciconf -lv

Write down all "chip=0xDDDDVVVV" values (DDDD=device ID; VVVV=vendor ID).

If you want to buy something, take a laptop with you which can read the driver disc. Take a look at the windows drivers. Many .INI files are in clear text and somewhere you'll find something like a DEVICE_ID/PRODUCT_ID and VENDOR_ID (or similar).

That's also what I do, when I want to buy a laptop. I try to find out the PCI IDs of:
  1. VGA
  2. ATA chipset
  3. sound card
  4. wireless device
  5. ethernet device, if available
 
wblock@ said:
Or just looking it up on the net before buying. Or use the hardware listed in the man pages.

I prefer Atheros, but have only used internal mini PCI/PCIe cards. Newegg has a refurb TEW-444 for not too much that is listed in uath(4).

Depending on use, there might be other alternatives. For a desktop, a good old WRT54G could be used in client bridge mode as a wireless adapter, and the desktop would just connect via Ethernet.
Click to expand...

Greetings wblock@, and thank you for your reply.

While the release notes, and man pages do mention manufacturers, and chipsets. The models don't always use the same chipset they originally started with. Their web sites often list Linux as being supported, but of course, that only means a probability that FreeBSD will eventually support it. I'd also like to add, that the chipset isn't always listed on the box/dongle. For example, the Cisco AE2500 I just purchased, makes no mention of it's chipset on the box. But being that they also manage Linksys — a brand FreeBSD has always had good support for, I took a chance, and dropped the 50 dollars at the store, and got it. Anyway, I just thought it might be a good resource to provide a list of make, model, and date, for products that FreeBSD supported. Making it less of a gamble for users to purchase equipment. I operate a server farm, and spend a great deal of time improving/developing services. I use FreeBSD to work with, and develop on — not to figure out how to work with. :-)

Don't get me wrong, I greatly appreciate your reply, and you're quite correct. But I just think it should be a less daunting task to get the right hardware for FreeBSD — no? :-)

Thank you again, for all you time and help — I really appreciate it. :-)
 
I agree, and wonder why some retailer hasn't put a selection of FreeBSD-compatible wireless interfaces on a web site. Maybe they have. I'd like to see USB, mini-PCI, mini-PCIe (full and half size), PCI, and PCIe versions. Preferably all Atheros, but Realtek or Ralink have worked for me also.
 
I agree. I doubt that the A5AGU.SYS driver will run on FreeBSD without some sort of shim/wrapper. :beer
 
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