SMC USB wlan trouble

I have an SMC USB wlan adapter here. And I followed what was mentioned in this thread.

http://forums.freebsd.org/showthread.php?t=14844

But it's from version 7, I have version 8. Is there some sort of difference in configuring the wlan adapter between the two? The wlan adapter is connected into a USB port in the back of the tower and uses the zyd1211 chipset.

What got me confused is the 1.2 step in the thread. It says to edit the file
titled "loader.conf" but theres two of them.
/boot/loader.conf
and
/boot/defaults/loader.conf

Which one do I edit?

I also noticed that in the loader.conf in the defaults directory everything is arranged in sections like networking, kernel, etc. Which section do I add the entries under to the file mentioned in the thread? Because the handbook doesn't say in the wireless networking section where.

Aside from all of what was stated above, There's more issues but I would like to get passed these issues first.
 
Never edit anything in /defaults/ directories like /etc/defaults/ and /boot/defaults/. It basically works like this:

/boot/defaults/loader.conf is always loaded, and /boot/loader.conf contains the additions/overrides.
/etc/defaults/rc.conf is always loaded, and /etc/rc.conf contains the additions/overrides.

If /boot/defaults/loader.conf contains something like
Code:
something_load="NO"
and /boot/loader.conf contains
Code:
something_load="YES"
the latter setting will win.

Etcetera.
 
And is there a difference between the way you install the Zydas wireless device in version 7 (like the thread poster did) and version 8 (which is what I have)?

And the thread poster's guide said to edit the loader.conf file in the defaults directory, And your telling me not to. I'm confused as to why he would say that but I believe you. So I'm resuming my experimenting and if I come to the error I encountered earlier I'll post it.
 
Okay I have added all the stuff to the /boot/loader.conf and the /etc/rc.conf files and I'm already starting to get problems.

I added these entries to the /boot/loader.conf
Code:
if_zyd_load="YES"
wlan_scan_ap_load="YES"
wlan_scan_sta_load="YES"
wlan_wep_load="YES"
wlan_ccmp_load="YES"
wlan_tkip_load="YES"
wlan_xauth_load="YES"
wlan_acl_load="YES"

Then I added these entries to the /etc/rc.conf file
Code:
wlans_zyd0="zyd0"
ifconfig_zyd0="DHCP"

Then I used the command
[cmd=]# ifconfig wlan0 create wlandev zyd0[/cmd]

And what I got was the prompt
Code:
ifconfig: SIOCIFCREATE2: Device not configured

I added all the entries the handbook and the guide said and this is what I get. What did I do wrong here?

Oh and heres a picture of my device if it helps
USB+Wifi+AppInformatica.jpg
 
baronobeefdip said:
And the thread poster's guide said to edit the loader.conf file in the defaults directory, And your telling me not to. I'm confused as to why he would say that but I believe you.

It's a mistake. The default values should not be changed, that's why they're defaults.
 
baronobeefdip said:
I added these entries to the /boot/loader.conf

When using a GENERIC kernel, all the necessary stuff is already loaded.

Then I added these entries to the /etc/rc.conf file
Code:
wlans_zyd0="zyd0"
ifconfig_zyd0="DHCP"

Follow the Handbook. It's more current. The section called "Selecting an Access Point" shows the right way to do this.

I added all the entries the handbook and the guide said and this is what I get. What did I do wrong here?

Following both the Handbook and an outdated guide that doesn't apply to your version of FreeBSD will do that. Just follow the Handbook.

Actually, I've thought there should be a short summary at the start of that:

Code:
wlans_zyd0="wlan0"
ifconfig_wlan0="WPA SYNCDHCP"

And then the corresponding entry in /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf:
Code:
network={
        ssid="myssid"
        psk="mypresharedkeypassphrase"
}
 
My network uses WEP encryption and yours is using WPA, Is there a difference in how I should configure it and what you just did?

Thanks for the help everyone.
 
Alright this is what I added to the configuration files now.

/boot/loader.conf
Code:
if_zyd_load="YES"

/etc/rc.conf
Code:
wlans_zyd0="wlan0"
ifconfig_wlan0="DHCP"

I also entered the command
Code:
# ifconfig wlan0 create wlandev zyd0

I still get the "Device is not configured" message. Could the difficulties be because I need to configure BSD to recognize usb devices, Since the wlan adapter is connected through usb. Most wlan configuration examples for FreeBSD are onboard interfaces (Laptops and PCI cards).

But then I stumbled onto this FreeBSD wiki article saying that Wireless USB is not supported yet, is this true?
http://wiki.freebsd.org/USB
 
Back up and make sure each step works. Do you get a zyd0 device created when the USB adapter is connected?

"Wireless USB" is USB over wireless (like a USB hard drive only without a USB cable).

Wireless networking with a USB network adapter works.
 
I just thought about something, Could it be because I compiled the kernel wrong during installation? I chose all three options (Developer, Kern-Developer and User). It was probably a very dumb decision to do that but which selection (or combination of selection) is appropriate?
 
That's not compiling the kernel, it's just a "distribution", or what gets installed. Developer includes source.

Again: do you get a zyd0 device created when the USB adapter is connected?
% ifconfig
 
Well maybe it's because it is that I have dated hardware. (I'm doing this on an old machine). I now did this to the configuration files.

/boot/loader.conf
Code:
if_ath_load="YES
wlan_wep_load="YES"
wlan_ccmp_load="YES"
wlan_tkip_load="YES"
I'm not sure if the last three were necessary but my AP uses WEP encryption.

I added nothing in the /etc/rc.conf. I rebooted and executed these commands.
Code:
#ifconfig (To check if I had the ath0, or is it wlan0 you should look for?)
#ifconfig wlan0 create wlandev ath0
then I get this
Code:
# ifconfig: SIOCIFCREATE2: Device not configured
What does the message above mean? What can I do to fix it?

I'm also trying to configure a machine that uses atheros chipset. I'll make a post about that soon.
 
The question asked twice already and still not answered is probably the answer to your new question.
 
Well, how long does an average scan take? So I can know if it's working when everything goes well up to that point. I have just found out that I have been using 8.1 instead of 8.2, I'm sorry for all the trouble everyone, maybe this was the problem.
 
Just to review, the way this is supposed to work is you supply information and ask questions. Given that information, volunteers try to help. When you repeatedly refuse to give information, it starts to look fishy.

Maybe this is just a misunderstanding, so I'm going to ask it one last time:
When you plug in the USB stick shown in post #4, does a zyd0 device appear in the output of
% ifconfig
 
Thanks. So now we know that you have a very basic problem. But you've broken the configuration in the meantime. Post #14 shows you loading the ath(4) module. Go back and edit that to match the second part of post #6. Then see if you get a zyd0 shown in ifconfig.
 
Alright so it's like this.
/boot/loader.conf
Code:
if_zyd_load="YES"
wlan_wep_load="YES"
wlan_ccmp_load="YES"
wlan_tkip_load="YES"

and the rc.conf
Code:
wlans_zyd0="wlan0"
ifconfig_wlan0="WPA SYNCDHCP"
 
baronobeefdip said:
Nope, Unless it's case sensitive.

It's always lower case, but I'm not sure why you ask.

Or if this stuff applies to version 8.2, I am using 8.1.

There are a lot of wireless improvements in 8.2. Don't know when the working version of zyd was committed. It would help to identify the device vendor and product IDs with usbconfig(8):
# usbconfig
That will show all the device IDs. Replace the 2.3 in the following command with the ones for the USB stick:
# usbconfig -d ugen2.3 dump_device_desc
 
Back
Top