Netgate Discussion Forum
    • Categories
    • Recent
    • Tags
    • Popular
    • Users
    • Search
    • Register
    • Login

    Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Wireless
    12 Posts 4 Posters 1.2k Views
    Loading More Posts
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
    Reply
    • Reply as topic
    Log in to reply
    This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
    • JKnottJ
      JKnott @Balanga
      last edited by

      @balanga

      Please bear in mind, the FreeBSD that pfsense runs on has poor WiFi NIC support. You're better off with a separate AP.

      PfSense running on Qotom mini PC
      i5 CPU, 4 GB memory, 32 GB SSD & 4 Intel Gb Ethernet ports.
      UniFi AC-Lite access point

      I haven't lost my mind. It's around here...somewhere...

      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • B
        Balanga @stephenw10
        last edited by

        @stephenw10

        Intel Centrino Wireless-N 2230

        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • stephenw10S
          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
          last edited by

          That might be supported by the iwi(4) driver, we need the PCI ID to be sure.
          Do you see the iwi0 device created when the driver attaches?

          That driver doesn't support hostap mode though so you wouldn't be able to use it as an access point.

          B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 1
          • B
            Balanga @stephenw10
            last edited by

            @stephenw10 said in Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92:

            That might be supported by the iwi(4) driver, we need the PCI ID to be sure.
            Do you see the iwi0 device created when the driver attaches?

            That driver doesn't support hostap mode though so you wouldn't be able to use it as an access point.

            I guess that rules out using this M92 as an access point. Is the card incapable of supporting hostap? Maybe a third party one might... I guess I could see if OpenWrt would support it...

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • stephenw10S
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
              last edited by

              First get the PCI IDs from pciconf -lv to make sure it's actually that card/driver.

              You could probably swap it out with an Atheros based card that can work as an AP.

              As already mentioned though an external AP is almost always better.

              Steve

              B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • B
                Balanga @stephenw10
                last edited by

                @stephenw10 said in Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92:

                First get the PCI IDs from pciconf -lv to make sure it's actually that card/driver.

                You could probably swap it out with an Atheros based card that can work as an AP.

                As already mentioned though an external AP is almost always better.

                Steve

                Any suggestions as to what works well with pfSense?

                fireodoF 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • fireodoF
                  fireodo @Balanga
                  last edited by

                  @balanga said in Wireless Access point on Lenovo M92:

                  Any suggestions as to what works well with pfSense?

                  WLE200NX (if it fits the Laptop Socket)

                  Kettop Mi4300YL CPU: i5-4300Y @ 1.60GHz RAM: 8GB Ethernet Ports: 4
                  SSD: SanDisk pSSD-S2 16GB (ZFS) WiFi: WLE200NX
                  pfsense 2.7.2 CE
                  Packages: Apcupsd Cron Iftop Iperf LCDproc Nmap pfBlockerNG RRD_Summary Shellcmd Snort Speedtest System_Patches.

                  1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    Yeah, depends what the slot is. But the WLE200NX is probably the best supported on any card in pfSense. Netgate previously supplied it. You can probably get a 3x3 .11n card though.

                    B 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • B
                      Balanga @stephenw10
                      last edited by

                      @stephenw10

                      I think I need a mini PCIE card.

                      I know Atheros is a reputable name but they make so many different cards.

                      There are plenty of AR5B22's on ebay, Should that work OK or could anyone recommend anything else?

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • stephenw10S
                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                        last edited by

                        Mmm, well the best device you can get is something based on one of the older 3x3 chipsets.
                        I have a Sparklan WPEA-127N which works well. Any equivalent AR9380 based card should also work. Still pretty bad compared to any current AP. 😉

                        Steve

                        1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • First post
                          Last post
                        Copyright 2025 Rubicon Communications LLC (Netgate). All rights reserved.