Wifi Client m.2
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Hello!
I have a Dell MiniPC I'd like to setup as a pfsense firewall (currently 2.7.2 ce). Since it has limited interfaces and ports, I'd like to use the built-in ethernet as the LAN port and the internal m.2 (A+E) slot (with a wifi card), as the WAN port.To note, I'm not trying to setup the card in AP mode.
I've added
if_ath_load="YES"to /boot/loader.conf.local file (or iwi for the AX210)To date I've tried an AX210 which showed up in pciconf also, and a couple other's that show up as Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 ac adapter, when listing the pci devices with pciconf.
But none of these devices show up as available interfaces when checking sysctl.
I'm open to buying whichever card I need to do this, so suggestions as to what to look for would be appreciated!
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@mwgmwg not too sure if you want to stick with the wifi card as WAN but I recently bought an Intel I226 M.2 M+E 2.5GbE NIC off of eBay and it's been working great.
Previously I was using a Realtek USB to ethernet adapter and it was causing me all sorts of issues but replaced it with the M.2 Intel NIC.
Had to carve a hole with a Dremel to attach to my PC. Kinda ugly but it's been working with no issue.
I have pfSense installed on Proxmox, if that makes any difference :)
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To note, I'm not trying to setup the card in AP mode.
This is good, because there is no one on this card. (not available)
Only the Intel Pro card are offering such a mode, but they are
only working with Intel Pro ready hardware (chip based)!I've added if_ath_load="YES" to /boot/loader.conf.local file (or iwi
for the AX210)For the Intel E WiFi 6 ax210 you will need the iwlwifi(4) driver in FreeBSD
To date I've tried an AX210 which showed up in pciconf also, and a couple other's that show up as Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 ac adapter, when listing the pci devices with pciconf.
It is not working. False driver.
But none of these devices show up as available interfaces when checking sysctl.
False driver for the device will not make them work.
I'm open to buying whichever card I need to do this, so suggestions as to what to look for would be appreciated!
At the moment one of the best cards as I am informed could be the
SparkLan WPEA-127N it´s a 3x3 WiFi N card.#~. @Dobby
Turris Omnia - 4 Ports - 2 GB RAM / TurrisOS 7 Release (Btrfs)
PC Engines APU4D4 - 4 Ports - 4 GB RAM / pfSense CE 2.7.2 Release (ZFS)
PC Engines APU6B4 - 4 Ports - 4 GB RAM / pfSense+ (Plus) 24.03_1 Release (ZFS) -
Thanks for the information! I'll see if I can get my hands on the SparkLan card. I'd like to get the AX210 working that I have though. I tried to setup the AX210, and included the statements in loader.conf, but in /boot/kernel/ there are no files like
if_iwlwifi. It's a pretty slim list of if* files in there. I tried to pull the current ones from the freebsd v14 archive, but apparently the OS release doesn't match the PFSense one, and they won't load, stating incorrect version.There also seems to be little information on how to use the pfsense image to build your own drivers or install them.
How can I get the iwlwifi modules on pfsense 2.7.2 ?
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@rtorres Thanks for the info! I need to use Wifi though. This will be on a Boat, primarily to pull in the marina Wifi. I'm looking to build a solution using pfsense that will allow me to toggle between Marina Wifi and Starlink, and possibly AT&T 5G, depending upon the current needs and availability.
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@mwgmwg said in Wifi Client m.2:
How can I get the iwlwifi modules on pfsense 2.7.2 ?
I would say you have to wait to pfSense 2.80 (FreeBSD 15.0) this could
be then an option. -
@Dobby_ said in Wifi Client m.2:
SparkLan WPEA-127N
That's a miniPCIe card not m.2 if you need m.2.
I would look for a ath compatible card though. There are some m.2 cards that will work. They are mostly short, 30mm, cards so you might need an adapter.
