What WiFi cards are functional on a 4200?
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@aaronouthier said in What WiFi cards are functional on a 4200?:
Dell DW1810
From a quick google search, I see no reason to think that a DW1810 is capable of being a wifi access point (as opposed to client) at all. Buy a real AP, and if you don't have a spare port to plug it into, add a switch as @rcoleman612 suggested.
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Although the AP route is likely easiest and best, I use Atheros AR9280 (Compex) and AR9380 (Apple) based cards in my homebrew box. Just because I can. But I'm a hobbyist, a one man show. The best connection they will support is 'Wireless N'. They "work". But I also have AP's. If you feel like mucking about, go for it.
Compex - 2 antennas
Apple - 3 antennasThe Compex is the one Netgate used to offer as a option way back when. FreeBSD just doesn't seem very interested in Wi-Fi development.
If you haven't seen already:
Does the Netgate 4200 support Wi-Fi cards? -
Neither of those cards will work in the 4200 because it only has m.2 slots and those are mPCIe.
But you could find a card that will work in the 4200. It needs to be m.2 and Atheros 802.11N based.
QCNFA222 should work for example. Though you'd need an extension/adapter to fit it because it's only a 30mm card.QCNFA435 is a .ac card. No driver exists for it. Yet.
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Everyone:
Good to know, all around. I would've setup another switch and AP, except there is physically not room for either one - I do have both of these. That said, the landlord is adding on here, so we may have more room in a few months. All of my APs run OpenWRT, so in theory I COULD easily pass VLANs to that, but I don't understand enough about VLANs to attempt it.
FWIW, I would be Ok with WiFi N - this would be just for an IoT network. I don't need 802.11AC or AX for that. I don't really want my WiFi Light Bulb and Relays running on my home network.
I knew WiFi support was spotty at best. I took a gamble, and hoped for the best. No harm done.
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@aaronouthier said in What WiFi cards are functional on a 4200?:
All of my APs run OpenWRT, so in theory I COULD easily pass VLANs to that
Ah, then yes, you could almost certainly just add an ssid to the existing APs and put them on a VLAN. Then use that VLAN in the 4200 without or without a switch in between.
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The issue, is that I don't understand enough about vlans to be able to set that up.
Also, the OpenWrt Router that I use is a NetGear NightHawk R8000. It sports a Broadcom chipset, albeit the only one to my knowledge which is supported in Linux (FullMAC or something similar). I am not 100% sure HOW well it is supported. I'll need to check if I can actually make another set of APs.
I suppose that is a job for the OpenWRT Forums.
Thanks everybody!
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@aaronouthier on pfSense the configuration is fairly straight forward...
1 Add a VLAN in Interfaces->VLANs
2 Then create your interface and assign it to that VLAN.
3 Set up your interface to be a network and get your rules.
4 Then follow whatever steps on the OpenWRT is needed to get a TAGGED vlan into the device on your uplink port.
5 Configure your SSID.Bob's your uncle.
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Yes, I know how to setup VLANs in pfSense. It is your step 4 that I'm not 100% certain on. I mean, I can set the uplink to Tagged, but creating a second WiFi interface and assigning it to 1 VLAN and everything else to another is wherein lies the problem.
I know a fair amount about the OpenWRT I guess it's more the intersection of VLAN setup and OpenWRT-specific networking where I lack knowledge and experience.
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@aaronouthier Here's where I'd start:
https://openwrt.org/docs/guide-user/network/vlan/switch_configuration#is_there_a_vlan-capable_hardware_switch_integrated_in_your_deviceI don't have anything OpenWRT at this time so I can't suggest more than the documentation above.
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@rcoleman612 Ok. Thanks again.
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Yeah, any OpenWRT device will do VLANs. It just may be more complex if it has to be passed through a built-in switch.
Try it and ask if it doesn't work.
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@aaronouthier Any luck? DM me if you need a hand -- I have an OpenWRT device here I can test steps against for an external AP that should be a comparable config to what you're wanting to do.
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Haven’t really tried yet. Had other things going on. I’ll let you know. Thanks!
