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    I3 Notebook Questions & Concerns

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    • N
      NOYB
      last edited by

      Considering an i3 notebook as pfSense router, and have a couple of technical concerns.

      Since most notebooks typically have only one network interface it would need to support VLAN's for the LAN and WAN (don't want to use a pc card or usb for second interface).  So how can I know if a particular notebook's onboard nic will support VLAN's?

      WiFi signal strength of built-in notebook antenna compared to a device with external antenna.  Don't need to cover a very large area.  Distance wise maybe couple walls and 25 feet.

      What else might be an issue?  Or is this just a dumb thing to even do?

      Appreciate your input.

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      • T
        thermo
        last edited by

        Most, if not all, modern nic's will support vlans. To be sure get the model of the nic and checkthe manufacturers specs. wifi gets trickier. you'll need to make sure there are drivers for the particular chipset and whether it will run in the mode you want. What's your reason for using a laptop? Is it "free"?

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        • N
          NOYB
          last edited by

          A variety of reasons really.

          Building a system from scratch costs nearly as much, maybe more in some cases.
          Flexibility when comes time to replace and repurpose equipment.
          Comes with display/monitor.

          Those sort of things.

          What mode does the Wi-Fi need to work in?

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          • W
            wallabybob
            last edited by

            @NOYB:

            What mode does the Wi-Fi need to work in?

            Only some of the available WiFi NICs are supported in FreeBSD and pfSense. Of the supported NICs most support (are supposed to operate in) infrastructure mode (connect to a wireless Access Point) though there have been reports that infrastructure mode is broken in some WiFi NICs that are supposed to support it. Only some of the supported WiFi NICs are supported for operation in Access Point mode. 802.11n is not supported. Some 802.11n capable WiFi NICs are reported to operate in "802.11g compatible" mode.

            You could tell us what WiFi chipset (make and model) is in the laptop under consideration and how you want to use the WiFi and invite feedback on suitability of the chipset or accept there is a strong possibility you will need to add a supported WiFi device (USB or PCMCI or Express Card or mini PCI or mini PCI Express, depending on the laptop) or external Access Point to have operational WiFi.

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            • stephenw10S
              stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
              last edited by

              Are there any NICs that don't support VLANs? As far as I'm aware the only difference is that some NICs have hardware VLAN tagging supported by FreeBSD for others it's done in software.

              The wifi antennas in laptops are usually not bad. They are mounted in the back of the screen though which may be a problem for you if you plan to run it with the screen closed. I would still expect it to work OK though.
              As the others have mentioned your problem will likely be that a brand new laptop will have an unsupported wifi card. If it's easily accessible though just replace it with an older 802.11g pci-e card and wait for driver support to catch up!

              See JimP's list of supported wifi:
              https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AojFUXcbH0ROdHgwYkFHbkRUdV9hVWljVWl5SXkxbFE&hl=en#gid=0

              Steve

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              • N
                NOYB
                last edited by

                What about this ASUS K53E-RBR5 notebook?

                But I've not been able to find a spec sheet that reveals the LAN/WiFi chipset.
                Critical that LAN supports both tagged and untagged VLANs.
                Highly desirable that the WiFi can be used as the WLAN access point.

                ASUS K53E-RBR5

                http://usa.asus.com/Notebooks/Versatile_Performance/K53E/

                http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/751018/ASUS-K53E-RBR5-Laptop-Computer-With/

                Thanks

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                • stephenw10S
                  stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                  last edited by

                  According to this post on the Ubuntu forum the K53E has an Atheros AR9485 wifi chip.
                  This is not listed as supported by Freebsd, either 8.1 or 9.

                  Steve

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                  • N
                    NOYB
                    last edited by

                    Bummer.

                    Thank you.

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                    • stephenw10S
                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                      last edited by

                      Additionally it seems to have an AR8151 Gigabit  ethernet which is supported by the alc(4) driver. It has support for hardware VLAN tagging. However the 8151 was only added in FreeBSD 8.2 which means that it won't work under pfSense 2.0.1 but will under 2.1.

                      Support for the Atheros AR94XX may be added in the future. See:
                      http://wiki.freebsd.org/dev/ath_hal%284%29/HardwareSupport

                      Steve

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                      • N
                        NOYB
                        last edited by

                        What about this Gateway NV57H73U notebook?

                        According the the drivers download page it looks like the LAN is Broadcom and the WiFi could be either Intel, Atheros, or Broadcom.
                        But again I'm having trouble finding the specific LAN and WLAN chip sets.

                        Gateway NV57H73U
                        http://us.gateway.com/gw/en/US/content/model/LX.WX702.008

                        http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/729526/Gateway-NV57H73u-Laptop-Computer-With-156/

                        Thanks

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                        • stephenw10S
                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                          last edited by

                          Almost any new laptop is likely to have 802.11N wifi which will probably not be supported by pfSense.
                          You would be better off looking for a laptop with wifi on a mini pci or pci-e card so you can swap it for an older, supported, model.

                          Steve

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