PfSense and FreeBSD 9 (2.2?)
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Any news on pfSense 2.2 and FreeBSD 9? Looking forward to the 802.11n support! 802.11g is not enough to stream 1080p… Most of my devices are wireless N but 54g has me limited to transcoding and the more TV's/Devices I plug into my server the worse it starts looking.. :(
Wonder if it will have support for dual channels 2.4 and 5 and N450 (aka N900)
For those of you that have a Watchguard Firebox, I found this nifty little adapter, along with a backwards 90degree you can put a wireless N900 on the FB.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/14291567?wmlspartner=wlpa&adid=22222222227000000000&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=&wl3=21486607510&wl4=&wl5=pla&veh=semThe question will be which N900 will be compatible with FreeBSD 9 and future pfSense 2.2? I got a Rosewill N900 adapter for a Windows 8 machine I have with this same adapter. it's PCI but PCI's max speed is 133MB (a little over Gig-E which is 100MB) so I'm hoping to not see any speed degradation.
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We have to finish 2.1 first, which is still a little ways off, though not too distant.
I'm not sure if 2.2 will be targeting FreeBSD 9.x or 10.x.
For hardware compatibility, check the FreeBSD HCL for 9.x and see what is listed, though the status for wireless may be held elsewhere.
When in doubt, setup a stock FreeBSD box and see if it works there.
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This is why using a separated AP is the best option.
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I completely understand, but not always the best alternative is the one desired. I want less mix in my network. The least the better :)
I'll definitely check out FreeBSD's compat. list.
Thanks both!
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Depending on your Firebox you may end up limited by CPU rather than wifi throughput.
Also I have always thought that the claimed requirements for HD streaming are way too high. What throughput are you seeing? What do you need?Steve
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i also suggest a external access Point…
N support in FreeBSD isnt horribly fast... in some testing ive done in the lab, its
about G speed...Testing was done with FreeBSD 9.x... havent done any testing with 10.x
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Depending on your Firebox you may end up limited by CPU rather than wifi throughput.
Also I have always thought that the claimed requirements for HD streaming are way too high. What throughput are you seeing? What do you need?Steve
I have the X series. (x700) (I think it's celeron 1.2ghz?)
I configured my plex clients to always transcode. If I can get faster speeds than G (at least 72 or more) it will help.
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@SunCatalyst:
i also suggest a external access Point…
N support in FreeBSD isnt horribly fast... in some testing ive done in the lab, its
about G speed...Testing was done with FreeBSD 9.x... havent done any testing with 10.x
Wow, you serious? Why the "N" support? I don't get it… Hmmm... I guess I'll get an N900 access point and take out the wifi adapter on my firebox (pfSense)
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Keep in mind the pfSense folks have no control over drivers and such in FreeBSD so they have to work with what they get from that project. For example, I believe the only reason we don't have a 2.0.3 release is that the pfSense folks are waiting on a patch from the FreeBSD people.
I looked at the state of FreeBSD internal wireless and thought it was a no-brainer to go with an external access point and skip the whole internal set of issues. Another plus, fiddling or testing with an external access point is unplug the old and plug the new with no impact on the pfSense system. Going back to the old is just as easy if you hit a snag too.
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Why the "N" support?
802.11N is not just more speed. ;)
Your X700 has only 10/100 ports anyway. The maximum throughput is also less than 450Mbps. (less than 300Mbps? :-)I believe there are cards which support 'Super G' mode if you have compatible chipsets at both ends.
Steve
At first I wanted less devices on my network but FreeBSD 8 didn't have 802.11n support… What I wanted out of 802.11n was to max out the 100 of the port connected to my gig switch, but if it's not going to reach 100 with FreeBSD 9 then it's not even worth it anymore to go internal wifi. Why I am going to do the N900 on my internal network and leave the pfSense just for what it is, a firewall. :)
