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    New Build I Need Some Help Please

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Hardware
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    • stephenw10S
      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
      last edited by

      You say you don't need the fastest wifi which is good because the best you can do directly in pfSense is 802.11G.
      Selecting a wifi card that's compatible can be a bit hit and miss. Your best bet is an older Atheros based card. There is a list of supported chipsets here:
      https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AojFUXcbH0ROdHgwYkFHbkRUdV9hVWljVWl5SXkxbFE&hl=en

      Personally I would only use a wifi card in the pfSense box directly if I already had the hardware to hand. Otherwise you can get much better speed, range and often reliability by using an external access point.

      Steve

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      • D
        Darkk
        last edited by

        Yeah better off using external WiFi access point to save yourself the headaches.  Hopefully the next version of PfSense will be based on FreeBSD 10 with better hardware support.

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        • A
          alexmiro26
          last edited by

          which wireless thingy should i use the wireless access point i dont want to spend a lot but i want it to be at least 450mb b/g/n

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          • A
            alexmiro26
            last edited by

            because i have a netgear n900 wireless dual band router can i use that and if so how

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            • V
              val
              last edited by

              @alexmiro26:

              because i have a netgear n900 wireless dual band router can i use that and if so how

              If you want to use those wireless router make sure you have DHCP server off so it wont try to giving out any IPs and let your pfSense box do the job.
              Also making sure on your Netgear n900 NAT function it's off as well, the last thing you need will be double NAT  ;D

              After above steps it should turn your netgear n900 into a Wireless AP without any routeing function.

              Intel Xeon E3-1225 V2 @ 3.20Ghz
              Intel S1200KPR server board mini-ITX
              A-data ECC 4GB x 2 1600MHz
              Intel Ethernet Server Adapter I350-T2
              Samsung 840 Pro 120GB
              Lian-Li PC-Q15B

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              • stephenw10S
                stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                last edited by

                Yep.
                https://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Use_an_existing_wireless_router_with_pfSense

                Steve

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                • A
                  alexmiro26
                  last edited by

                  i found this on ebay he claims it will work but i want to be 100% sure because i cant check what chipset it is using
                  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-DUAL-Port-GIG-Pro-1000-PCI-32-LP-Lan-NIC-4-pfsense-EM0-1-untangle-m0n0wall-/251397784870?pt=US_Firewall_VPN_Devices&hash=item3a8879c526

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                  • stephenw10S
                    stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                    last edited by

                    That card will work but you would be better off using a PCIe card to fully use the gigabit interfaces.

                    Steve

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                    • A
                      alexmiro26
                      last edited by

                      i cant find one that is compatible for less than $40 on ebay would you please help me find one

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                      • D
                        Darkk
                        last edited by

                        Ebay is a good source for stuff but check out Amazon.

                        Here is the card I ordered which works great in PCI-express slot.

                        http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BMZHX2/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

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                        • A
                          alexmiro26
                          last edited by

                          so you are sayng one of those will work because i looked up by chipset and i didnt see it in the list but if it works in your router i will buy one and can i use one of the ports for wan and the other one to connect to a switch to go on from there

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                          • B
                            biggsy
                            last edited by

                            @alexmiro26:

                            I Will Be Using A HP SFF PC And I Only Need Half-Height Cards

                            The Motherboard I Have Has 3 PCI-1X And One Legacy PCI

                            And For Wireless I Want To Run It From The Same Machine But I Dont Know Which WLAN Cards Will Work

                            Which HP SFF PC?

                            Unless it's really old I suspect that it will have 1 x PCI plus 3 x PCIe (PCI Express) not 3 x PCI-X (PCI Extended).

                            Look for a single-port Intel PRO/1000 CT adapter.  These are PCIe, should be reasonably priced and supported by pfSense.  Just be sure they come with the half-height bracket.  Another option is an HP NC360T dual-port adapter.

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                            • A
                              alexmiro26
                              last edited by

                              i have one full pci express 16x and 2 1x and one legacy pci and the card that was recomended will it work btw it has 2 gigs of ram and a intel core 2 duo

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                              • A
                                alexmiro26
                                last edited by

                                its a hp compaq dc7800 sff pc

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                                • B
                                  biggsy
                                  last edited by

                                  @alexmiro26:

                                  its a hp compaq dc7800 sff pc

                                  Then the cards mentioned earlier will do the job.  If they're new they should come with both brackets.

                                  You can also get the Intel PT cards in dual-port and quad port.

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                                  • A
                                    alexmiro26
                                    last edited by

                                    the point is am planning to use one as a wan port and the other to connect to a switch and one of them from the switch to a router to use as a wireless access point

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                                    • A
                                      alexmiro26
                                      last edited by

                                      will that work ? or will i have to use the on board nic because the nic i'm planning to buy is a lot better

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                                      • stephenw10S
                                        stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                        last edited by

                                        Sorry I'm confused, which NIC are you asking about now? Or are you asking about your planned network?

                                        Steve

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                                        • A
                                          alexmiro26
                                          last edited by

                                          i want to buy this nic
                                          http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BMZHX2/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
                                          and i want to use one of the ports as wan and the other port connected to the switch and from the switch to some pcs and the wireless access point

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                                          • stephenw10S
                                            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                            last edited by

                                            That should be no problems as long as it comes with the half height bracket, or you've already got one.

                                            Steve

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