One WIFI card can run only one RF channel?
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Hi,
I install a test pfSense 2.2 beta, 20141005 build for 4GB CF card image, on a physical computer, Intel DN2800MT mainboard(Intel 82574 NIC buildin), with a Broadcom BCM5721 CAT5 addon NIC, and an Atheros AR9382 mini-PCIe addon WIFI card. All 3 NIC work fine, the pfSense can recognize them and assign them as interfaces. The AR9382 wifi card has dual bands, it can work on 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz. The pfSense boot from a 4GB USB stick, with 4GB RAM.
I want to setup my pfSense box as a dual band wifi router, as a typically dual band wifi router boxes on market, they can provide dual band wifi (2.4GHz and 5.8GHz) in same time, most of them can provide independual setting option between2.4G and 5.8G band, such as diffirent SSID, diffirent WEP or WPA passowrd, and so on. If possible, pfSense can provide more SSID for guest and internal user(diffirent IP, firewall rule an so on) are prefect, like enterprise class WIFI controller plus AP system.
So I create 3 virtual wireless adapters(as my understand) in menu Interfaces->(assign)->Wireless, set them in Access Point mode or Infrastructure mode. Then I assign 3 virtual wireless adapters as interface in menu Interfaces->(assign)->Interfaces assignments. Then I config each WIFI interface, include physical one and virtual three, enable them, set diffirent SSID, and choose diffirent RF channel, two in 2.4GHz, 2 in 5.8GHz, e.g. ch3 , ch10 , ch120 , ch165 , other setting keep same at this time.
After apply, I find all 4 interfaces are in same RF channel, they keep the last channel setting what I set before, e.g. ch165. Even if I reboot and try again.
Now I want to know: what is the reason of this problem? Is it just a bug? or it is because the design is that (by any reason, technical, NIC limitation, legal or other)?
By the way, I must report the pfSense cost 150 seconds each time when I click "Save" button, even if I just do a little little normal setting change in anywhere, does it because the pfSense boot from an USB stick? or it is that at current beta version? My CPU is Intel Atom N2800, dual core 1.86GHz with Hyper-Theading, its performance should be not bottleneck, especially on the zero loading test platform.
Thanks
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Same behaviour here.
But you have to look where you make your settings. The settings on the top are for all interfaces, near the bottom are for each clone. So depending on what you choose at the top you have not all options for the clone. -
Thanks for Hudrator's notify, understand, so I have to install two physical WIFI card on the computer to provide two band, sigh
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No no , as far as l read , there are enoughth people who were able to get dual band to work at the current stable releases. if you have a wifi card which is supported by pfsense it should work. I think / hope that this is just a problem of the current beta. In some how to's it is shown that dualband is working with pfsense. to far as I understand them you should use the card as an 2.4 wifi and then one virtual interface as 5 GHz wifi. But they are all for older versions of pfsense . And the update from 2.1.5 to 2.2. is quiet a big one.