ASUS USB N13 RTL8192CU run driver on 8.1 Release-p6 fail?

[hcoin]

The official USB wifi spreadsheet claims the ASUS usbn13 is supported using the run driver.  A couple posts on this forum say it works.    So I bought a few.  Plugged one in to a i386 box running 8.1Release, was greeted with this added to the dmesg:

ugen0.2: <vendor 0x0b05="">at usbus0

and,,, nothing more.    Added

runfw_load="YES"
if_run_load="YES"

to /boot/loader.conf.local,  rebooted and …   same message.  No run0 instance.

It must be something obvious, but I just can't see it.

kldstat -v | grep run
343 uhub/run
2    1 0xc1579000 3c40     runfw.ko (/boot/kernel/runfw.ko)
1 runfw_fw

usbconfig reports:
ugen0.2: <product 0x17ab="" vendor="" 0x0b05="">at usbus0, cfg=0 md=HOST spd=FULL (12Mbps) pwr=ON

Any clues?    ???</product></vendor>

[wallabybob]

You have been caught by an all too common practice of many suppliers of networking gear - they quietly change the chipset without changing the model number. Apparently the ASUS N13 Rev A1 contains a Ralink chipset while the N13 Rev B1 contains a Realtek chipset. The Ralink chipset is supported in FreeBSD (and hence pfSense) while the Realtek chipset isn't supported in FreeBSD 8.1 or 8.3.

TP-Link generally seem to be pretty good about using the same chipset though all revisions of a particular model, but even they changed chipset in the WN321G from Rallink RT2560 to Ralink RT2870/3070.

I have used a device with the RT3070 for some time with satisfactory results, but supplies of the TP-Link WN321G seem to have dried up in local retail outlets.

There are suppliers on eBay offering devices claiming to have the RT3070 chipset and at least one reader of the pfSense wireless forum has reported satisfactory results with one such device.

[hcoin]

First:  I'm grateful for this answer, at least I won't lose another half day and evening.

Second: It's so frustrating when one follows 'the official rules', waits for product to show up, then finds only through wasteful time loss it never had a chance.   It's this sort of thing that makes using open source software so very expensive.  I'm not looking for bleeding edge performance, just stability.   I'm not writing by way of 'the blame game', but rather to wonder out loud what the right approach is to improving these things.   In the commercial world, a software vendor would make an agreement with a hardware company about getting notice about this sort of thing, so folk like me wouldn't get caught unawares.

[srynoname]

damn, same problem here, need to get another usb wlan stick ;-)

[kejianshi]

Its not so much a problem with opensource as a problem with not checking the specs.
Pfsense works extremely well with the things its supposed to work with unless you go and think you are buying one thing but you actually get another.  No OS is immune to the old hardware/drivers switch-a-roo…

My advice, for plug and play simplicity, get yourself an AP that plugs into a LAN port on the pfsense its self or the switch.
Problem solved.  No driver issues.  Simple.

I do understand your angst, but an AP should actually be the first thing anyone recommends for pfsense, not the last.
Give that a shot.  You will see.  Its easy.

[srynoname]

well, that was no complaint about pfsense from my side ;-) I had an external AP until now, but meanwhile I am lacking the space for it. A simple usb stick takes less space and I only have to configure pfsense itself :-) will now try an Edimax EW-7711UMn, it's end of life (yet still good available), so I guess the chipset (ra3070) didn't change ;-)

[srynoname]

can meanwhile recommend the mentioned edimax stick, see http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php/topic,65227.msg357548.html