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    Will This VM and USB Wireless Adapter Setup Work?

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Virtualization
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      ldjarmin
      last edited by

      So, my trusty old WRT54GL is dying, and I figured I should get in on that newfangled 802.11n stuff anyway.  I'm only a few years behind.  So I looked around and got a great deal through a combination of coupons, sales, etc. an ASUS USB simultaneous (I think) dual band wifi adapter that should be able to function as a software AP.  It's the Asus USB-N53 (http://www.amazon.com/Asus-Wireless-N-Graphical-Interface-USB-N53/dp/B005SAKW9G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369330713&sr=8-1&keywords=usb-n53).

      I looked at the big compatibility excel spreadsheet, and I think the chipset in there should be compatible with pfSense.  So here's what I'm planning on doing.  I have a Mac Mini that mostly just functions as a Plex server.  I was thinking of running pfSense in a VirtualBox VM on my Mac Mini.  So, I plug ethernet from cable modem into Mac Mini.  Set up the pfSense VM to use the ethernet connection (and convince the Mac host to NOT use the ethernet).  Then have pfSense use the USB-N53 to be my router and wireless AP (hopefully both at 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz).  Then all my devices (including the Mac Mini host itself) connect via wireless.

      Will this work?  Will it be doable without being a pfSense master?  Another plan I had if that didn't work is (since the USB-N53 software AP supposedly only has software for Windows) is to run a second VM at the same time, making that one a Windows VM.  So the ethernet goes to the pfSense VM, then the pfSense VM connects via a virtual network to the Windows VM which has the USB-N53 acting as a dual AP.  Would that work any better?

      Thanks for any advice or help you can offer!

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