Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2014 18:37:59 +0200 From: Dirk E <cipher_nl@hotmail.com> To: "freebsd-wireless@freebsd.org" <freebsd-wireless@freebsd.org> Subject: FreeBSD wireless support is lacking; needs better documentation Message-ID: <DUB131-W19C89883781A2A9168565997D80@phx.gbl>
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Hello guys=2C=0A= =0A= I wrote to the freebsd-wireless@ list on 12 August=2C looking for a working= USB wireless adapter that can work on HOSTAP mode. There was no reply on m= y message and so far i have been unsuccessful in finding any device that wo= rks without some kind of limitation.=0A= =0A= The problems are:=0A= =0A= 1) FreeBSD supports only a limited range of wireless adapters=2C mostly old= er products that are not sold anymore or are hard to come by=0A= =0A= 2) FreeBSD has limitations on supported products=2C such as no working HOST= AP or no working 11n (only 11a/b/g) or no proper power-save features=0A= =0A= 3) FreeBSD lacks up-to-date information about actual supported products=3B = many products have newer revisions which use different chipsets=0A= =0A= 4) Documentation is not complete=3B for example the urtwn manpage does not = specify that HOSTAP is not supported under the CAVEATS section=0A= =0A= 5) Products are sold with different chipsets under the same name=2C product= s sold in the USA may work while the same product sold in the EU does not w= ork=0A= =0A= 6) It is generally very hard to find out what chipset a product uses=0A= =0A= =0A= I've been trying for weeks to find a working solution. I have given up on 1= 1n support=2C i just want things to work. I got fed up after trying two dev= ices which should be supported but didn't work in the end=2C so i bought a = bunch of devices and hoped that one would work:=0A= =0A= Asus WL-167 (supported by rum driver=3B because of missing power-save in HO= STAP mode it only works with some clients=3B andriod phones for example don= 't seem to work=3B they can connect but not perform any IP traffic)=0A= TP-LINK TL-WN822N (supported by urtwn=2C but despite manpage not mentioning= this=2C HOSTAP mode is not supported=3B 11n not supported but documented)= =0A= TP-LINK TL-WN821N=0A= TP-LINK TL-WN722N =0A= TP-LINK TL-WN725N (should be supported by urtwn=2C but only the USA version= s=3B the EU version appears not to be supported by this driver at all=3B no= t documented)=0A= EnGenius EUB9707 (only device that actually works in HOSTAP mode=3B but wit= hout 11n support)=0A= Dlink GO-USB-N150 =0A= Eminent EM4579 (no info about this device)=0A= =0A= =0A= It appears the lack of HOSTAP-mode in the urtwn-driver was known by OpenBSD= =2C from which the driver was imported. So then=2C why is this information = not shared with us by including it in the urtwn manpage? There is a patch f= or the OpenBSD driver to add HOSTAP mode for this driver=3B i am not sure w= hether it can be applied to FreeBSD.=0A= =0A= Long story short=3B FreeBSD's wireless support is lacking. It's almost a co= mplete mess. It takes many time and frustration for a user to get a working= product that works decently with FreeBSD. And even then=2C it often works = without features like 11n and proper power save features. It's one of the a= reas that FreeBSD is much behind in terms of hardware support compared to v= irtually every other operating system out there. That's a shame=3B FreeBSD = would be an excellent wireless access point when paired with pf-firewall.= =0A= =0A= I propose the following: create a wiki with a list of known working wireles= s products. Each product should note which chipset it uses=2C what driver i= t connects to=2C what features are suported (i.e. HOSTAP)=2C what FreeBSD v= ersions are supported=2C whether it is open source / binary blob=2C any lic= ense requirements (like Realtek) and a dmesg snippet where the driver is de= tected. It can be managed by a maintainer that accepts email reports from u= sers who provide the required information. That way=2C we get a list of har= dware that is known to work with FreeBSD that people can actually buy. Even= a NewEgg-link or something to that effect can be provided.=0A= =0A= This website was a lot of help to me in figuring out what chipset a wireles= s product uses: https://wikidevi.com/wiki/Main_Page=0A= I propose something simpler for FreeBSD=3B just a single wiki page that lis= ts products that either work or do not work.=0A= =0A= With very limited hardware support for wireless devices=2C such a list is n= eeded very badly=2C to prevent other people from going through the same hel= lhound that i've gone through. If even just a handful of wireless devices t= hat are still being sold are known to be working with FreeBSD=2C this list = would be very helpful i would presume.=0A= =0A= Anyone who likes this idea?=0A= =
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