Wireless network adapters for linux?

[Geeyoff]

Hi. I hate it when I can't decide which forum to post under... 😕

Can anybody recommend any good, reliable, strong wireless network adapters that play well with linux? 802.11b, if that's important. Any suggestions you've got would be really helpful--brand names, chipsets, etc. Also, should I go USB or PCI? (I've read some stuff on the web which implies that wireless USB is difficult. and sometimes impossible, to set up with linux at this point in time. Is this accurate, or am I just bewildered?)

Thanks.

--Geeyoff

 

[Nothinman]

I have a Linksys PCMCIA card that works fine, since the PCI versions are just PCMCIA cards in an adapter that should be fine also.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: Nothinman
I have a Linksys PCMCIA card that works fine, since the PCI versions are just PCMCIA cards in an adapter that should be fine also.

In OpenBSD the PCI version is semi supported. It doesnt initialize on bootup, but anytime after that a quick ifconfig statement brings it up just fine. Its probably better in Linux though.

 

[manly]

Many PCMCIA clients work great in Linux. The PCI adapters for desktop PCs is just a PCMCIA controller (which is embedded in a notebook's motherboard), so most should be supported.

I recall seeing that the D-Link USB client could be configured to work, but I really wouldn't count on it. I'm not aware that the Orinoco USB client works, but who knows.

I'm using the Orinoco PCMCIA client w/ a PCI adapter with good results in my desktop PC, although the range/throughput probably is nothing to brag about (it's more than enough to saturate my WAN connection though, which is all that matters).

 

[stash]

linksys wusb11's are supported, but not the newest version (2.6) You would have to try to find a v2.5 that has the prism chip in it.

 

[n0cmonkey]

Originally posted by: STaSh
linksys wusb11's are supported, but not the newest version (2.6) You would have to try to find a v2.5 that has the prism chip in it.

What chipset is in the 2.6 version? Or was that PRISM v2.6?

 

[Nighthawk69]

I use an Orinoco PCMCIA card and an Orinoco PCMCIA-PCI adapter card in my desktop puter under Red Hat 7.3. Works GREAT! Orinoco/Agere is a classy company with an awesome product and sweet Linux drivers. Just grab their Linux driver package and follow the simple instructions to install and configure them... nothing to it.

Regards,

 

[Geeyoff]

Originally posted by: manly
I recall seeing that the D-Link USB client could be configured to work, but I really wouldn't count on it. I'm not aware that the Orinoco USB client works, but who knows.

I've never owned a USB device of any sort before. Do they tend to be difficult to set up under Linux, or is it just USB wireless adapters? (Just outta curiosity...)

--Geeyoff

 

[Nothinman]

I've never owned a USB device of any sort before. Do they tend to be difficult to set up under Linux, or is it just USB wireless adapters? (Just outta curiosity...)

I've used a USB mouse and GamePad just fine in Linux, long as the modules are there you just plug it in and it works, never did USB networking though.

 

[manly]

USB in general is working fine under Linux.

However, drivers for network clients and other newer items are either non-existent or in early development. Basically, USB networking on Linux is relatively new, and wireless networking on Linux is even newer. Combine the two, and you basically have a very tiny user base with little official support.

Stuff like mice and keyboards works flawlessly for some time now.

 

[robisc]

I have a Linksys PCMCIA card that works fine, since the PCI versions are just PCMCIA cards in an adapter that should be fine also.

Nothinman how hard and what steps did you take to get this setup? I have a Linksys 802.11b PCMCIA card in my notebook but haven't tried to configure it in SuSe 8, any suggestions?

 

[stash]

What chipset is in the 2.6 version? Or was that PRISM v2.6?

I can't remember what the 2.6 chip is, but I know that I saw somewhere that it wasn't a prism. I did try it with the prism2_usb modules that work with v2.5, and no go.

Ah...found it. Versions other than 2.5 (1.0, 2.0, 2.6) are ATMEL based and may work with ATMEL AT76C503A driver.

 

[Nothinman]

Nothinman how hard and what steps did you take to get this setup? I have a Linksys 802.11b PCMCIA card in my notebook but haven't tried to configure it in SuSe 8, any suggestions?

I had to apply a kernel patch (wlan-ng project IIRC) and install the userland tools (Debian had a package for this IIRC). It's been a while since I did it, so I'm not real clear. I found everything on the web via google like the first day I had it, so it's not hidden very well.