Wireless Suggestions

[autek]

I am planning on buying a wireless card for the desktop. Any suggestions as to what card to look for ?? Linksys--D-link ....etc. Idon't have a problem with using ndiswrapper. The one in the laptop was $15 USD and works well (realtek 8180).


TIA

Ed

[fos]

I have had the best luck with Linksys.

fos....

[stafio]

I have a DLink DWL-G520 and have had good experiences with it. I had trouble getting WEP to work consistently in LN3, but haven't had any problems using the latest version of Mepis. WEP worked in LN3, it would just not work all of the time for some reason. Without WEP enabled, I didn't have any problems getting it to work.

[jml]

The brand of card is less important than the actual chipset that the card uses. Sometimes a card manufacturer will slipstream a change into a product line without announcing it. The only clue you may have is a change in the version number of a product. cards using the Atheros chipset are well supported in Linux, as are the Prism2 chipsets.

Another thing to consider is tha actual wireless network you plan to connect to. An unencrypted network is easiest to set up, but is less secure. WEP encryption is now widely supported by most modern distros. However, WPA-PSK encryption (more secure then WEP,) is not as well supported. If you need WPA encryption capability, you need to download, install and configure an application called WPA_SUPPLICANT. Go to their web site to find a list of supported hardware. Do this before getting a card to make sure you get one that's compatible.

The only distros that I have found that support WPA out of the box are Mandriva 2006, SUSE 10.1, and Kanotix, These distros have WPA supplicant installed and have a graphical application that makes configuring WPA_SUPPLICANT easier. Hope this helps.

Joe

[danieldk]

Prism 2 and IPW2200 chipsets work well for me, both in Linux and BSD. Ralink is also supported very well with the drivers from:

http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/

[autek]

Thanks for the input. I just need to do some shopping now. I guess wireless is getting easier to do as Linux catches up. I wish there was a way to tell what chipset was being used on a particular card.

Ed

[danieldk]

Thanks for the input. I just need to do some shopping now. I guess wireless is getting easier to do as Linux catches up. I wish there was a way to tell what chipset was being used on a particular card.

You can order the card at an online store that guarantees it to work with Linux. (Though I can't name a US vendor that does that.)

[jml]

I'm not aware of any vender that guarantees Linux support for the hardware, but the next best thing I found here in the USA is Staples return Policy. (this is where I buy most of my networking hardware.) If you keep your recept, and all of the original packaging in good condition, they have a no questions asked return policy for 13 days. Just repackage it, bring it and the recept to the store. I have never had a return refused. For the record, I do not work there, nor do I have a financial interest in the company. I just think its important to let people know about vendors that have good business practices.

Joe

[fos]

I use Directron.com for most of my computer component purchases. They have good prices and service is good. They also support Linux by publishing howto articles specific to linux. They also have a support forum moderated by knowledgeable staff members. They will accept returns but charge a 15% restocking fee.

Walmart stocks a small number of high volume items such as wireless routers, modems, cables, video cards, etc. The Walmart in my neighborhood accepts returns without question for 10 days.

fos....