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Thread: Connecting Pfsense To A Linksys Wireless Router

  1. #11
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    Just an update to this thread.

    I have had good results from using usb wireless cards with Pfsense. I am currently using a Nexxt Lynx300 card with the run driver. In the past I used a Cisco/Linksys usb modem with the run driver. With the Linksys I had to renew the DHCP lease each time I started Pfsense.

    To use the run driver with Pfsense 2.x you need to add the line

    runfw_load="YES"

    to the /boot/loader.conf file. Pfsense is based on FreeBSD Unix and not Linux. However, you can use the vi utility to add the line.

    http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=36453.5;wap2

    http://forum.pfsense.org/index.php?topic=49152.0;wap2
    Last edited by jamrock; Sep 8, 2012 at 09:22 PM.

  2. #12
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    Excellent that you got it sorted out. I'm not using it so much these days so if I run into issues is you I have to go ask

    In any case - what you can also do is limit the bandwidth for the unauthorized persons (on the "free WiFi") so that it doesn't pull too hard on your resources.

    Another thing you can do is implement MAC pass-through for those at your office while others that may try to connect to your office have a login portal to use - captive portal with or without active directory authentication. You could even get a custom page for the login.
    Knowing the solution doesn't mean knowing the method. Yet answering correctly and regurgitation are considered "learning" and "knowledge".

  3. #13
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    There are a lot of additional features that I have not yet tried. A friend of mine uses it at his work place. He uses the Snort add on to track intrusion attempts. He also uses the multiple wan fail over. This automatically switches from LIME to FLOW and back if there is a disruption in either internet service.

    I want to test out Snort next. He plugged an infected laptop in his network and Snort blocked the machine and made an alert when it tried to dial out to the trojan's home server.

    He attended the JALUG Linux class and then one year later he is teaching me stuff. You just can't hold some people back.

    I was reading about the captive portal. Not enough time to learn everything.

    I really want to try it out on an Alix board. This is one of those low power consumption devices from PC Engines. You can find them on Ebay. It seems as if you can put a wireless usb card in the Alix board and use it to replace the Linksys wireless router. Megiddo told me about them recently.
    Last edited by jamrock; Sep 6, 2012 at 12:02 AM.

  4. #14
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    And the excellent thing about setting up these boxes - all your configs can be saved so if the box goes down or something gets hit you just reinstall and reload your config. Once you pimp it out you can replace lots of things and have your services centralized.

    I need to get more into Linux - I can use it now and manage with some recovery and such but I need to make it more mainstream except for my gaming and editing in Windows.
    Knowing the solution doesn't mean knowing the method. Yet answering correctly and regurgitation are considered "learning" and "knowledge".

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by jamrock View Post
    Right now I have a wireless router that people use when they come to the office with laptops. That way, they don't need to put their machines on my network. If I can get the Pfsense wireless access point to work, I will need one less device in my rack.
    I finally got a chance to try this. It works quite well. I no longer need the wireless router. My Pfsense box now supplies internet to the wired LAN and to wireless machines that are not on the LAN.

    We now have 3 network cards in the box. One ethernet connects directly to the ISP's modem. This uses DHCP. One ethernet is xxx.xxx.1.1 and connects to the LAN's switch. The third is a Nexxt Lynx300 wireless card set to xxx.xxx.2.1. With this configuration, the wireless clients and the wired clients are on different subnets and therefore separated.

    One thing to note. I had to set up firewall rules for the wireless card. Took me a while to figure this out. At first the laptop would connect to the access point but I couldn't get out to the internet. I had to create rules to allow access out to the internet.

    I used the following document.


    http://doc.pfsense.org/index.php/Wireless_Details

    WPA Hostap with AES encryption explains how to setup the wireless card as an access point. This replaces the wireless modem.

    WPA client with AES encryption explains how to setup a wireless client. You would use this if you want pfsense to connect to a wireless modem. This would be useful if your ISP's modem is at one end of the building and your LAN is at the other end. Pfsense would provide wireless internet access to your LAN.

    The drivers for the Nexxt wireless card aren't perfect. I have no issues when I use the card as a wireless client. When I use it as an access point, I sometimes have a kernel panic when I try to change the cards settings via the Pfsense web interface. A reboot fixes this. Pfsense is tested mainly with Atheros based cards so you may experience a few issues with other brands.

    So far I am happy.
    Last edited by jamrock; Oct 11, 2012 at 05:00 PM.

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