Linux Question: Wifi PCI Adapter

[don_9129]

I am unclear on the dependencies of the chipset and driver compatibility. Ok, so I understand that a motherboard has a chipset and a Wifi Adapter has a chipset(Atheros, Broadcom, Conexant, Intel, Ralink)

I'm basically trying to figure out if a Wifi PCI Adapter that is in the compatibility list will work on any computer regardless of the chipset in the computer. I know nothing about drivers except that I need them to make stuff work.

So, my goal is to find a Wifi PCI Adapter that will work on any and every desktop that you put it in, Is there such a thing???? And if so, which distro has the driver built into the kernel so that it will work without manually configuring it???

I really appreciate any info anyone may have on this, I've googled the piss out of it and can't find anything on this. Please help!

[MikeTbob]

I am trying to find a Wifi PCI Adapter that will work on any and every desktop that you put it in, Is there such a thing???? And if so, which distro has the driver built into the kernel so that it will work without manually configuring it???

I really appreciate any info anyone may have on this, I've googled the piss out of it and either I'm blind or stupid. Please help!

Hello and welcome to Linuxforums.
There a few cards that work on almost anything, I have a Belkin with an Atheros chipset that I have managed to install on many distros and some distros are just better than others at handling Wireless issues. There probably is no one single "works with every distro every machine" wireless cards. Most distros are pretty easy to configure for wireless but think of this, you have to configure the wireless card for Windows too, even if that means just installing a driver or configuring WPA passkeys, so Linux is no different. It's true that you may find a card that will work right out of the box on your first try, but this is unlikely. In my opinion I would avoid Broadcom chipsets, they just see to be pretty pesky little buggers.

EDIT: OpenSUSE 11 is pretty good with a wide array or wireless cards and the same for Sabayon Linux and Mint Linux.

[rokytnji]

Well Don, I bought one of these Newegg.com - Rosewill RNX-G300LX IEEE 802.11b/g PCI Wireless Card Up to 54Mbps Data Rates 64/128-Bit WEP, 802.1x, WPA, WPA2, AES, TKIP with 2 dBi Antenna - Wireless Adapters and it has worked out of the box pretty well with Puppy Dingo, Ubuntu 8.10, Xubuntu 8.10, Linux Mint 6.

[don_9129]

Thanks so much for replying so quickly, I guess I should elaborate a little more on the question/situation.

The Situation:
Ok, so I accepted a volunteer project to create a low cost wireless network for a non profit (Senior Center) on donated computers and make a standard guide so that the average person can duplicate the network on misc. brands of computers.

My solution for them was of course use Linux(Ubuntu/Xubuntu on old computers and Fedora or openSUSE on the newer computers). Now the only problem is the Wifi Adapter Driver/Compatibility Issues on misc. computers.

The thing that confuses me is the chipset compatibility. does the chipset in the motherboard have anything to do with the chipset in the Wifi Adapter?

Right now I think we have decided to standardize with an SMC Wifi PCI Adapter (SMCWPCI-G2) which claims to work on all 2.6 kernels but does it matter what kind of computer (Dell,HP, Toshiba,etc.) you put it in ????

[MikeTbob]

The thing that confuses me is the chipset compatibility. does the chipset in the motherboard have anything to do with the chipset in the Wifi Adapter?

Nope, completely seperate chipsets.

[don_9129]

Nope, completely seperate chipsets.

Excellent! Thanks so much, I've been agonizing on whether or not I was making a mistake in telling them to purchase those Wifi Adapters. That's probably why I couldn't find anything on google about it either. I really appreciate your help with that, I'll rest easier knowing I didn't mess up on that. I wasn't sure if the driver script depended on the chipsets being compatible with eath other.

Thanks again,
Don

[orenyny]

Thanks so much for replying so quickly, I guess I should elaborate a little more on the question/situation.

The Situation:
Ok, so I accepted a volunteer project to create a low cost wireless network for a non profit (Senior Center) on donated computers and make a standard guide so that the average person can duplicate the network on misc. brands of computers.

My solution for them was of course use Linux(Ubuntu/Xubuntu on old computers and Fedora or openSUSE on the newer computers). Now the only problem is the Wifi Adapter Driver/Compatibility Issues on misc. computers.

The thing that confuses me is the chipset compatibility. does the chipset in the motherboard have anything to do with the chipset in the Wifi Adapter?

Right now I think we have decided to standardize with an SMC Wifi PCI Adapter (SMCWPCI-G2) which claims to work on all 2.6 kernels but does it matter what kind of computer (Dell,HP, Toshiba,etc.) you put it in ????

Don - Can you share your experience since you started this discussion? Do you have any recommendation as to which WiFi PCI adapter to use in Linux?
Thanks.