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WiFI cards for hostapd in Debian 10?

Need help with peripherals or devices?
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Author
renne
Posts: 22
Joined: 2019-04-01 09:17

WiFI cards for hostapd in Debian 10?

#1 Post by renne »

Hi,

we want to set up an WiFi access-point and are looking for WiFi devices running out-of-the-box on current Debian 10 amd64 non-free.
It is one PCIe x1 slot and a PCIe x1 -> 4x mini-PCIe x1 bridge available.
The mainboard is UEFI-only (no CSM mode).

Access-point requirements:
  • Simultaneous dual-band 2.4/5 GHz 802.11n/a/ac wave 2
    RP-SMA connectors
    3T3R MU-MIMO
    2.4 GHz TX-power 20 dBm
    5 GHz TX-Power > 25 dBm
    802.11d/802.11h (DFS, TPC, country code DE)
    Channels 1-13 (2,412 - 2,472 GHz) and 36-140 (5,15 - 5,7 GHz)
    802.11w Protected Management Frames
    WPA2 PSK
    SAE for WPA3 PSK

Thanx for any hint :)

Renne

propofol123
Posts: 15
Joined: 2013-05-16 14:06

Re: WiFI cards for hostapd in Debian 10?

#2 Post by propofol123 »

I would also be very interested in recommendations for adapters which support ac1200. I have an access point set up for the kids and use two usb wifi adapters with hostapd:
148f:3070 Ralink Technology, Corp. RT2870/RT3070 Wireless Adapter
0cf3:9271 Atheros Communications, Inc. AR9271 802.11n https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004Y ... UTF8&psc=1

I have tried an Alfa AC1900 WiFi Adapter but have not had much luck getting it working: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MZ ... UTF8&psc=1

Regards,
Stefan

User avatar
dotlj
Posts: 646
Joined: 2009-12-25 17:21

Re: WiFI cards for hostapd in Debian 10?

#3 Post by dotlj »

Hi Stefan. Have you tried looking for ralink packages?

Code: Select all

aptitude search ralink
p   firmware-ralink                                      - Binary firmware for Ralink wireless cards (dummmy package)
Although

Code: Select all

aptitude show firmware-ralink
Package: firmware-ralink          
Version: 20190114-1
State: not installed
Multi-Arch: foreign
Priority: optional
Section: non-free/oldlibs
Maintainer: Debian Kernel Team <debian-kernel@lists.debian.org>
Architecture: all
Uncompressed Size: 23.6 k
Depends: firmware-misc-nonfree
Provided by: firmware-misc-nonfree (20190114-1)
Description: Binary firmware for Ralink wireless cards (dummmy package)
 This is a dummy transitional package.  It can be safely removed.
Tags: role::shared-lib
so install firmware-misc-nonfree and it should work.
For atheros try firmware-atheros

propofol123
Posts: 15
Joined: 2013-05-16 14:06

Re: WiFI cards for hostapd in Debian 10?

#4 Post by propofol123 »

Thanks for the suggestion, however, I already have the firmware installed for ralink. I recently checked again. Unfortunately the module does not seem to load. dmesg reports "8814au: disagrees about version of symbol module_layout".

Atheros usb wifi adapters has so far been the best by far for setting up a wifi access point. I have used the device I mentioned previously for over 2 years with very little problems.

propofol123
Posts: 15
Joined: 2013-05-16 14:06

Re: WiFI cards for hostapd in Debian 10?

#5 Post by propofol123 »

I case anyone else is interested, I finally managed to get the Alfa AC1900 WiFi card working on Stretch:

I installed the 4.19.0-0.bpo.5-amd64 kernel from stretch backports & then made the module from https://github.com/aircrack-ng/rtl8812au.

Unfortunately I was disappointed, the AC1900 card had a poor signal strength compared to the Alfa AWUS036NHA I have been using for a while now. I have other problems with the AWUS036NHA in the sense that it would stop working after a few months requiring restart + unplugging. This seems to be less of an issue after the kernel upgrade.

Has anyone else been using a wifi access point/s with hostapd over long periods of time?

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