Best wireless adapter for linux, plug and play installation.
 

As title,
is there a wireless adapter for linux with plug and play installation?
USB or PCI/PCIE no problem.

Thanks.

Plugs in via ethernet and as far as the computer is concerned it is ethernet. No drivers to mess with other than ethernet. Has 600mW of power so you can forget about the router not being able to hear you. Easy interface(just like most routers) through browser. Does not burn out under continous load(like most USB ones).

I have asked for a wifi adapter because I can't use the cable.

Ok, if you mean that your machine does not have an ethernet port or it is broken that is one thing. But if you mean you cannot run the cable through the house that is another and does not apply to the device I posted. The only cable the device I posted needs is to run from your computer to the device. That cable can be as short as you want it to be (6inches). The device connects wirelessly to your router.

I sayed that I need a wireless adapter.

That is where you are not LISTENING. It IS a wireless adapter. If you have an inverter in you car you could move this device and your computer into your car and connect to the internet as you drive down the highway.

I need a normal wireless adapter USB or PCI/PCIe and not a box like that. :)

Im sorry for the offtopic but this thread made me lol :)

Hi,

I know this thread is old but it's now the second time I've landed here via Google and I have the same question as the OP: I'd like to see a list of the wireless adapters with the best out-of-the-box, plug 'n play support under Linux.

What about just being able to plug it into a laptop and connect to available networks? (without any special configuration)

Can one do that with this elaborate device the way one can with a plain old USB wireless adapter ?

Also, the manufacturer's page that you linked-to says only wireless g but NewEgg lists it as b/g.

Assuming your laptop has an ethernet port (most due) and linux recognizes it (99% are) then there is not elaborate setup. You simply go to the "devices" web page, scan for networks, and tell it to connect.

The wireless G standard has a fallback to wireless B(as I recall). The device can do both G and B (not N).

Thank you for the prompt reply.

Would this device afford NAT protection when used at a WiFi hot spot?

That would be appealing.

I had a look at the mfr's web page again and see that support for 802.11 b is, in fact, mentioned a little further down. It does seem odd, though, that they don't list it as "802.11 b/g" in the heading; the highlighted summary at the top of the page.

I wonder how soon they'll come-out with one that supports n.

If you use it in client router mode (which I do) it does give you NAT. In this mode the router(engenius) recieves an ip from the hot spot but it hands out a different ip to the computer. The only tricky thing here is that on intial setup (one time deal) you have to set the engenius up on a different subnet than you will be hooking up to. 99% of the networks you will time into will be of the 192.168.X.Y form so I set my engenius up with the 10.168.X.Y form (generally 10.168.1.2 for the engenius and a ip of 10.168.1.100 for machine)(with a switch you can hook up multiple machines this way). One can set it up as an access point but if the hot spot happens to use the same ip address as the standard engenius ip you have no way to adjust the settings (transmit power etc). Again this should be a one time setup, it does NOT need to be redone when you unplug the unit from the power souce. IF you do a hard reset (poke a pointy object through a little hole which is not going to be done by accident) you will need to redo the setup.

For whatever reason their N products are not high power.

I can see why. IMO there probably should be a list like that up at linux wireless-

http://linuxwireless.org/

That could get messy though. Some wireless that is seen as 'linux friendly' can have issues with closed, non-free firmware. So you can have wireless adapters with free drivers, but then some distros cant (or wont) include the needed firmware for the device to work. Some distros will have the firmware, some distros wont.

Migth be easy, but not really any easier than a linux friendly wireless PCI/PCie card. Its a fair bit more expensive than most PCI/PCIe card, more messy (ethernet cable + an external power brick if you arent using power over ethernet).

If it works for you, go ahead, but its not the most elegant solution.

Cascade

I have used well over a dozen USB and five different PCI cards. Under heavey load (5Mbps) over extended time, all of them got hot and started malfunctioning. Within a months use most of them stopped working, several were sent in under warranty multiple times and the vendor stated that they were not meant for this kind of use. Then there are the issues of drivers. Kernel updates mean that you have to "play" with the drivers on most distros and occasinally other updates cause issues with the driver. The cabling issue is like most things, it has its pros and cons. Yes, you have to deal with the cable but it also means that you can position the unit so that it gets optimal signal. There are also very few options for getting the transit power levels needed in many sitions and most that do produce the output in this range have a similar price.

Thanks for the replies.

I wonder how the Engenius product recommended by lazlow compares with the following, much less-expensive product:

Asus WL-330gE 4-in-one portable wireless router

NewEgg is offering this model now for $34.99 "(14.99 after rebate)"

But an ordinary wireless adapter can't give you NAT protection at a WiFi hotspot, can it?

(It isn't clear to me just how much protection a software firewall can provide- against hostile WiFi networks, at least)
$85.00 at NewEgg.

In contrast, it seems that a decent USB or PCI wireless adapter can be gotten for no more than $20.00.

It certainly does seem much less portable than (ordinary) wireless adapters.