Setting up wifi

Kalyori

Dabbler
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Aug 7, 2019
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My laptop doesn't have an ethernet port unfortunately so I'm trying to setup WiFi.

I'm looking over these documents:
https://www.freebsd.org/doc/en_US.ISO8859-1/books/handbook/network-wireless.html
https://www.freebsd.org/cgi/man.cgi?query=wi&sektion=4&manpath=freebsd-release-ports

From the second link:
To compile this driver into the kernel, place the following lines in your
kernel configuration file:

device wi
device wlan

Alternatively, to load the driver as a module at boot time, place the
following line in loader.conf(5):

if_wi_load="YES"

I'm very new to this and am trying to find out how to do either of these two steps. Can I edit these files from the console of freenas?

Could anyone point me in the right direction?
 

Chris Moore

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Are you trying to install FreeBSD on your laptop? This forum is about FreeNAS, not FreeBSD. FreeNAS has no support for WiFi.

Would you explain better what it is you are trying to do?
 

Kalyori

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Are you trying to install FreeBSD on your laptop? This forum is about FreeNAS, not FreeBSD. FreeNAS has no support for WiFi.

Would you explain better what it is you are trying to do?
No, I'm trying to install FreeNAS. I was unaware that it does not support WiFi which leaves me at a bit of a dead end I think. I found those links searching this forum, and thought it was about FreeNAS.

I simply want to have a very basic NAS for light file sharing between household computers.

Do you happen to know if FreeNAS would work over ethernet if a USB to ethernet dongle was used? Or would that interfere?
 

Constantin

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I’d connect the FreeNAS via wired Ethernet to an AP or the gateway on your system. Then you can share the FreeNAS with the rest of your computers. That avoids the need for the NAS to run WiFi.
 

Kalyori

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Messages
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I’d connect the FreeNAS via Ethernet to an AP or the gateway on your system. Then you can share the FreeNAS with the rest of your computers. That avoids the need for the NAS to run WiFi.
Unfortunately my laptop (which is what I'm trying to setup as the NAS) lacks an Ethernet port.
Why are you trying to run FreeNAS on a laptop? That's a recipe for failure.
Spare computer that is unused.
 

danb35

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I'd suggest you find a different use for it--FreeNAS on a laptop is a disaster waiting to happen. FreeNAS is not designed or intended to run on whatever castoff old hardware you may have laying around.
 

Kalyori

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I'd suggest you find a different use for it--FreeNAS on a laptop is a disaster waiting to happen. FreeNAS is not designed or intended to run on whatever castoff old hardware you may have laying around.
I wouldn't call it old hardware, but it is a very budget laptop. I'm aware of the minimum specifications, however my usage I imagine is far simpler than you would expect for using FreeNAS. I literally just want to drop occasional files onto it for sharing between household computers.

I.E., send over a 100MB - 1GB file. Other computer then takes that file from the NAS. No streaming, no need for more than even 50GBs of storage space, no need for multiple computers accessing files simultaneously.

But yeah, big road block without an ethernet port lol.
 

melloa

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I.E., send over a 100MB - 1GB file.

Install linux desktop; use samba to share a folder within your network. Do not use FreeNAS.
 

Kalyori

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Install linux desktop; use samba to share a folder within your network. Do not use FreeNAS.
I'll give that a try. Is Ubuntu sufficient? It's the only distro I'm familiar with.

Out of curiosity, why not FreeNAS in this case? Is it overkill?
 

melloa

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Is Ubuntu sufficient?

On my laptops I use Mint.

If you are not too familiar with configuring linux, also try webmin.

Is it overkill?

FreeNAS is a NAS server and, as you probably know, not design to run on a laptop. Even if you insisted in doing it (I did for testing purpose), you wouldn't be able as there is no WiFi support. Why, you might ask ... The only reason I can think is transfer speed. If linux it isn't for you, you can do it with (sorry) windows too.
 

Kalyori

Dabbler
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Aug 7, 2019
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On my laptops I use Mint.

If you are not too familiar with configuring linux, also try webmin.
I'll check those out, thanks.
FreeNAS is a NAS server and, as you probably know, not design to run on a laptop. Even if you insisted in doing it (I did for testing purpose), you wouldn't be able as there is no WiFi support. Why, you might ask ... The only reason I can think is transfer speed. If linux it isn't for you, you can do it with (sorry) windows too.
I can see why it wouldn't be intended to run on a laptop. But not why it can't for the most basic of purposes.
Yeah the transfer speed thing makes sense.
 

Chris Moore

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But not why it can't for the most basic of purposes.
FreeNAS is designed to run on certain types of hardware. Not just any random hardware that comes along. It just doesn't have driver support for everything. The developers are actually making a product that they sell that is named TrueNAS and they let us have a slimmed down version of that for free. Most of the features in FreeNAS are only there because they are part of the commercial software, which is designed to run on actual server gear. For best results with FreeNAS, it is a good practice to use server hardware. Wireless technologies are specifically not implemented in FreeNAS because you would not connect a server directly to the network by way of WiFi. Servers are always hard-wired. The other thing that FreeNAS probably wouldn't support is that USB to Ethernet adapter, again, because there is no driver for it, because you would not use that method to connect a server to a network. FreeNAS does have drivers for most server-grade networking connections, I have used several different 1Gb and 10Gb network adapters with my NAS and all of them have worked perfectly.
These links are to the FreeBSD site, not the FreeNAS site. FreeNAS is built using FreeBSD, but FreeNAS is an appliance and can't be treated like a regular installation of FreeBSD because the developers make an effort to block certain things from being done in an effort to protect the system from alteration.
 

Chris Moore

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the most basic of purposes.
Speaking of how basic your purpose is, did this laptop come with Windows? You know that Windows is able to share folders to the network? In the old days, it was common to have a Windows computer pressed into service as a "Budget" server.
 

Kalyori

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FreeNAS is designed to run on certain types of hardware. Not just any random hardware that comes along. It just doesn't have driver support for everything. The developers are actually making a product that they sell that is named TrueNAS and they let us have a slimmed down version of that for free. Most of the features in FreeNAS are only there because they are part of the commercial software, which is designed to run on actual server gear. For best results with FreeNAS, it is a good practice to use server hardware. Wireless technologies are specifically not implemented in FreeNAS because you would not connect a server directly to the network by way of WiFi. Servers are always hard-wired. The other thing that FreeNAS probably wouldn't support is that USB to Ethernet adapter, again, because there is no driver for it, because you would not use that method to connect a server to a network. FreeNAS does have drivers for most server-grade networking connections, I have used several different 1Gb and 10Gb network adapters with my NAS and all of them have worked perfectly.
I see I see. Thanks for the explanation.

Is there a recommendation on parts to use? Is it possible to build a budget NAS ($250 USD) or is FreeNAS primarily for more expensive systems?
These links are to the FreeBSD site, not the FreeNAS site. FreeNAS is built using FreeBSD, but FreeNAS is an appliance and can't be treated like a regular installation of FreeBSD because the developers make an effort to block certain things from being done in an effort to protect the system from alteration.
Yeah I know, I just found those links and wasn't really sure what I was doing. Thought since it's built using FreeBSD, I might be able to enable drivers for the wifi if I'm lucky, but it seems that is a no go.
Speaking of how basic your purpose is, did this laptop come with Windows? You know that Windows is able to share folders to the network? In the old days, it was common to have a Windows computer pressed into service as a "Budget" server.
Correct, it's running Windows 10. Unfortunately I've had difficulties in the past setting up file sharing between PC and Mac through Windows which is why I was investigating FreeNAS. I'm going to do a bit more research on it and also potentially using Linux as was suggested to me earlier for this purpose.
 

Chris Moore

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Is there a recommendation on parts to use? Is it possible to build a budget NAS ($250 USD) or is FreeNAS primarily for more expensive systems?
Sorry I didn't see this sooner. Yes. Have a look at this list of hardware I put together a little while back:
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/specific-build-components-list-up-to-32gb-ram.109/

I have built three FreeNAS systems using that general guide and they all work fine, especially for easy tasks. I have a more robust build list that I put together but that is probably not what you are looking for, still, here is the link:
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...anges-to-upgrade-as-high-as-512gb-of-ram.110/

Also, these more general links:

FreeNAS® Quick Hardware Guide
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/freenas®-quick-hardware-guide.7/

Hardware Recommendations Guide Rev. 1e) 2017-05-06
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

Hardware Recommendations by @cyberjock - from 26 Aug 2014 - and still valid
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/hardware-recommendations-read-this-first.23069/

Proper Power Supply Sizing Guidance
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/
I'm going to do a bit more research on it and also potentially using Linux as was suggested to me earlier for this purpose.
Linux can be used, but there is often a bit more manual tweaking to do. There are plenty of guides to help you. If you did decide to go with a FreeNAS build, it is something that could last a long time. With supported hardware, they are very reliable and there have been many system that ran three to five years with little or no intervention, other than changing failed drives, which does happen occasionally.

Please post back if you have any more questions we can help with.
 

Kalyori

Dabbler
Joined
Aug 7, 2019
Messages
11
Sorry I didn't see this sooner. Yes. Have a look at this list of hardware I put together a little while back:
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/specific-build-components-list-up-to-32gb-ram.109/

I have built three FreeNAS systems using that general guide and they all work fine, especially for easy tasks. I have a more robust build list that I put together but that is probably not what you are looking for, still, here is the link:
https://www.ixsystems.com/community...anges-to-upgrade-as-high-as-512gb-of-ram.110/

Also, these more general links:

FreeNAS® Quick Hardware Guide
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/freenas®-quick-hardware-guide.7/

Hardware Recommendations Guide Rev. 1e) 2017-05-06
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/resources/hardware-recommendations-guide.12/

Hardware Recommendations by @cyberjock - from 26 Aug 2014 - and still valid
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/hardware-recommendations-read-this-first.23069/

Proper Power Supply Sizing Guidance
https://www.ixsystems.com/community/threads/proper-power-supply-sizing-guidance.38811/

Linux can be used, but there is often a bit more manual tweaking to do. There are plenty of guides to help you. If you did decide to go with a FreeNAS build, it is something that could last a long time. With supported hardware, they are very reliable and there have been many system that ran three to five years with little or no intervention, other than changing failed drives, which does happen occasionally.

Please post back if you have any more questions we can help with.
Awesome, thank you. I'll check those links out. I am interested in a FreeNAS but I don't absolutely need one right now. I'll make do with this laptop handling my file sharing for now, and then in the future if I'd like to get a more proper setup that can handle more streaming I'll most likely go the FreeNAS route.
 
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