Does Ubuntu Support Wireless 802.11n

Sorry-- to clarify, which 11n manufacturer should I get?

The card I've been trying to use is made by "RetailPlus+"

I called their support line, and they said it is not Linux compatible. I got the impression they didn't even try or that they didn't know what they were talking about... so I was hoping someone in this forum might shed light on the topic.

Thanks,
Jason

First we have to detect exactly the card chipset, you can get it from the lsusb output. If it's supported by ndiswrapper, we'll try to get it working using windows drivers. Anyway, do you require the card to be draft n? I recently bought this PCMCIA bg network card and it works like a charm (out of the box, hotpluggable, definitely recommended):

D-Link DWL-G630
Hardware Version: E2
Software Version: 5.00

PS: If you look for it, make sure that hardware and software version match these ones. They are indicated on the white label stick on the box, below the bar code.

Thanks Ivan,

I do require draft n. It is a very long distance, and I assume the G card won't pick up the distance offered by the N/G/B router... is that right?

In other words, if the router is putting out N at the longer range, you'd need a N network card to benefit from the extended range, right?

Thanks for your time,
Jason Silver

Well you should experience improved reception even with G hardware (avoid B hardware, because it has different signal modulation methods that disrupt global network performance), but of course you'll get the best results with N. I can't suggest you working hardware, but still we can try to get your current card up & running.

Actually i found that some Atheros 802.11n chipsets are supported by open source ath9k drivers (http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k), which are included also in latest madwifi versions (http://madwifi.org/). As far as i know madwifi is available on Ubuntu repositories (packets linux-restricted-modules-(kernel version) and madwifi-tools, to see the former you might have to enable the "restricted" repository).

So the next steps are trying to install those packages (make sure you install the ones that match your current kernel version, you can see it by typing "uname -r", without the quotes, in a terminal). Also by the means of lsusb it would be helpful to detect the exact chipset name, for further investigation. Sorry i can't give you more precise instructions, but i am not really experienced in this field.

Thanks for your help. Here are the answers to two of your questions.

This actually a different device now-- I took the other one back in favour
of getting a more 'mainstream' unit. This one is a USB LinkSys Wireless-N
Ultra RangePlus (WUSB600N)

Thanks!

jsilver@finnigan:~$ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 005: ID 1737:0071
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000

uname -r
2.6.22-15-generic

Jason

On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 12:29 PM, Ivan Bertona <
<email address hidden>> wrote:

> Your question #45440 on Ubuntu changed:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/45440
>
> Status: Open => Needs information
>
> Ivan Bertona requested for more information:
> Well you should experience improved reception even with G hardware
> (avoid B hardware, because it has different signal modulation methods
> that disrupt global network performance), but of course you'll get the
> best results with N. I can't suggest you working hardware, but still we
> can try to get your current card up & running.
>
> Actually i found that some Atheros 802.11n chipsets are supported by
> open source ath9k drivers
> (http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k), which are included
> also in latest madwifi versions (http://madwifi.org/). As far as i know
> madwifi is available on Ubuntu repositories (packets linux-restricted-
> modules-(kernel version) and madwifi-tools, to see the former you might
> have to enable the "restricted" repository).
>
> So the next steps are trying to install those packages (make sure you
> install the ones that match your current kernel version, you can see it
> by typing "uname -r", without the quotes, in a terminal). Also by the
> means of lsusb it would be helpful to detect the exact chipset name, for
> further investigation. Sorry i can't give you more precise instructions,
> but i am not really experienced in this field.
>
> --
> To answer this request for more information, you can either reply to
> this email or enter your reply at the following page:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+question/45440
>
> You received this question notification because you are a direct
> subscriber of the question.
>

Ok, as pointed out by this guy, (http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php?p=5221914&postcount=4) it looks like that your hardware is indeed supported by the OSS ralink rt2870sta.ko driver, but it is not listed in the hardware support list. So we have to manually edit the driver it and recompile. I'll try to guide you though the process. Keep an open terminal :)

First, make sure you have these two packages installed: linux-headers-generic and build-essential. I have a quite clean Hardy installation and i think they will suffice.

$
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-generic build-essential

Now, you have to download the driver sources from the ralink website (http://www.ralinktech.com/ralink/Home/Support/Linux.html), you need the one labeled "RT2870USB(RT2870/RT2770)". Get it and uncompress it with the archive manager somewhere like on your desktop. You should have now a folder called "2008_0718_RT2870_Linux_STA_v1.3.1.0", open it in nautilus. Before we compile, we have to edit some files.

Open with gedit the file named config.mk, that is placed in the subfolder os/linux. Replace the lines "HAS_WPA_SUPPLICANT=n" and "HAS_NATIVE_WPA_SUPPLICANT_SUPPORT=n", with the lines "HAS_WPA_SUPPLICANT=y" and "HAS_NATIVE_WPA_SUPPLICANT_SUPPORT=y" (without the quotes). Save and close.

Now open the file named rt2870.h that is placed in the subfolder include. Insert a new line after "{USB_DEVICE(0x157E,0x300E)}, /* U-Media */ \", it is line 126, and place in the new line exactly this string "{USB_DEVICE(0x1737,0x0071)}, /* WUSB600N */ \" (again without the quotes). Save and close.

We are ready to compile, so bring up a terminal, point it to the directory "2008_0718_RT2870_Linux_STA_v1.3.1.0" and type "sudo make". It may take some minutes. If no error is reported (for me it worked) then you have your driver compiled.

Now we have to copy the file named RT2870STA.dat to the folder /etc/Wireless/RT2870STA/. You may have to create it, for example type in the terminal:

$
sudo mkdir /etc/Wireless
sudo mkdir /etc/Wireless/RT2870STA
sudo cp RT2870STA.dat /etc/Wireless/RT2870STA/RT2870STA.dat

Almost done, we have to load the driver kernel module. Select again the terminal, navigate to the subfolder os/lnux, and then load the module with:

$
sudo insmod rt2870sta.ko

To get it running always at startup, we have to edit a file. Open it by typing in the terminal "sudo gedit /etc/modules", then at the end of file add the line "rt2870sta" (without the quotes). Save and close.

Reboot your pc, it should then work.

I am trying to use Ivan's solution, however, the driver has been updated and I cannot find an rt2870.h file including any info. The one I downloaded is here http://www.ralinktech.com/support.php?s=2

Dated 12/4/09, the rt2870.h is in include/chip and has virtually no info. Ideas? Also, it is v2.3.0.0 and I am pretty sure my wusb600n is v1. Do I need to upgrade the firmware before continuing? If so, how?

Thanks in advance.

Same problem here as well as v1 adapter, anyone with info please share:)