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CNet USB Wi-Fi works in Ubuntu, OpenBSD

Date: 5/5/2009 Album ID: 746629

Photos by Steven Rosenberg

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This CNet CWD-854 USB Wi-Fi adapter cost only $22.40 at Amazon.com, and is automatically detected in both the Ubuntu 8.04 Linux and OpenBSD 4.4 operating systems � no small feat for those looking for compatible Wi-Fi adapters for FOSS OSes. CNet also sells Cardbus and PCI adapters from this same series. It's unclear whether or not they work as seamlessly in Linux and OpenBSD. This CNet adapter is recognized as rum0 in OpenBSD (it uses a Ralink chipset; Ralink is very good about helping the open-source community), and in Ubuntu, you go to the Network Manager, unclick Roaming Mode and then set it up. The CWD-854 features 802.11g (54MB/s) and both WEP and WPA encryption.

I bought this CNet CWD-854 for $22.40 from Amazon.com. <a href=http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-misc&m=123602254204956&w=2>I read in the OpenBSD Misc mailing list</a> that it worked out of the box in OpenBSD 4.4, and I suspected that it would also work in Linux. It does work in Ubuntu 8.04 (where you still have to configure it) but doesn't work in Debian Etch. I suspect that the now-stable Debian Lenny will autoconfigure it also.

CNet makes Cardbus and PCI adapters in this same numerical series. I wonder if they use the same chipset from Ralink. If so, those other adapters also stand a good chance of working in the BSDs and Linux. When you look on Amazon, CNet (I'm not sure of the relationship, if any, with CNet News) also makes a Wireless-N adapter. I know that OpenBSD recently added Wireless-N support for some chipsets. I wonder if <em>that</em> adapter would work in OpenBSD ...

Even if you're not running Linux or OpenBSD, the CNet Wi-Fi adapter offers an inexpensive way to get a Windows PC on wireless. It supports most versions of Windows, including Vista.

Open the front of the box and the CWD-854 and you see the adapter itself, top, and a USB extender that is very useful for orienting the adapter at an angle up from where your USB plug is on your laptop or desktop computer. As far as the packing go, both are held rigidly in multiple layers of cardboard.

A closer look at the CNet CWD-854 in its packaging.

The CWD-845 is a bit wider than most USB sticks. The USB angle plug adapter that comes with the Wi-Fi adapter is a must-have, especially for laptops where the USB ports are close to the bottom of the case.

Here's a close-up of the USB angle adapter that comes with the CNet CWD-854 Wi-fi stick.It allows you to turn the Wi-Fi stick at any angle and makes it easy to plug the adapter in to just about any laptop with a free USB port.

The CwD-854 comes with an installation guide and a mini-CD-ROM with drivers. I imagine the drivers are also available online since many laptops can't accommodate the mini CDs. In Linux and OpenBSD, the adapter is automatically recognized by the system, so no additional drivers are necessary. For those who've been through the hell that is Ndiswrapper in Linux, this is a welcome sign.

That's my finger pointing at the CD. I wonder if all of the adapters listed on the disc work as well in FOSS operating system such as Linux and the BSDs. Again, since a) I'm not using Windows (although I may try it with Win XP) and b) the adapter is automatically recognized in OpenBSD and Ubuntu Linux, I have no use for the disc at present. Some Wi-Fi adapters, including my trusty Orinoco WaveLAN Silver PCMCIA card, are autodetected even in Windows, but as with many add-ons, finding and installing drivers are the key to getting stuff to work in Microsoft's operating system.

A close-up of the CNet CWD-854. It's not pretty, not as well-styled as many others, but the one thing it has going for it is that it works. I'm not the only one who bought a $10 Airlink101 USB (or Cardbus) Wi-Fi Adapter from Fry's only to not have it work at all in any free, open-source OS due to a lack of drivers built into the OS kernel. Usually that happens because the company that makes the chipsets in the adapters won't produce a Linux driver and won't give developers in the community the specs so they can write an open-source driver themselves. Luckily Ralink, the maker of the chipset in this CNet stick, is very good about giving information to developers and even producing their own FOSS drivers at times.

Notice how wide the CNet adapter is in relation to its USB plug. That's why you need the included angle-bracket tool. Otherwise, on my laptop, the bottom of the adapter would extend below the bottom of the laptop case, and that would be a less-than-ideal situation.

Here is the CNet CWD-854 with the right-angle adapter attached. The adapter cleverly spins around to accommodate USB ports in both directions.

Another closeup of the angle adapter. A USB extension cord could accomplish this same task, but this is a pretty cool way to do it, too. And since the angle adapter is included with the Wi-Fi stick, that's how I'm using it.

I turned the bottom of the USB angle-adapter. Now it's ready to plug into the back of the laptop.

A view from above: The CNet CWD-854 plugged into the back of my Toshiba Satellite 1100-S101 laptop, which dual-boots Windows XP and OpenBSD 4.4. I have an identical laptop that runs XP and Ubuntu 8.04.

Looking at the adapter from the side while it's plugged into the laptop.

A look at the Wi-Fi adapter from the back of the laptop.

Another look at the CNet CWD-854 Wi-Fi adapter plugged into one of the Toshiba Satellite's three USB ports.

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