Networking
==========

.. contents:: Table of Contents

Networking hardware commonly includes switches, routers, wireless access points, and/or firewalls.

Wi-Fi
-----

Brands
~~~~~~

These are Wi-Fi chipset manufacturers from order of best to worst Linux support [2]:

1.  Mediatek
2.  Qualcomm
3.  Intel
4.  (Other brands)
5.  Realtek

`morrownr <https://github.com/morrownr>`__ created a `USB Wi-Fi guide <https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/blob/main/home/USB_WiFi_Adapters_that_are_supported_with_Linux_in-kernel_drivers.md>`__ that showcases consumer Wi-Fi devices that use chipsets that are natively supported by the Linux kernel.

Broadcom
^^^^^^^^

Broadcom has many different Linux kernel drivers. ``brcm80211`` is the official open source driver that Broadcom contributed directly to the Linux kernel. The proprietary driver ``wl`` provides better and more stable support. [5]

-  Install the ``wl`` driver.

   -  Arch Linux [5]:

      .. code-block:: sh

         $ sudo pacman -S linux-headers broadcom-wl

   -  Debian (non-free repository) [6]:

      .. code-block:: sh

         $ sudo apt-get install linux-image-$(uname -r) linux-headers-$(uname -r) broadcom-sta-dkms

   -  Fedora (UnitedRPMs repository) [7]:

      .. code-block:: sh

         $ sudo dnf install kernel-devel kernel-headers broadcom-wl-dkms

-  Blacklist all of the open source drivers and conflicting drivers. [5][6][8]

   .. code-block:: sh

      $ sudo -E ${EDITOR} /etc/modprobe.d/broadcom.conf

   ::

      blacklist b43
      blacklist b43legacy
      blacklist bcm43xx
      blacklist bcma
      blacklist brcm80211
      blacklist brcmsmac
      blacklist brcmfmac
      blacklist brcmutil
      blacklist ndiswrapper
      blacklist ssb
      blacklist tg3

-  Configure the ``wl`` driver to load on boot.

   .. code-block:: sh

      $ sudo -E ${EDITOR} /etc/modules-load.d/broadcom.conf

   ::

      wl

-  Reboot.

Speed
~~~~~

These are the maximum speeds for each Wi-Fi standard [3][4]:

.. csv-table::
   :header: Consumer Name, IEEE Name, Specification Speed (Mbps), Real-World Speed (Mbps), Real-World Speed (MBps)
   :widths: 20, 20, 20, 20, 20

    Wi-Fi 1, 802.11b, 11, 5.5, 0.7
    Wi-Fi 2, 802.11a, 54, 20, 2.5
    Wi-Fi 3, 802.11g, 54, 20, 2.5
    Wi-Fi 4, 802.11n, 600, 100, 12.5
    Wi-Fi 5, 802.11ac, 1300, 740, 92.5
    Wi-Fi 6, 802.11ax (5 GHz), 10000, 1150, 143.8
    Wi-Fi 6E, 802.11ax (6 GHz), 10000, 1800, 225.0

Virtualization
--------------

GNS3
~~~~

The Graphical Network Simulator 3 (GNS3) is a free and open source software for setting up virtual lab environments consisting of switches and routers. Virtual images are provided by most of the major network manufacturers that can be used with GNS3. [1]

-  `Arista's vEOS <https://eos.arista.com/veos-running-eos-in-a-vm/#Download_vEOS>`__
-  `Cisco IOS <https://software.cisco.com/download/release.html?mdfid=286312239&softwareid=282088129&release=7.0(3)I5(1)&flowid=81422>`__
-  `Junos vQFX <https://app.vagrantup.com/juniper>`__
-  `VyOS <http://0.bg.mirrors.vyos.net/iso/release/>`__

   -  `VyOS GNS3 Guide <https://wiki.vyos.net/wiki/VyOS_on_GNS3>`__

The `GNS3 Marketplace <https://www.gns3.com/marketplace/appliances>`__ provides many templates that mirror configurations and hardware that production devices use.

History
-------

-  `Latest <https://github.com/LukeShortCloud/rootpages/commits/main/src/computer_hardware/networking.rst>`__
-  `< 2022.10.01 <https://github.com/LukeShortCloud/rootpages/commits/main/src/networking/networking_hardware.rst>`__
-  `< 2019.01.01 <https://github.com/LukeShortCloud/rootpages/commits/main/src/networking_hardware.rst>`__

Bibliography
------------

1. "[GNS3] Frequently Asked Questions." GNS3. Accessed May 7, 2018. https://gns3.com/software/faq
2. "Need Your Help: We need to let Comfast know what we think about multi-state adapters... #70." GitHub morrownr/USB-WiFi. July 27, 2022. Accessed September 27, 2022. https://github.com/morrownr/USB-WiFi/issues/70#issuecomment-1196277552
3. "How Fast Is a Wi-Fi Network?" Lifewire. June 16, 2021. Accessed September 27, 2022. https://www.lifewire.com/how-fast-is-a-wifi-network-816543
4. "Wi-Fi 6 vs Wi-Fi 6e: What's the difference?" Tom's Guide. September 19, 2022. Accessed October 29, 2022. https://www.tomsguide.com/face-off/wi-fi-6-vs-wi-fi-6e-whats-the-difference
5. "Broadcom wireless." ArchWiki. October 21, 2022. Accessed November 3, 2022. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/broadcom_wireless
6. "wl." Debian Wiki. February 15, 2022. Accessed November 3, 2022. https://wiki.debian.org/wl
7. "Step-by-step – broadcom-wl-dkms Fedora 35 Installation." Step by Step Linux Tutorials for Beginners & Pros. October 6, 2021. Accessed November 3, 2022. https://tutorialforlinux.com/2021/10/06/step-by-step-broadcom-wl-dkms-fedora-35-installation/2/
8. "WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx." Official Ubuntu Documentation. December 5, 2017. Accessed November 3, 2022. https://help.ubuntu.com/community/WifiDocs/Driver/bcm43xx