Date: Thu, 01 May 2003 15:11:49 -0600 From: "Aaron D. Gifford" <agifford@infowest.com> To: current@freebsd.org Subject: wi0 trouble ... (prism 2.5 based card on FreeBSD-CURRENT as of 15 Apr. 2003) Message-ID: <3EB18D95.80809@infowest.com>
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Hi,
I'm having trouble with a Linksys WMP-11 PCI card (Prism 2.5 chipset,
PCI card) running in host access point mode. It seems to be configured
correctly, and my wireless clients come up and connect fine at first,
the network passing traffic just fine. But then, usually after some
heavy traffic (but not necessarily always), the FreeBSD box's wi0 device
gets into some odd confused state that means clients can no longer
associate or connect to the FreeBSD box as an access point, The only
fix is a reboot of the box.
QUESTION:
---------
Is my hardware bad, or is the FreeBSD wireless driver stuff for Prism
2.5 chipset based cards buggy? Or am I using it in ways that aren't yet
supported?
MORE INFO/HISTORY OF PROBLEM:
-----------------------------
I had similar trouble running in non-access-point mode (i.e.
peer-to-peer). I also saw similar stuff under FreeBSD-STABLE back in
December.
After a Google search of various FreeBSD lists, I saw at least one other
post of a user with a similar problem, but there were no responses or
replies. I assume the problem persists.
A post regarding linux as an access point mentioned that Linksys
prism-based cards sometimes had problems acting as access points running
certain versions of firmware, and that Linksys didn't have an update yet
available. There was a work-around suggested that I used to update my
card's firmware in hopes that the problem was firmware related and not
FreeBSD driver related.
Even after the firmware update, the problems persist. Below is some
more info:
On boot, the hardware is detected thus:
---------------------------------------
Apr 25 13:43:31 host kernel: wi0: <Intersil Prism2.5> mem
0xefcfe000-0xefcfefff irq 9 at device 15.0 on pci0
Apr 25 13:43:31 host kernel: wi0: 802.11 address: 00:06:25:02:04:06
Apr 25 13:43:31 host kernel: wi0: using RF:PRISM2.5 MAC:ISL3874A(Mini-PCI)
Apr 25 13:43:31 host kernel: wi0: Intersil Firmware: Primary (1.1.0),
Station (1.4.9)
Apr 25 13:43:31 host kernel: wi0: supported rates: 1Mbps 2Mbps 5.5Mbps
11Mbps
The interface is configured (via rc.conf) thus:
-----------------------------------------------
ifconfig inet 10.0.0.1/24 ssid MYNET channel 6 station MYSTATION wepmode
on wepkey 0x00112233445566778899001122 media DS/11Mbps mediaopt hostap
Output of ifconfig shows:
-------------------------
wi0: flags=8803<UP,BROADCAST,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
inet 10.0.0.1 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 10.0.0.255
ether 00:06:25:02:04:06
media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet DS/11Mbps <hostap>
(autoselect <hostap>)
status: no carrier
ssid "MYNET" 1:"MYNET"
stationname "MYSTATION"
channel 1 authmode OPEN powersavemode OFF powersavesleep 100
wepmode MIXED weptxkey 1
wepkey 1:128-bit
...
Things work okay for a few hours...
...
THEN the wireless network freezes, client's can no longer see the
FreeBSD access point, and logs on the still-running FreeBSD box show:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Apr 25 21:28:53 host kernel: wi0: timeout in wi_cmd 0x010b; event status
0x2000
Apr 25 21:28:53 host kernel: wi0: xmit failed
Apr 25 21:29:54 host kernel: wi0: wi_cmd: busy bit won't clear.
At this point, if I use "ifconfig wi0" to look at the wi0 interface
status, the ifconfig WILL succeed, showing me exactly the same output as
mentioned above, BUT the FreeBSD box will pause during execution of the
ifconfig for 10-15 seconds, not responding to pings during that time.
And after the ifconfig command, more of the "busy bit won't clear" log
entries appear in my system log.
No combination of ifconfig ir wicommand commands I've tried will ever
put the interface back in a useable state.
So let me repeat. Do I just have some buggy hardware (though the same
card seems to work just fine in a Windoze box as a client to a "real"
access point), or are there some issues with FreeBSD and these cards?
While the box is working (before the wireless crashes, and it always
will, eventually, sooner under higher traffic loads, later under low
loads), it's great! I love having a FreeBSD box as my access point,
running DHCP and ipfw to filter and control things (and bandwidth
throttle certain clients).
Thanks for any and all insight, input, suggestions...
Aaron out.
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