Date: Thu, 2 Apr 2015 12:39:42 +1100 From: Felix Friedlander <felixphew0@gmail.com> To: Johannes Dieterich <dieterich.joh@gmail.com> Cc: freebsd-wireless@freebsd.org Subject: Re: How to make working new Broadcom chips like BCM4331? Message-ID: <B856F188-8101-4E23-BAD1-EB8E3C6910A7@gmail.com> In-Reply-To: <CABquGzV2qU135FxPwZ%2BpcN6jQs_6NXXSgtjm5eucH8M=tv%2BQcw@mail.gmail.com> References: <2D66DCCB-AAC5-4431-BC3E-57877979B8D9@gmail.com> <CABquGzV2qU135FxPwZ%2BpcN6jQs_6NXXSgtjm5eucH8M=tv%2BQcw@mail.gmail.com>
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> On 2 Apr 2015, at 9:12 am, Johannes Dieterich <dieterich.joh@gmail.com> wrote: > > On Wed, Apr 1, 2015 at 11:42 PM, Felix Friedlander <felixphew0@gmail.com <mailto:felixphew0@gmail.com>> wrote: >>> Hi, >>> >>> On Mon, 02 Feb 2015 08:12:17 +0300 >>> Alexander Perechnev <herfleisch at me.com> wrote: >>> >>>> Hello everyone, >>>> >>>> I’ve installed FreeBSD 10.1 on my MacBook Pro 13 mid 2012. Everything >>>> works pretty good, except wireless. It works with [ndis], but it >>>> doesn’t work with existing [bwi-firmware-kmod] and >>>> [bwn-firmware-kmod] facilities. >>>> >>>> I’ve looked into [bwn] port Makefile >>>> (https://github.com/aperechnev/freebsd-ports/blob/master/net/bwn-firmware-kmod/Makefile) >>>> and found that all it does is just to download necessary firmware >>>> (4.150.10.5 and 4.178.10.4), extracts it via [b43-fwcutter-015] and >>>> compiles it into kernel module. >>>> >>>> So the first problem is that 4th gen firmware does not support my >>>> BCM4331. >>>> >>>> Also i’ve found the [siba-bwn], which recognizes the broadcom >>>> devices: >>>> https://github.com/freebsd/freebsd/blob/master/sys/dev/siba/siba_bwn.c. >>>> >>>> So summary it seems that it is not so hard to support my BCM4331. I >>>> have to: >>>> >>>> - port [b43-fwcutter-018] to FreeBSD, because earlier versions >>>> doesn’t work with newest firmware >>>> - update existing [bwn-firmware-kmod] to point it to newest firmware >>>> - add my BCM4331 device to [siba-bwn] >>>> >>>> I expect that after this steps my BCM4331 should be working. But I am >>>> new in FreeBSD and I’m just asking you for any help like related >>>> information, existing problems, links, etc. >>>> >>>> I am not sure if I am right in my theory, but for me it seems that it >>>> should work. So if you know another problems, which I don’t, please >>>> let me know before I go through this steps. >>>> >>>> Thank you for excellent operating system, now it’s my favorite one! >>>> >>>> Best regards, >>>> Alexander Perechnev. >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> freebsd-wireless at freebsd.org mailing list >>>> http://lists.freebsd.org/mailman/listinfo/freebsd-wireless >>>> To unsubscribe, send any mail to >>>> "freebsd-wireless-unsubscribe at freebsd.org" >>> >>> Hi, >>> >>> out of curiosity I reviewed the BCM status. >>> >>> IMO you don't have to port the b43-fwcutter to BSD. It would be nice, >>> but you can use any Linux to get the firmware (from /lib/firmware/). For >>> example. >>> https://help.ubuntu.com/community/MacBookPro8-2/Oneiric#Wireless >>> >>> As of the support, JFYI >>> BCM4331 Linux driver is provided by Broadcom >>> http://www.broadcom.com/docs/linux_sta/README_6.30.223.248.txt >>> >>> ,there is no support in the Linux kernel atm >>> https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/brcm80211 >>> >>> and I'm not sure, where do the bwi/bwn drivers come from (to see how >>> probable is the support of BCM4331). >>> bwi -- Broadcom BCM43xx IEEE 802.11b/g wireless network driver >>> bwn -- Broadcom BCM43xx IEEE 802.11b/g wireless network driver >>> >>> >>> Cheers, >>> >>> -vlado >> Just out of curiosity, is anyone working on this ATM? I’ve had the same problem, and it is (no offence to anyone intended) a bit ridiculous that the latest Broadcom chips we support are around 5 years old now. I don’t actually know enough to say this for sure, but judging by the first message it looks like this is a (relatively) simple fix - simply add newer firmware and sell siba to detect the new cards. Is this the case, or am I misreading the whole situation? > Well, looking at the commit history of both the siba source and the > port containing the firmware binaries, I'd say the driver is in > maintenance mode since March 2010. Which nicely lines up with the five > year old chips, unfortunately. No idea if it is indeed as simple as > adding a few PCI-IDs and the binaries but if you have such a device, > maybe you could try it? I’ll try, however my coding skills are truly woeful :-). I have access to devices with BCM4331 and BCM43224 (I’m a convert from the Mac world), as well as older ones to make sure I don’t break anything. > >> Also, the Broadcom-provided linux STA driver you referenced above is not very widely used - b43 (the kernel driver) is much more common, and requires extracting the firmware just like the FreeBSD drivers. See https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43 <https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/b43>; > The page also claims that the operation of b43 is limited to 11g? Is > this correct? Nope, it’s not. b43 can do 11n for sure, not sure about 11ac or others. b43 is a much more capable driver than the wl STA driver, and is also open (as opposed to the STA which is sort-of, kind-of open depending on who you ask). > Johannes -- Felix Friedlander <felixphew0@gmail.com>
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