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    Atheros wireless card - 2 interfaces both only work 802.11g

    Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved 2.2 Snapshot Feedback and Problems - RETIRED
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    • dotdashD
      dotdash
      last edited by

      Go into interfaces, assign and click the X next to the second wireless interface.

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      • R
        rjcrowder
        last edited by

        @dotdash:

        Go into interfaces, assign and click the X next to the second wireless interface.

        Yep… that's what I've done. I've also just tried not even setting it up in pfSense at all. Of course, even if I don't create an interface for it (say for example and opt1 interface associated with ath0_wlan1), it still shows as an option to pick in the dropdown list of interfaces on that page (for "opt" whatever).

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        • dotdashD
          dotdash
          last edited by

          Did you flip to the wireless tab under assign interfaces?

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          • stephenw10S
            stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
            last edited by

            I may have misunderstood the situation. Is this a dual radio card perhaps?
            I have seen similar problems with trying to apply some driver specific config to a virtual interface. A vlan instead of it's parent interface for example.

            Steve

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            • R
              rjcrowder
              last edited by

              @stephenw10:

              I may have misunderstood the situation. Is this a dual radio card perhaps?
              I have seen similar problems with trying to apply some driver specific config to a virtual interface. A vlan instead of it's parent interface for example.

              Steve

              Yea… that was my first thought as well Steve... not sure if it is dual radio (or dual range which I guess ends up being two radios) or not. But I was asking if that is how a dual card would show up? Interfaces listed as I described? So, assuming you had two atheros based cards with each having two radios, would you end up with ath0_wlan0, ath0_wlan1, (for the first card) and ath1_wlan0, ath1_wlan1 (for the second card)?

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              • dotdashD
                dotdash
                last edited by

                I doubt it's a dual radio card. Maybe dual band. I've tried an Atheros dual band miniPCI card under 2.2, and it showed up under assign interfaces as 'ath0'. I expect this is the 'friendly name' because if you create a second vap, it comes up as ath0_wlan1. IIRC, you can't use the raw interface (athx) under FreeBSD versions >8, so to use the interface, you have to create the inital vap (ath0_wlan).
                Anyway, In my tests, I just got one interface unless I manually added a second one. The dual band card just allowed me to select 5GHz channels. I've only tried Atheros cards, apart from a run dongle, which I found out still doesn't have an n-capable driver under 10. (Mine was a 2800, errata suggests the 2700 chips work at n speed.)

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                • L
                  Legion
                  last edited by

                  @rjcrowder:

                  Anyone have any ideas why this card (Atheros AR9287/AR5B97) only works in G mode? If not, can anyone tell me cards that is tested to work in 2.2 in N mode?

                  I would have hoped (probably like many others) that 2.2 Atheros support would look something like this:

                  https://wiki.freebsd.org/dev/ath_hal(4)/HardwareSupport

                  In fact, this is one of the biggest drawcards of 2.2 for me. If you're having issues with a specific card, maybe search some FreeBSD forum links and see if its been discussed. I have AR5BXB92, which is just a AR9280, and I was really hoping it would support N speeds.

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                  • R
                    rjcrowder
                    last edited by

                    As best I can figure it out… here's the deal.

                    1.) Having two interfaces was my fault. Apparently I had erroneously created a clone on the "wireless" tab. I've now deleted it.
                    2.) I have ath0 working and I am able to wirelessly connect. However, the interface will NOT come up if I select 802.11ng as the "standard". It will only start if I select 802.11g.

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                    • stephenw10S
                      stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                      last edited by

                      Any errors in the system log? Or other evidence?

                      Steve

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                      • R
                        rjcrowder
                        last edited by

                        Nothing under "wireless"… grepping dmesg for "ath" gives...

                        [2.2-BETA][root@pfSense.localdomain]/var/log: dmesg | grep ath
                        ath0: <atheros 9287="">mem 0xf7d00000-0xf7d0ffff irq 18 at device 0.0 on pci3
                        ath0: [HT] enabling HT modes
                        ath0: [HT] enabling short-GI in 20MHz mode
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC receive enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC transmit enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 2 RX streams; 2 TX streams
                        ath0: AR9287 mac 384.2 RF5133 phy 15.15
                        ath0: 2GHz radio: 0x0000; 5GHz radio: 0x00c0
                        ath0_wlan0: promiscuous mode enabled
                        ath0_wlan0: promiscuous mode disabled
                        ath0_wlan0: promiscuous mode enabled
                        ath0: <atheros 9287="">mem 0xf7d00000-0xf7d0ffff irq 18 at device 0.0 on pci3
                        ath0: [HT] enabling HT modes
                        ath0: [HT] enabling short-GI in 20MHz mode
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC receive enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC transmit enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 2 RX streams; 2 TX streams
                        ath0: AR9287 mac 384.2 RF5133 phy 15.15
                        ath0: 2GHz radio: 0x0000; 5GHz radio: 0x00c0
                        ath0_wlan0: promiscuous mode enabled
                        ath0: <atheros 9287="">mem 0xf7d00000-0xf7d0ffff irq 18 at device 0.0 on pci3
                        ath0: [HT] enabling HT modes
                        ath0: [HT] enabling short-GI in 20MHz mode
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC receive enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC transmit enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 2 RX streams; 2 TX streams
                        ath0: AR9287 mac 384.2 RF5133 phy 15.15
                        ath0: 2GHz radio: 0x0000; 5GHz radio: 0x00c0
                        ath0_wlan0: promiscuous mode enabled
                        ath0: <atheros 9287="">mem 0xf7d00000-0xf7d0ffff irq 18 at device 0.0 on pci3
                        ath0: [HT] enabling HT modes
                        ath0: [HT] enabling short-GI in 20MHz mode
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC receive enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC transmit enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 2 RX streams; 2 TX streams
                        ath0: AR9287 mac 384.2 RF5133 phy 15.15
                        ath0: 2GHz radio: 0x0000; 5GHz radio: 0x00c0
                        wlan0: changing name to 'ath0_wlan0'
                        ath0_wlan0: promiscuous mode enabled
                        ath0: <atheros 9287="">mem 0xf7d00000-0xf7d0ffff irq 18 at device 0.0 on pci3
                        ath0: [HT] enabling HT modes
                        ath0: [HT] enabling short-GI in 20MHz mode
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC receive enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC transmit enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 2 RX streams; 2 TX streams
                        ath0: AR9287 mac 384.2 RF5133 phy 15.15
                        ath0: 2GHz radio: 0x0000; 5GHz radio: 0x00c0
                        wlan0: changing name to 'ath0_wlan0'
                        ath0: ath_reset_grablock: didn't finish after 10 iterations
                        ath0: ath_reset_grablock: warning, recursive reset path!
                        ath0: ath_reset: concurrent reset! Danger!
                        ath0_wlan0: promiscuous mode enabled
                        ath0: ath_reset_grablock: didn't finish after 10 iterations
                        ath0: ath_reset_grablock: warning, recursive reset path!
                        ath0: ath_chan_set: concurrent reset! Danger!
                        ath0: <atheros 9287="">mem 0xf7d00000-0xf7d0ffff irq 18 at device 0.0 on pci3
                        ath0: [HT] enabling HT modes
                        ath0: [HT] enabling short-GI in 20MHz mode
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC receive enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 1 stream STBC transmit enabled
                        ath0: [HT] 2 RX streams; 2 TX streams
                        ath0: AR9287 mac 384.2 RF5133 phy 15.15
                        ath0: 2GHz radio: 0x0000; 5GHz radio: 0x00c0
                        wlan0: changing name to 'ath0_wlan0'
                        ath0_wlan0: promiscuous mode enabled</atheros></atheros></atheros></atheros></atheros></atheros> 
                        

                        Don't see anything anywhere else…

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                        • dotdashD
                          dotdash
                          last edited by

                          It's a dual band card. Did you try setting it for na instead of ng?

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                          • R
                            rjcrowder
                            last edited by

                            That's not an option… I've attached a screen shot.

                            ![Screenshot from 2014-10-22 11:00:35.png](/public/imported_attachments/1/Screenshot from 2014-10-22 11:00:35.png)
                            ![Screenshot from 2014-10-22 11:00:35.png_thumb](/public/imported_attachments/1/Screenshot from 2014-10-22 11:00:35.png_thumb)

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                            • R
                              rjcrowder
                              last edited by

                              UPDATE…. if I select a channel (don't use the "Auto" channel select) the interface will start with  802.11ng selected.

                              I'm still not sure it is actually getting N speed - but I'm going to work on confirming.

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                              • R
                                rjcrowder
                                last edited by

                                OK More info… Per previous, the card comes up with 802.11ng as the "standard" as long as I manually select a channel.

                                However, I've tried changing about every setting I can think of (including disabling security), but the card refuses to accept Wireless N connections. When I get connected, the link speed is always 54mbps and the actual throughput is always something lower. In addition, if I set the "minimum wireless standard" (setting a little further down the screen) to 802.11n, then the card refuses all connections. Seems that the card is only setup to accept a "G" connection! Driver issue?

                                BTW... this is what ifconfig shows...

                                ath0_wlan0: flags=8943 <up,broadcast,running,promisc,simplex,multicast>metric 0 mtu 1500
                                ether 18:f4:6a:32:be:c7
                                inet6 fe80::1af4:6aff:fe32:bec7%ath0_wlan0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x8
                                nd6 options=21 <performnud,auto_linklocal>media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect mode 11ng <hostap>status: running
                                ssid pfsense channel 11 (2462 MHz 11g ht/40-) bssid 18:f4:6a:32:be:c7
                                regdomain FCC country US indoor ecm authmode WPA2/802.11i
                                privacy MIXED deftxkey 2 AES-CCM 2:128-bit txpower 30 scanvalid 60
                                protmode OFF ampdulimit 64k ampdudensity 8 shortgi burst -apbridge
                                dtimperiod 1 -dfs</hostap></performnud,auto_linklocal></up,broadcast,running,promisc,simplex,multicast>

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                                • dotdashD
                                  dotdash
                                  last edited by

                                  My 9285 also fails when channel is set to auto.
                                  If I set mine to minimum standard n, I can still connect from a Windows laptop. The laptop shows an n connection.
                                  I'm getting some errors in the logs- perhaps only when I change a setting and it reloads the interface…
                                  kernel: ath0: ath_reset_grablock: didn't finish after 10 iterations
                                  kernel: ath0: ath_reset_grablock: warning, recursive reset path!
                                  kernel: ath0: ath_chan_set: concurrent reset! Danger!

                                  But it seems to be working…

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                                  • R
                                    rjcrowder
                                    last edited by

                                    If you set the "minimum wireless standard" to 'N' - can you still connect?

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                                    • dotdashD
                                      dotdash
                                      last edited by

                                      Yes.

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                                      • M
                                        Monsterturbo
                                        last edited by

                                        Hello,

                                        I am a SE for a wireless company and the 802.11n spec states that if using any authentication method other than WPA2 will result in a max connection speed of 54M. A few responses ago someone asked if you are using WPA2? Has this been checked? Just a thought.

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                                        • stephenw10S
                                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                          last edited by

                                          Are you seeing this?

                                          @https://wiki.freebsd.org/dev/ath(4)/80211n:

                                          "ifconfig -v wlan0 list channel" should show 802.11n channels "ht"

                                          Steve

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                                          • R
                                            rjcrowder
                                            last edited by

                                            Apparently not… this is the output...

                                            [2.2-BETA][root@pfSense.localdomain]/root: ifconfig -v ath0_wlan0 list channel
                                            Channel   1 : 2412      MHz 11b          Channel   6 : 2437      MHz 11g ht/40+   
                                            Channel   1 : 2412      MHz 11g          Channel   6 : 2437      MHz 11g ht/40-   
                                            Channel   1 : 2412      MHz 11g ht/20    Channel   7 : 2442      MHz 11b          
                                            Channel   1 : 2412      MHz 11g ht/40+   Channel   7 : 2442      MHz 11g          
                                            Channel   2 : 2417      MHz 11b          Channel   7 : 2442      MHz 11g ht/20    
                                            Channel   2 : 2417      MHz 11g          Channel   7 : 2442      MHz 11g ht/40+   
                                            Channel   2 : 2417      MHz 11g ht/20    Channel   7 : 2442      MHz 11g ht/40-   
                                            Channel   2 : 2417      MHz 11g ht/40+   Channel   8 : 2447      MHz 11b          
                                            Channel   3 : 2422      MHz 11b          Channel   8 : 2447      MHz 11g          
                                            Channel   3 : 2422      MHz 11g          Channel   8 : 2447      MHz 11g ht/20    
                                            Channel   3 : 2422      MHz 11g ht/20    Channel   8 : 2447      MHz 11g ht/40-   
                                            Channel   3 : 2422      MHz 11g ht/40+   Channel   9 : 2452      MHz 11b          
                                            Channel   4 : 2427      MHz 11b          Channel   9 : 2452      MHz 11g          
                                            Channel   4 : 2427      MHz 11g          Channel   9 : 2452      MHz 11g ht/20    
                                            Channel   4 : 2427      MHz 11g ht/20    Channel   9 : 2452      MHz 11g ht/40-   
                                            Channel   4 : 2427      MHz 11g ht/40+   Channel  10 : 2457      MHz 11b          
                                            Channel   5 : 2432      MHz 11b          Channel  10 : 2457      MHz 11g          
                                            Channel   5 : 2432      MHz 11g          Channel  10 : 2457      MHz 11g ht/20    
                                            Channel   5 : 2432      MHz 11g ht/20    Channel  10 : 2457      MHz 11g ht/40-   
                                            Channel   5 : 2432      MHz 11g ht/40+   Channel  11 : 2462      MHz 11b          
                                            Channel   5 : 2432      MHz 11g ht/40-   Channel  11 : 2462      MHz 11g          
                                            Channel   6 : 2437      MHz 11b          Channel  11 : 2462      MHz 11g ht/20    
                                            Channel   6 : 2437      MHz 11g          Channel  11 : 2462      MHz 11g ht/40-   
                                            Channel   6 : 2437      MHz 11g ht/20    
                                            
                                            

                                            and per the other post… yes I have everything setup for WPA2.

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