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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

      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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                                        • stephenw10S
                                          stephenw10 Netgate Administrator
                                          last edited by

                                          Looks like you are seeing 'ht' channels. No 5GHz channels though. Not really sure what you should be seeing though, I don't have a card to test.

                                          Steve

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                                          • R
                                            rjcrowder
                                            last edited by

                                            OK… since I can get a new card for $5-$6 on eBay, it's about time to give up...

                                            From what I've been able to google, it appears that both the Intel 5100 or Intel Centrino 6230 should work. Can anyone confirm one of them working at 802.11n speed under 2.2?

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