Atheros 9280 on 2.0-RELEASE: no carrier in 802.11ng mode

fpv

Hi everyone,

I'm using 2.0-Release (nanobsd 4g) on an ALIX board and just switched to a new wireless card. It's a TP-LINK TL-WN861N.
As long as it's set to b or g mode, everything works fine, but as soon as I set it to 802.11ng, it stops working. On the status page things still look ok, but the AP can't be seen by clients, and if I reboot the box, wireless doesn't come up at all.

dmesg:

Copyright (c) 1992-2010 The FreeBSD Project.
Copyright (c) 1979, 1980, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994
        The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
FreeBSD is a registered trademark of The FreeBSD Foundation.
FreeBSD 8.1-RELEASE-p4 #0: Tue Sep 13 18:02:33 EDT 2011
    root@FreeBSD_8.0_pfSense_2.0-snaps.pfsense.org:/usr/obj./usr/pfSensesrc/src/sys/pfSense_wrap.8.i386 i386
Timecounter "i8254" frequency 1193182 Hz quality 0
CPU: Geode(TM) Integrated Processor by AMD PCS (498.05-MHz 586-class CPU)
  Origin = "AuthenticAMD"  Id = 0x5a2  Family = 5  Model = a  Stepping = 2
  Features=0x88a93d <fpu,de,pse,tsc,msr,cx8,sep,pge,cmov,clflush,mmx>AMD Features=0xc0400000 <mmx+,3dnow!+,3dnow!>real memory  = 268435456 (256 MB)
avail memory = 243433472 (232 MB)
pnpbios: Bad PnP BIOS data checksum
netisr_init: forcing maxthreads to 1 and bindthreads to 0 for device polling
wlan: mac acl policy registered
ipw_bss: You need to read the LICENSE file in /usr/share/doc/legal/intel_ipw/.
ipw_bss: If you agree with the license, set legal.intel_ipw.license_ack=1 in /boot/loader.conf.
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (ipw_bss_fw, 0xc0710010, 0) error 1
ipw_ibss: You need to read the LICENSE file in /usr/share/doc/legal/intel_ipw/.
ipw_ibss: If you agree with the license, set legal.intel_ipw.license_ack=1 in /boot/loader.conf.
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (ipw_ibss_fw, 0xc07100b0, 0) error 1
wpi: You need to read the LICENSE file in /usr/share/doc/legal/intel_wpi/.
wpi: If you agree with the license, set legal.intel_wpi.license_ack=1 in /boot/loader.conf.
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (wpi_fw, 0xc0883050, 0) error 1
ipw_monitor: You need to read the LICENSE file in /usr/share/doc/legal/intel_ipw/.
ipw_monitor: If you agree with the license, set legal.intel_ipw.license_ack=1 in /boot/loader.conf.
module_register_init: MOD_LOAD (ipw_monitor_fw, 0xc0710150, 0) error 1
K6-family MTRR support enabled (2 registers)
ACPI Error: A valid RSDP was not found (20100331/tbxfroot-309)
ACPI: Table initialisation failed: AE_NOT_FOUND
ACPI: Try disabling either ACPI or apic support.
cryptosoft0: <software crypto="">on motherboard
padlock0: No ACE support.
pcib0: <host to="" pci="" bridge="">pcibus 0 on motherboard
pci0: <pci bus="">on pcib0
Geode LX: PC Engines ALIX.2 v0.99h tinyBIOS V1.4a (C)1997-2007
pci0: <encrypt decrypt,="" entertainment="" crypto="">at device 1.2 (no driver attached)
vr0: <via 10="" vt6105m="" rhine="" iii="" 100basetx="">port 0x1000-0x10ff mem 0xe0000000-0xe00000ff irq 10 at device 9.0 on pci0
vr0: Quirks: 0x2
vr0: Revision: 0x96
miibus0: <mii bus="">on vr0
ukphy0: <generic ieee="" 802.3u="" media="" interface="">PHY 1 on miibus0
ukphy0:  10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, auto
vr0: [ITHREAD]
vr1: <via 10="" vt6105m="" rhine="" iii="" 100basetx="">port 0x1400-0x14ff mem 0xe0040000-0xe00400ff irq 11 at device 10.0 on pci0
vr1: Quirks: 0x2
vr1: Revision: 0x96
miibus1: <mii bus="">on vr1
ukphy1: <generic ieee="" 802.3u="" media="" interface="">PHY 1 on miibus1
ukphy1:  10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, auto
vr1: [ITHREAD]
vr2: <via 10="" vt6105m="" rhine="" iii="" 100basetx="">port 0x1800-0x18ff mem 0xe0080000-0xe00800ff irq 15 at device 11.0 on pci0
vr2: Quirks: 0x2
vr2: Revision: 0x96
miibus2: <mii bus="">on vr2
ukphy2: <generic ieee="" 802.3u="" media="" interface="">PHY 1 on miibus2
ukphy2:  10baseT, 10baseT-FDX, 100baseTX, 100baseTX-FDX, auto
vr2: [ITHREAD]
ath0: <atheros 9280="">mem 0xe00c0000-0xe00cffff irq 9 at device 12.0 on pci0
ath0: [ITHREAD]
ath0: AR9280 mac 128.2 RF5133 phy 13.0
isab0: <pci-isa bridge="">port 0x6000-0x6007,0x6100-0x61ff,0x6200-0x623f,0x9d00-0x9d7f,0x9c00-0x9c3f at device 15.0 on pci0
isa0: <isa bus="">on isab0
atapci0: <amd cs5536="" udma100="" controller="">port 0x1f0-0x1f7,0x3f6,0x170-0x177,0x376,0xff00-0xff0f at device 15.2 on pci0
ata0: <ata 0="" channel="">on atapci0
ata0: [ITHREAD]
ata1: <ata 1="" channel="">on atapci0
ata1: [ITHREAD]
ohci0: <ohci (generic)="" usb="" controller="">mem 0xefffe000-0xefffefff irq 12 at device 15.4 on pci0
ohci0: [ITHREAD]
usbus0: <ohci (generic)="" usb="" controller="">on ohci0
ehci0: <amd cs5536="" (geode)="" usb="" 2.0="" controller="">mem 0xefffd000-0xefffdfff irq 12 at device 15.5 on pci0
ehci0: [ITHREAD]
usbus1: EHCI version 1.0
usbus1: <amd cs5536="" (geode)="" usb="" 2.0="" controller="">on ehci0
cpu0 on motherboard
orm0: <isa option="" rom="">at iomem 0xe0000-0xea7ff pnpid ORM0000 on isa0
atrtc0: <at real="" time="" clock="">at port 0x70 irq 8 on isa0
ppc0: parallel port not found.
uart0: <16550 or compatible> at port 0x3f8-0x3ff irq 4 flags 0x10 on isa0
uart0: [FILTER]
uart0: console (9600,n,8,1)
uart1: <16550 or compatible> at port 0x2f8-0x2ff irq 3 on isa0
uart1: [FILTER]
Timecounter "TSC" frequency 498052921 Hz quality 800
Timecounters tick every 10.000 msec
IPsec: Initialized Security Association Processing.
usbus0: 12Mbps Full Speed USB v1.0
usbus1: 480Mbps High Speed USB v2.0
ugen0.1: <amd>at usbus0
uhub0: <amd 1="" 9="" ohci="" root="" hub,="" class="" 0,="" rev="" 1.00="" 1.00,="" addr="">on usbus0
ugen1.1: <amd>at usbus1
uhub1: <amd 1="" 9="" ehci="" root="" hub,="" class="" 0,="" rev="" 2.00="" 1.00,="" addr="">on usbus1
ad0: 7815MB <sandisk sdcfx4-8192="" hdx="" 4.28="">at ata0-master PIO4
Root mount waiting for: usbus1 usbus0
uhub0: 4 ports with 4 removable, self powered
Root mount waiting for: usbus1
uhub1: 4 ports with 4 removable, self powered
Trying to mount root from ufs:/dev/ufs/pfsense1
pflog0: promiscuous mode enabled
WARNING: pseudo-random number generator used for IPsec processing</sandisk></amd></amd></amd></amd></at></isa></amd></amd></ohci></ohci></ata></ata></amd></isa></pci-isa></atheros></generic></mii></via></generic></mii></via></generic></mii></via></encrypt></pci></host></software></mmx+,3dnow!+,3dnow!></fpu,de,pse,tsc,msr,cx8,sep,pge,cmov,clflush,mmx>

ifconfig (working, 802.11g):

ath0: flags=8843 <up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast>metric 0 mtu 2290
        ether f4:ec:38:d2:fa:e0
        media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect mode 11g <hostap>status: running

ath0_wlan0: flags=8843 <up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast>metric 0 mtu 1500
        ether f4:ec:38:d2:fa:e0
        inet6 fe80::f6ec:38ff:fed2:fae0%ath0_wlan0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0xa
        inet 192.168.xxx.xxx netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.xxx.xxx
        nd6 options=3 <performnud,accept_rtadv>media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect mode 11g <hostap>status: running
        ssid xxx channel 1 (2412 MHz 11g) bssid f4:ec:38:d2:fa:e0
        regdomain 32924 country CN indoor ecm authmode WPA2/802.11i
        privacy MIXED deftxkey 2 AES-CCM 2:128-bit AES-CCM 3:128-bit
        txpower 20 scanvalid 60 protmode OFF burst -apbridge dtimperiod 1 -dfs</hostap></performnud,accept_rtadv></up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast></hostap></up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast>

ifconfig (not working, 802.11ng), and yes it says 11b :( :

ath0: flags=8843 <up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast>metric 0 mtu 2290
        ether f4:ec:38:d2:fa:e0
        media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect mode 11b <hostap>status: running

ath0_wlan0: flags=8c43 <up,broadcast,running,oactive,simplex,multicast>metric 0 mtu 1500
        ether f4:ec:38:d2:fa:e0
        inet6 fe80::f6ec:38ff:fed2:fae0%ath0_wlan0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0xa
        inet 192.168.xxx.xxx netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.xxx.xxx
        nd6 options=3 <performnud,accept_rtadv>media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect mode 11ng <hostap>(autoselect <hostap>)
        status: no carrier
        ssid xxx channel 1 (2412 MHz 11b)
        regdomain 32924 country CN indoor ecm authmode WPA2/802.11i
        privacy MIXED deftxkey 2 AES-CCM 2:128-bit AES-CCM 3:128-bit
        txpower 20 scanvalid 60 burst -apbridge dtimperiod 1 -dfs</hostap></hostap></performnud,accept_rtadv></up,broadcast,running,oactive,simplex,multicast></hostap></up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast>

athstats (802.11ng):

athstats: ath0: Invalid argument
athstats: ath0: Invalid argument
3626     data frames received
1M       current transmit rate
1992     rx failed 'cuz of bad CRC
1163     rx failed 'cuz frame too short
25       rx failed 'cuz of PHY err
    25       CCK restart
-0/+0    TDMA slot adjust (usecs, smoothed)
39       avg recv rssi
-98      rx noise floor
1        switched default/rx antenna
Antenna profile:
[1] tx        0 rx     3626

athstats (after changing back to 802.11g):

athstats: ath0: Invalid argument
athstats: ath0: Invalid argument
4481     data frames received
53       data frames transmit
32       long on-chip tx retries
6        tx failed 'cuz too many retries
36M      current transmit rate
1        tx frames with no ack marked
3        tx frames with short preamble
2169     rx failed 'cuz of bad CRC
1200     rx failed 'cuz frame too short
28       rx failed 'cuz of PHY err
    28       CCK restart
160      beacons transmitted
3        periodic calibrations
-0/+0    TDMA slot adjust (usecs, smoothed)
39       rssi of last ack
32       avg recv rssi
-96      rx noise floor
49       tx frames through raw api
1        switched default/rx antenna
Antenna profile:
[0] tx       46 rx        0
[1] tx        0 rx     4481

I've tried completely deleting the interface and recreating it, but that doesn't change anything. Can you help me or tell me where to look? If you need more info, just let me know. Thanks.

wallabybob

802.11n is not supported in FreeBSD 8.1 and hence not supported in pfSense 2.0.

Look for 802.11n support in a future version of FreeBSD and hence a future version of pfSense. At least a couple of 802.11n capable devices work fine in 802.11g mode.

fpv

Oh. This is one of the things I should have checked before posting… Sorry about that and thanks for taking the time to answer.

MikeKulls

@wallabybob:

802.11n is not supported in FreeBSD 8.1 and hence not supported in pfSense 2.0.

Look for 802.11n support in a future version of FreeBSD and hence a future version of pfSense. At least a couple of 802.11n capable devices work fine in 802.11g mode.

This is a big issue imo. G isn't really an option any more when N is cheap and so much faster. It makes pfSense difficult to recommend when you need a separate access point, especially as users already need a separate modem and switch. I really like pfSense but I am going to look elsewhere. Even if we had 1 single high-powered card that worked this would be good.

jimp

Unfortunately we are at the mercy of FreeBSD there. 2.1 will have some N support but G still works well in many environments.

To get N rates you'd need a somewhat beefy piece of equipment anyhow - an ALIX isn't going to cut it for N rates, it doesn't have the CPU power.

Sometimes (more often than not, I've found) a separate AP is a much better idea anyhow. But to each their own.

xbipin

@jimp:

Unfortunately we are at the mercy of FreeBSD there. 2.1 will have some N support but G still works well in many environments.

To get N rates you'd need a somewhat beefy piece of equipment anyhow - an ALIX isn't going to cut it for N rates, it doesn't have the CPU power.

Sometimes (more often than not, I've found) a separate AP is a much better idea anyhow. But to each their own.

so would it mean an alix upgrade would also be needed in the future to use a wireless n card?
is there any 8 port switch + ap available, something like a 8 port wifi router so i can replace my switch with that instead of using alix, switch and ap and powering all 3 differently

jimp

@xbipin:

so would it mean an alix upgrade would also be needed in the future to use a wireless n card?
is there any 8 port switch + ap available, something like a 8 port wifi router so i can replace my switch with that instead of using alix, switch and ap and powering all 3 differently

Well ALIX can support N rate cards technically, but its CPU will never be able to push more than about 85Mbit/s, probably less on wireless with all of the overhead there.

I'm not sure what's out there with 8-port switches. I love my Asus RT-N16 with Tomato on it, but I've also heard some good things about Buffalo gear. The RT-N16 has a 4 port gigabit switch on the back, and with Tomato or DD-WRT you can bridge the 5th "wan" port to the switch as well. It's not dual band though so it can only operate in the 2.4GHz range.

xbipin

actually i plan to keep alix with pfsense to do traffic shaping etc which will connect to the WAN also and alos i use a 8 port dlink switch to connect all the LAN clients, now due to space constrains i cant add another device to this setup so i was wondering if any such wifi + 8 port switch existed coz to make pfsense work as AP mode is a pain not to mention the stuck beacon errors that keep coming every now and then.

i have only 3 wireless clients so would it be possible to use a n based card in the future on alix for these 3 clients to use 8mbps of internet speed only?

is there any1 using a pfsense as a AP and is rock solid without any errors or dropouts?

xbipin

@jimp:

@xbipin:

so would it mean an alix upgrade would also be needed in the future to use a wireless n card?
is there any 8 port switch + ap available, something like a 8 port wifi router so i can replace my switch with that instead of using alix, switch and ap and powering all 3 differently

Well ALIX can support N rate cards technically, but its CPU will never be able to push more than about 85Mbit/s, probably less on wireless with all of the overhead there.

I'm not sure what's out there with 8-port switches. I love my Asus RT-N16 with Tomato on it, but I've also heard some good things about Buffalo gear. The RT-N16 has a 4 port gigabit switch on the back, and with Tomato or DD-WRT you can bridge the 5th "wan" port to the switch as well. It's not dual band though so it can only operate in the 2.4GHz range.

any1 used this http://www.dlink.com/DIR-632
tomato and dd-wrt still dont seem to support it but i guess this would fulfill my purpose only issues is the default d-link firmware have some issues with signal dropouts based on few reviews

xbipin

@jimp:

@xbipin:

so would it mean an alix upgrade would also be needed in the future to use a wireless n card?
is there any 8 port switch + ap available, something like a 8 port wifi router so i can replace my switch with that instead of using alix, switch and ap and powering all 3 differently

Well ALIX can support N rate cards technically, but its CPU will never be able to push more than about 85Mbit/s, probably less on wireless with all of the overhead there.

I'm not sure what's out there with 8-port switches. I love my Asus RT-N16 with Tomato on it, but I've also heard some good things about Buffalo gear. The RT-N16 has a 4 port gigabit switch on the back, and with Tomato or DD-WRT you can bridge the 5th "wan" port to the switch as well. It's not dual band though so it can only operate in the 2.4GHz range.

how is the performance of the 4 port switch? can it be compared to using a normal 4 or 8 port switch?