[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

Is there an 802.11n PCI-E ath9k card available that does 300Mbps and
works in AP mode?

- Grant

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Adrian Chadd]

All the 2x2 AR9280 (2/5ghz) and AR9287 (2ghz) NICs.


adrian

On 13 July 2011 06:10, Grant <emailgrant@gmail.com> wrote:
> Is there an 802.11n PCI-E ath9k card available that does 300Mbps and
> works in AP mode?
>
> - Grant
> _______________________________________________
> ath9k-devel mailing list
> ath9k-devel at lists.ath9k.org
> https://lists.ath9k.org/mailman/listinfo/ath9k-devel
>

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Galen]

It sounds like you are looking for a PCIe, not miniPCIe solution. If that is the case, it may be easiest to buy a PCIe to miniPCIe adaptor card off eBay for about $10 (US), then buy whatever miniPCIe card you like as there are a lot more models available in that form factor.

A favorite of mine is the Ubiquiti SR71-E, a very high power, high-sensitivity dual-band AR9280 solution. It costs around USD $60. It manages to hold MCS15 at -70 dBm very reliably for me. I think it's the best AR9280 module on the market - but if I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected :-)

You can also get other AR9280 solutions widely on eBay - but the quality varies widely in my experience.

-Galen

On Jul 12, 2011, at 3:10 PM, Grant wrote:

> Is there an 802.11n PCI-E ath9k card available that does 300Mbps and
> works in AP mode?
> 
> - Grant
> _______________________________________________
> ath9k-devel mailing list
> ath9k-devel at lists.ath9k.org
> https://lists.ath9k.org/mailman/listinfo/ath9k-devel

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

> It sounds like you are looking for a PCIe, not miniPCIe solution. If that is the case, it may be easiest to buy a PCIe to miniPCIe adaptor card off eBay for about $10 (US), then buy whatever miniPCIe card you like as there are a lot more models available in that form factor.
>
> A favorite of mine is the Ubiquiti SR71-E, a very high power, high-sensitivity dual-band AR9280 solution. It costs around USD $60. It manages to hold MCS15 at -70 dBm very reliably for me. I think it's the best AR9280 module on the market - but if I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected :-)
>
> You can also get other AR9280 solutions widely on eBay - but the quality varies widely in my experience.
>
> -Galen

You're right, I'm after a PCIe card as opposed to miniPCIe and I'd
rather not use an adapter.  If the card I have in mind doesn't exist,
if there such a card for which AP support is coming soon?

I actually don't need high power at all.  All of the clients will be
within about 20 feet.

- Grant


>> Is there an 802.11n PCI-E ath9k card available that does 300Mbps and
>> works in AP mode?
>>
>> - Grant

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Adrian Chadd]

Again, anything with an AR9280 on board will be fine. Some of the
antenna arrangements though are a bit .. special.


Adrian

On 13 July 2011 09:20, Grant <emailgrant@gmail.com> wrote:
>> It sounds like you are looking for a PCIe, not miniPCIe solution. If that is the case, it may be easiest to buy a PCIe to miniPCIe adaptor card off eBay for about $10 (US), then buy whatever miniPCIe card you like as there are a lot more models available in that form factor.
>>
>> A favorite of mine is the Ubiquiti SR71-E, a very high power, high-sensitivity dual-band AR9280 solution. It costs around USD $60. It manages to hold MCS15 at -70 dBm very reliably for me. I think it's the best AR9280 module on the market - but if I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected :-)
>>
>> You can also get other AR9280 solutions widely on eBay - but the quality varies widely in my experience.
>>
>> -Galen
>
> You're right, I'm after a PCIe card as opposed to miniPCIe and I'd
> rather not use an adapter. ?If the card I have in mind doesn't exist,
> if there such a card for which AP support is coming soon?
>
> I actually don't need high power at all. ?All of the clients will be
> within about 20 feet.
>
> - Grant
>
>
>>> Is there an 802.11n PCI-E ath9k card available that does 300Mbps and
>>> works in AP mode?
>>>
>>> - Grant
> _______________________________________________
> ath9k-devel mailing list
> ath9k-devel at lists.ath9k.org
> https://lists.ath9k.org/mailman/listinfo/ath9k-devel
>

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

> Again, anything with an AR9280 on board will be fine. Some of the
> antenna arrangements though are a bit .. special.

I'm told this one fits the bill:

http://www.tp-link.com/products/productDetails.asp?pmodel=TL-WN951N

It is said to have a AR5008 chip.  Can anyone confirm that this card
works in AP mode?

- Grant


>>> It sounds like you are looking for a PCIe, not miniPCIe solution. If that is the case, it may be easiest to buy a PCIe to miniPCIe adaptor card off eBay for about $10 (US), then buy whatever miniPCIe card you like as there are a lot more models available in that form factor.
>>>
>>> A favorite of mine is the Ubiquiti SR71-E, a very high power, high-sensitivity dual-band AR9280 solution. It costs around USD $60. It manages to hold MCS15 at -70 dBm very reliably for me. I think it's the best AR9280 module on the market - but if I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected :-)
>>>
>>> You can also get other AR9280 solutions widely on eBay - but the quality varies widely in my experience.
>>>
>>> -Galen
>>
>> You're right, I'm after a PCIe card as opposed to miniPCIe and I'd
>> rather not use an adapter. ?If the card I have in mind doesn't exist,
>> if there such a card for which AP support is coming soon?
>>
>> I actually don't need high power at all. ?All of the clients will be
>> within about 20 feet.
>>
>> - Grant
>>
>>
>>>> Is there an 802.11n PCI-E ath9k card available that does 300Mbps and
>>>> works in AP mode?
>>>>
>>>> - Grant

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Mihai Moldovan]

* On 14.07.2011 01:42 AM, Grant wrote:
>> Again, anything with an AR9280 on board will be fine. Some of the
>> antenna arrangements though are a bit .. special.
> I'm told this one fits the bill:
>
> http://www.tp-link.com/products/productDetails.asp?pmodel=TL-WN951N
>
> It is said to have a AR5008 chip.  Can anyone confirm that this card
> works in AP mode?
>
Yes it does, got one myself (actually as both full size PCI and PCIe) -
other brands, but still AR5008. I'm somewhat wondering whether they
really do 300Mbit, as as far as I recall AR5008 are draft-n chips which
can only deliver 125Mbit or so max. At least that's what my cards are
specified for. Then again, they are pretty old (two to three years), so
maybe this changed.

Also, please note that those cards don't support 802.11a (5GHz) at all.
I won't say this is the best chip available. ;)

Oh and btw, that's PCI, not PCIe. I thought you were searching for some
PCIe card?

Best regards,


Mihai

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[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Adrian Chadd]

On 14 July 2011 07:58, Mihai Moldovan <ionic@ionic.de> wrote:

>> It is said to have a AR5008 chip. ?Can anyone confirm that this card
>> works in AP mode?
>>
> Yes it does, got one myself (actually as both full size PCI and PCIe) -
> other brands, but still AR5008. I'm somewhat wondering whether they
> really do 300Mbit, as as far as I recall AR5008 are draft-n chips which
> can only deliver 125Mbit or so max. At least that's what my cards are
> specified for. Then again, they are pretty old (two to three years), so
> maybe this changed.
>
> Also, please note that those cards don't support 802.11a (5GHz) at all.
> I won't say this is the best chip available. ;)

I thought I'd go into a bit more detail with respect to the AR5416, as
I've been doing a bit of hacking on the freebsd ar5416 code lately.

* AR5416/AR5418 apparently do real-n, not just "draft-n".
* they should do MCS15 in HT/40 mode using aggregates rather than just
bursting/RIFS (which ath9k doesn't support.)
* There's some restrictions on how big the aggregates can be. ath9k
plays it safe and limits aggregates to 8k for the AR5416/AR5418. All
the other chips go right up to 64k. This likely impacts performance a
bit.
* ath9k doesn't officially support it (read: noone's stepped up to do
whatever debugging/experimenting is needed to fix whatever issues
exist.)

There's 2 and 2/5ghz radios for the AR5416/AR5418 MAC chip (My
AR5416's at home do 2/5ghz.)  Some cards may only fit the 2ghz radio.
This card may only use the 2ghz radio. :-)

HTH,


Adrian

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Adrian Chadd]

On 14 July 2011 07:42, Grant <emailgrant@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Again, anything with an AR9280 on board will be fine. Some of the
>> antenna arrangements though are a bit .. special.
>
> I'm told this one fits the bill:
>
> http://www.tp-link.com/products/productDetails.asp?pmodel=TL-WN951N
>
> It is said to have a AR5008 chip. ?Can anyone confirm that this card
> works in AP mode?

The AR5008 series stuff will "work", but not well. Ath9k doesn't focus
on AR5008 support.

An adapter card isn't a big deal; the underlying interface for
PCIe/mini-PCIe is the same (ie, "PCIe".)
The adapter cards are just a PCIe socket<->mini-PCIe socket converter.

The nice thing about going the adapter route is you get access to a
much larger set of wireless NICs out there. :)


Adrian

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Alex Hacker]

In addition to Adrian's words. If you occasionaly found a PCI-E card it is
very possible what it will be a miniPCI-E module already installed into
adapter. :)
Best regards,
Alex.

On Thu, Jul 14, 2011 at 08:00:45AM +0800, Adrian Chadd wrote:
> On 14 July 2011 07:42, Grant <emailgrant@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Again, anything with an AR9280 on board will be fine. Some of the
> >> antenna arrangements though are a bit .. special.
> >
> > I'm told this one fits the bill:
> >
> > http://www.tp-link.com/products/productDetails.asp?pmodel=TL-WN951N
> >
> > It is said to have a AR5008 chip. ?Can anyone confirm that this card
> > works in AP mode?
> 
> The AR5008 series stuff will "work", but not well. Ath9k doesn't focus
> on AR5008 support.
> 
> An adapter card isn't a big deal; the underlying interface for
> PCIe/mini-PCIe is the same (ie, "PCIe".)
> The adapter cards are just a PCIe socket<->mini-PCIe socket converter.
> 
> The nice thing about going the adapter route is you get access to a
> much larger set of wireless NICs out there. :)
> 
> 
> Adrian

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Galen]

On Jul 13, 2011, at 4:42 PM, Grant wrote:

>> Again, anything with an AR9280 on board will be fine. Some of the
>> antenna arrangements though are a bit .. special.
> 
> I'm told this one fits the bill:
> 
> http://www.tp-link.com/products/productDetails.asp?pmodel=TL-WN951N
> 
> It is said to have a AR5008 chip.  Can anyone confirm that this card
> works in AP mode?
> 
> - Grant

As many have said, yes, the AR5008 chipset works in AP mode - but it is older than the AR9280 and has some quirks. 

Also, a warning, I have found that many vendors who make PCI/PCIe cards have a bad habit of switching around the chipsets without warning customers. Unless a vendor themself markets the product based on the specific chipset, I try not to trust the random chance of whatever hardware revision I might (or might not) find when I buy the product.

I am behind the many who have said - why not an adaptor? I use them regularly and the cards screw easily and securely into the adaptor without exceeding the thickness of a normal card, and the adaptor provides nice antenna ports on the back of the card. Many adaptors even bundle antennas, so you don't need to buy anything else.

I hope this helps...

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

>>> Again, anything with an AR9280 on board will be fine. Some of the
>>> antenna arrangements though are a bit .. special.
>>
>> I'm told this one fits the bill:
>>
>> http://www.tp-link.com/products/productDetails.asp?pmodel=TL-WN951N
>>
>> It is said to have a AR5008 chip. ?Can anyone confirm that this card
>> works in AP mode?
>>
>> - Grant
>
> As many have said, yes, the AR5008 chipset works in AP mode - but it is older than the AR9280 and has some quirks.
>
> Also, a warning, I have found that many vendors who make PCI/PCIe cards have a bad habit of switching around the chipsets without warning customers. Unless a vendor themself markets the product based on the specific chipset, I try not to trust the random chance of whatever hardware revision I might (or might not) find when I buy the product.
>
> I am behind the many who have said - why not an adaptor? I use them regularly and the cards screw easily and securely into the adaptor without exceeding the thickness of a normal card, and the adaptor provides nice antenna ports on the back of the card. Many adaptors even bundle antennas, so you don't need to buy anything else.
>
> I hope this helps...

Will I need to hack the kernel source in order to use an 802.11n card
in AP mode?

- Grant

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Mihai Moldovan]

* On 14.07.2011 08:56 PM, Grant wrote:
> Will I need to hack the kernel source in order to use an 802.11n card
> in AP mode?

In general, no. But depending on your setup and the card's EEPROM
(hardcoded world regulatory domain for instance), you may run into some
regulatory issues* and are required to patch the module, yeah.

However, if you live in the US and get a card with an US regdomain set
in its EEPROM, everything is fine. Unfortunately there is no way to
determine which regdomain is being used prior mounting it, so no
definite answer here.

Best regards,


Mihai

*) if I remember correctly, there are HT40 channels available on 2GHz in
(world_reg & us_reg), although not all US legitimate channels will work
with an unpatched version of ath9k if the card uses some world
regdomain, as regulatory restrictions are stacking. Ask Google for more,
I've had a thread on this mailing list regarding this as well.

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[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

>> Will I need to hack the kernel source in order to use an 802.11n card
>> in AP mode?
>
> In general, no. But depending on your setup and the card's EEPROM
> (hardcoded world regulatory domain for instance), you may run into some
> regulatory issues* and are required to patch the module, yeah.
>
> However, if you live in the US and get a card with an US regdomain set
> in its EEPROM, everything is fine. Unfortunately there is no way to
> determine which regdomain is being used prior mounting it, so no
> definite answer here.

Hmmm, so if I get a US EEPROM and travel to another country, I may
need to patch ath5k to connect to a particular AP?

- Grant


> Best regards,
>
>
> Mihai
>
> *) if I remember correctly, there are HT40 channels available on 2GHz in
> (world_reg & us_reg), although not all US legitimate channels will work
> with an unpatched version of ath9k if the card uses some world
> regdomain, as regulatory restrictions are stacking. Ask Google for more,
> I've had a thread on this mailing list regarding this as well.

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Mihai Moldovan]

* On 15.07.2011 04:35 AM, Grant wrote:
> Hmmm, so if I get a US EEPROM and travel to another country, I may
> need to patch ath5k to connect to a particular AP?

Nope, this stuff doesn't apply to client cards only, however AP mode is
severely restricted by regulatory rules.

If you get an US flashed card, everything will be fine, as all
legitimate channels in the US will be open. If you go to Japan with this
card, all non-legitimate channels there are disabled. Also, Japan allows
using WLAN on channels 12 and 13, whilst the US do not. As you've got an
US branded card, you won't get the additional channels unlocked.

Now, if Japan HAD disallowed channel 9 for instance and the US had not,
channel 8 would be locked in Japan, but not in the US. Of course, that's
not the case, just some gedankenexperiment.

That's what I mean. Channel restrictions do stack, but you won't get
channels unlocked if your base flashed information do forbid them already.

Ok, that's one part of the problem.

The other one is that many retailers sell cards with a world regdomain
flashed. This world regdomain is very restrictive, as it basically aims
to support the LARGEST subset of allowed channels common to all
countries in the world.
As such, you won't be able to run an AP on the 5GHz band (802.11a), as
many frequencies are marked as "no beaconing" (no AP mode), DFS (radar
scanning and frequency switching, iff some military radar unit wants to
use this specific frequency etc.) and the rest as both.

So for using the card as an AP on 5GHz and given the card has the world
regdomain flashed, you'd have to patch the kernel driver to either
unlock all channels (yeah, that's bad...) or force a specific regdomain,
preferably of your own country, i.e. US, which is more permissive than
the world regdom.

This being said, the 2.4GHz band (802.11b/g) is a deal less restrictive.
Keep in mind though, that there are only 2 non-overlapping channels with
HT40 (802.11n) - channel 3 and channel 11. AFAIK any world reg domains
allows AP mode on those channels, so you should be golden.

See also: http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath?highlight=%28crda%29

Hope that helps and wasn't too confusing.

Best regards,


Mihai



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[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

>> Hmmm, so if I get a US EEPROM and travel to another country, I may
>> need to patch ath5k to connect to a particular AP?
>
> Nope, this stuff doesn't apply to client cards only, however AP mode is
> severely restricted by regulatory rules.
>
> If you get an US flashed card, everything will be fine, as all
> legitimate channels in the US will be open. If you go to Japan with this
> card, all non-legitimate channels there are disabled. Also, Japan allows
> using WLAN on channels 12 and 13, whilst the US do not. As you've got an
> US branded card, you won't get the additional channels unlocked.
>
> Now, if Japan HAD disallowed channel 9 for instance and the US had not,
> channel 8 would be locked in Japan, but not in the US. Of course, that's
> not the case, just some gedankenexperiment.
>
> That's what I mean. Channel restrictions do stack, but you won't get
> channels unlocked if your base flashed information do forbid them already.
>
> Ok, that's one part of the problem.
>
> The other one is that many retailers sell cards with a world regdomain
> flashed. This world regdomain is very restrictive, as it basically aims
> to support the LARGEST subset of allowed channels common to all
> countries in the world.
> As such, you won't be able to run an AP on the 5GHz band (802.11a), as
> many frequencies are marked as "no beaconing" (no AP mode), DFS (radar
> scanning and frequency switching, iff some military radar unit wants to
> use this specific frequency etc.) and the rest as both.
>
> So for using the card as an AP on 5GHz and given the card has the world
> regdomain flashed, you'd have to patch the kernel driver to either
> unlock all channels (yeah, that's bad...) or force a specific regdomain,
> preferably of your own country, i.e. US, which is more permissive than
> the world regdom.
>
> This being said, the 2.4GHz band (802.11b/g) is a deal less restrictive.
> Keep in mind though, that there are only 2 non-overlapping channels with
> HT40 (802.11n) - channel 3 and channel 11. AFAIK any world reg domains
> allows AP mode on those channels, so you should be golden.
>
> See also: http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath?highlight=%28crda%29
>
> Hope that helps and wasn't too confusing.
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> Mihai

Got it, thank you for taking the time to explain.  I'll be referring
back to your message.  How can I find out how the card I receive is
flashed?  Will it show up with 'lspci -v'?

- Grant

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Mihai Moldovan]

* On 16.07.2011 08:47 PM, Grant wrote:
> Got it, thank you for taking the time to explain. I'll be referring
> back to your message. How can I find out how the card I receive is
> flashed? Will it show up with 'lspci -v'? 

Nope, you'll find that kind of information in the kernel log ring buffer
("dmesg") once the ath9k module is loaded.

Like this:

[   14.492870] cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
[   14.492878] cfg80211: World regulatory domain updated:
[   14.492879] cfg80211:     (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth),
(max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
[   14.492881] cfg80211:     (2402000 KHz - 2472000 KHz @ 40000 KHz),
(300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[   14.492884] cfg80211:     (2457000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 20000 KHz),
(300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[   14.492886] cfg80211:     (2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz),
(300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[   14.492888] cfg80211:     (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 40000 KHz),
(300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[   14.492890] cfg80211:     (5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 40000 KHz),
(300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[...]
[   14.869066] ath: EEPROM regdomain: 0x8114
[   14.869067] ath: EEPROM indicates we should expect a country code
[   14.869069] ath: doing EEPROM country->regdmn map search
[   14.869070] ath: country maps to regdmn code: 0x37
[   14.869071] ath: Country alpha2 being used: DE
[   14.869073] ath: Regpair used: 0x37

(Note that this is actually the German regdomain IIRC, as I had to patch
my module - I'm using 802.11n on 802.11a/5GHz and I already explained
the problems there. ;))

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[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Galen]

On Jul 12, 2011, at 6:20 PM, Grant wrote:

>> It sounds like you are looking for a PCIe, not miniPCIe solution. If that is the case, it may be easiest to buy a PCIe to miniPCIe adaptor card off eBay for about $10 (US), then buy whatever miniPCIe card you like as there are a lot more models available in that form factor.
>> 
>> A favorite of mine is the Ubiquiti SR71-E, a very high power, high-sensitivity dual-band AR9280 solution. It costs around USD $60. It manages to hold MCS15 at -70 dBm very reliably for me. I think it's the best AR9280 module on the market - but if I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected :-)
>> 
>> You can also get other AR9280 solutions widely on eBay - but the quality varies widely in my experience.
>> 
>> -Galen
> 
> You're right, I'm after a PCIe card as opposed to miniPCIe and I'd
> rather not use an adapter.  If the card I have in mind doesn't exist,
> if there such a card for which AP support is coming soon?

Anything with an AR9280 chipset will work. The adaptors are quite clean, but if you want to look for a desktop card - best of luck, I have no useful advice. 

> 
> I actually don't need high power at all.  All of the clients will be
> within about 20 feet.
> 
> - Grant
> 
> 
>>> Is there an 802.11n PCI-E ath9k card available that does 300Mbps and
>>> works in AP mode?
>>> 
>>> - Grant
> _______________________________________________
> ath9k-devel mailing list
> ath9k-devel at lists.ath9k.org
> https://lists.ath9k.org/mailman/listinfo/ath9k-devel

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

>>> It sounds like you are looking for a PCIe, not miniPCIe solution. If that is the case, it may be easiest to buy a PCIe to miniPCIe adaptor card off eBay for about $10 (US), then buy whatever miniPCIe card you like as there are a lot more models available in that form factor.
>>>
>>> A favorite of mine is the Ubiquiti SR71-E, a very high power, high-sensitivity dual-band AR9280 solution. It costs around USD $60. It manages to hold MCS15 at -70 dBm very reliably for me. I think it's the best AR9280 module on the market - but if I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected :-)
>>>
>>> You can also get other AR9280 solutions widely on eBay - but the quality varies widely in my experience.
>>>
>>> -Galen
>>
>> You're right, I'm after a PCIe card as opposed to miniPCIe and I'd
>> rather not use an adapter. ?If the card I have in mind doesn't exist,
>> if there such a card for which AP support is coming soon?
>
> Anything with an AR9280 chipset will work. The adaptors are quite clean, but if you want to look for a desktop card - best of luck, I have no useful advice.

Just so I'm sure I understand.  All AR9280 chipset cards are miniPCIe
and there are no PCIe cards that fit my description?

I may end up using an adapter but I'd like to exhaust my PCIe options
first.  Is there another driver you would recommend I investigate?  I
think some of the open-source Realtek drivers support 802.11n AP.

- Grant


>> I actually don't need high power at all. ?All of the clients will be
>> within about 20 feet.
>>
>> - Grant
>>
>>
>>>> Is there an 802.11n PCI-E ath9k card available that does 300Mbps and
>>>> works in AP mode?
>>>>
>>>> - Grant

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

>>>> It sounds like you are looking for a PCIe, not miniPCIe solution. If that is the case, it may be easiest to buy a PCIe to miniPCIe adaptor card off eBay for about $10 (US), then buy whatever miniPCIe card you like as there are a lot more models available in that form factor.
>>>>
>>>> A favorite of mine is the Ubiquiti SR71-E, a very high power, high-sensitivity dual-band AR9280 solution. It costs around USD $60. It manages to hold MCS15 at -70 dBm very reliably for me. I think it's the best AR9280 module on the market - but if I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected :-)
>>>>
>>>> You can also get other AR9280 solutions widely on eBay - but the quality varies widely in my experience.
>>>>
>>>> -Galen
>>>
>>> You're right, I'm after a PCIe card as opposed to miniPCIe and I'd
>>> rather not use an adapter. ?If the card I have in mind doesn't exist,
>>> if there such a card for which AP support is coming soon?
>>
>> Anything with an AR9280 chipset will work. The adaptors are quite clean, but if you want to look for a desktop card - best of luck, I have no useful advice.
>
> Just so I'm sure I understand. ?All AR9280 chipset cards are miniPCIe
> and there are no PCIe cards that fit my description?
>
> I may end up using an adapter but I'd like to exhaust my PCIe options
> first. ?Is there another driver you would recommend I investigate? ?I
> think some of the open-source Realtek drivers support 802.11n AP.
>
> - Grant

How about a card like I describe that is compatible with ath9k but
without AP mode support?  The router I'm building needs one card to
act as a client to a wireless bridge that is connected to the WAN.

- Grant


>>> I actually don't need high power at all. ?All of the clients will be
>>> within about 20 feet.
>>>
>>> - Grant
>>>
>>>
>>>>> Is there an 802.11n PCI-E ath9k card available that does 300Mbps and
>>>>> works in AP mode?
>>>>>
>>>>> - Grant

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Daniel Smith]

On Wed, Jul 13, 2011 at 3:55 PM, Grant <emailgrant@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> How about a card like I describe that is compatible with ath9k but
> without AP mode support? ?The router I'm building needs one card to
> act as a client to a wireless bridge that is connected to the WAN.
>
> - Grant

I am not sure what your reason for avoiding an adapter card, but here
is one for example. It should not take any more space, e.g. block
adjacent slot, than a standard PCIe card would and provides you three
SMA's.

http://www.amazon.com/MiniPCI-E-to-PCI-E-Wireless-Adapter/dp/B003MMY14Y

V/r,
Daniel P. Smith

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

> It sounds like you are looking for a PCIe, not miniPCIe solution. If that is the case, it may be easiest to buy a PCIe to miniPCIe adaptor card off eBay for about $10 (US), then buy whatever miniPCIe card you like as there are a lot more models available in that form factor.
>
> A favorite of mine is the Ubiquiti SR71-E, a very high power, high-sensitivity dual-band AR9280 solution. It costs around USD $60. It manages to hold MCS15 at -70 dBm very reliably for me. I think it's the best AR9280 module on the market - but if I'm wrong, I'd love to be corrected :-)
>
> You can also get other AR9280 solutions widely on eBay - but the quality varies widely in my experience.
>
> -Galen

Alright, you guys win.  I'll buy a miniPCIe card and adapter.  I'll
probably buy two for my router and one for my laptop.  The only thing
that worries me about the Ubiquiti SR71-E is the "very high power"
aspect which I've also read about on various websites.  High
sensitivity is great but I don't want to be exposed to too much
radiation.  The router is just a few feet from my head all night and
the laptop is on my lap all day.  Will I be able to dial down the
power since I only need the signal to travel about 20 feet max?

- Grant


>> Is there an 802.11n PCI-E ath9k card available that does 300Mbps and
>> works in AP mode?
>>
>> - Grant

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Mihai Moldovan]

* On 14.07.2011 08:54 PM, Grant wrote:
> Alright, you guys win.  I'll buy a miniPCIe card and adapter.
_
_Really, there is no other good solution anyway, and using an adapter
let's you exchange cards/chips even more easily or maybe share them also
between Laptops and such, that's actually pretty great.


> The only thing that worries me about the Ubiquiti SR71-E is the "very high power"
> aspect which I've also read about on various websites.

If you don't want to go for the Ubiquiti model, I can recommend the
SparkLan WPEA-127N card (AR9380 chip). Using it for about a month,
getting decent speeds and no problems/lockups/??? yet (but this
regulatory stuff, oh well. ;))


> High sensitivity is great but I don't want to be exposed to too much
> radiation.  The router is just a few feet from my head all night and
> the laptop is on my lap all day.

Uhm, that's totally harmless. I'd say local radio stations or phone
cells do affect your health a dozen of times more, but anyway, that's
plain overanxiousness. WLAN won't give you cancer or brain damage
(disregarding the already mentioned regulatory stuff, which may inflict
severe brain damage.)


> Will I be able to dial down the power since I only need the signal to travel about 20 feet max?

wlan1     IEEE 802.11abgn  Mode:Master  Frequency:5.22 GHz  Tx-Power=20
dBm  
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off

> iwconfig wlan1 txpower 10

wlan1     IEEE 802.11abgn  Mode:Master  Frequency:5.22 GHz  Tx-Power=10
dBm  
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off

> iwconfig wlan1 txpower 1

wlan1     IEEE 802.11abgn  Mode:Master  Frequency:5.22 GHz  Tx-Power=1
dBm  
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off

I guess all ath9k supported cards are capable of reducing the transmit
power, so yeah.

Best regards,


Mihai


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[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

>> The only thing that worries me about the Ubiquiti SR71-E is the "very high power"
>> aspect which I've also read about on various websites.
>
> If you don't want to go for the Ubiquiti model, I can recommend the
> SparkLan WPEA-127N card (AR9380 chip). Using it for about a month,
> getting decent speeds and no problems/lockups/??? yet (but this
> regulatory stuff, oh well. ;))
>
>
>> High sensitivity is great but I don't want to be exposed to too much
>> radiation. ?The router is just a few feet from my head all night and
>> the laptop is on my lap all day.
>
> Uhm, that's totally harmless. I'd say local radio stations or phone
> cells do affect your health a dozen of times more, but anyway, that's
> plain overanxiousness. WLAN won't give you cancer or brain damage
> (disregarding the already mentioned regulatory stuff, which may inflict
> severe brain damage.)

I don't expect cancer or brain damage, but my body tells me to stay
away from powerful 2.4Ghz radiation.  Cell phones don't bother me but
many wifi antennas, Bluetooth devices, and wireless RF keyboards give
me a very distinct and unpleasant physical sensation if they are too
near to me.  I don't feel anything as long as they're a few feet away.
 I tried a Bluetooth headset a few times and it was good for an
instant headache.  Too bad cause that would have been cool.  Anyway,
maybe I'm sensitive to the 2.4Ghz band.  I don't know.

>> Will I be able to dial down the power since I only need the signal to travel about 20 feet max?
>
> wlan1 ? ? IEEE 802.11abgn ?Mode:Master ?Frequency:5.22 GHz ?Tx-Power=20
> dBm
> ? ? ? ? ?Retry ?long limit:7 ? RTS thr:off ? Fragment thr:off
> ? ? ? ? ?Power Management:off
>
>> iwconfig wlan1 txpower 10
>
> wlan1 ? ? IEEE 802.11abgn ?Mode:Master ?Frequency:5.22 GHz ?Tx-Power=10
> dBm
> ? ? ? ? ?Retry ?long limit:7 ? RTS thr:off ? Fragment thr:off
> ? ? ? ? ?Power Management:off
>
>> iwconfig wlan1 txpower 1
>
> wlan1 ? ? IEEE 802.11abgn ?Mode:Master ?Frequency:5.22 GHz ?Tx-Power=1
> dBm
> ? ? ? ? ?Retry ?long limit:7 ? RTS thr:off ? Fragment thr:off
> ? ? ? ? ?Power Management:off
>
> I guess all ath9k supported cards are capable of reducing the transmit
> power, so yeah.

Awesome.  If I can dial down the transmission power, the Ubiquiti
SR71-E must be the ultimate card.  Ordering it now along with an
adapter.

BTW, I'm also ordering a Draft-N access point to connect to my modem
and send the wireless signal to my Gentoo router:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833127256

I read in the reviews that people are achieving 300Mbps so I don't
think the throughput is affected, but what is the functional
difference between N and Draft-N?

- Grant

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Mihai Moldovan]

* On 15.07.2011 04:54 AM, Grant wrote:
>   I don't feel anything as long as they're a few feet away. I tried a
> Bluetooth headset a few times and it was good for an instant headache.
> Too bad cause that would have been cool. Anyway, maybe I'm sensitive
> to the 2.4Ghz band. I don't know. 

Hum, given that, are you actually sure you want to use WLAN? Even cards
transmit data and especially with laptops, you've got no other choice
but to stay close to it.


> I read in the reviews that people are achieving 300Mbps so I don't
> think the throughput is affected, but what is the functional
> difference between N and Draft-N?

I'm not sure if this is entirely correct, so anyone is invited to
correct me if I'm giving false information now. As far as I know, it's
impossible to say whether there are functional differences between
draft-n and n. Draft-n just means that the card was assembled/developed
when 802.11n was still a draft and no official standard yet. I don't
know how much the draft changed in process to ratification, but I GUESS
the changes are minimal, if even existent. So I'd rather see that as an
age indicator rather than functional delimiter. You can never be totally
sure though...

Best regards,


Mihai

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[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

>> ? I don't feel anything as long as they're a few feet away. I tried a
>> Bluetooth headset a few times and it was good for an instant headache.
>> Too bad cause that would have been cool. Anyway, maybe I'm sensitive
>> to the 2.4Ghz band. I don't know.
>
> Hum, given that, are you actually sure you want to use WLAN? Even cards
> transmit data and especially with laptops, you've got no other choice
> but to stay close to it.

I'd rather not use WLAN but it's not practical.  I only notice the
affect with some devices and I've never found a laptop that did it.
Still, I'll be putting the iwconfig txpower info you gave me to good
use.  I noticed that if I set 'iwconfig wlan0 txpower 0' I can still
connect to the network.  Do you know why that is?

- Grant


>> I read in the reviews that people are achieving 300Mbps so I don't
>> think the throughput is affected, but what is the functional
>> difference between N and Draft-N?
>
> I'm not sure if this is entirely correct, so anyone is invited to
> correct me if I'm giving false information now. As far as I know, it's
> impossible to say whether there are functional differences between
> draft-n and n. Draft-n just means that the card was assembled/developed
> when 802.11n was still a draft and no official standard yet. I don't
> know how much the draft changed in process to ratification, but I GUESS
> the changes are minimal, if even existent. So I'd rather see that as an
> age indicator rather than functional delimiter. You can never be totally
> sure though...
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> Mihai

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Mihai Moldovan]

* On 16.07.2011 09:54 PM, Grant wrote:
> Still, I'll be putting the iwconfig txpower info you gave me to good
> use.  I noticed that if I set 'iwconfig wlan0 txpower 0' I can still
> connect to the network.  Do you know why that is?

No idea what '0' does, but turning the transmit power of is accomplished
by "iwconfig wlan0 txpower off".

Maybe '0' means the lowest possible level, but not sure. Maybe someone
else on this list knows this?

Best regards,


Mihai

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[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Adrian Chadd]

I'm not sure.

txpower 0 (dBm) is a legitimate value. The AR5416/AR9130/AR9160 go
down to this value. It's not 0 mW, it's just $SMALL mW. The AR9280 and
later NICs can go down to -5 dBm.

I know in FreeBSD that "ifconfig wlan0 txpower 0" sets the ath card to 0 dBm.

Adrian

On 17 July 2011 04:16, Mihai Moldovan <ionic@ionic.de> wrote:
> * On 16.07.2011 09:54 PM, Grant wrote:
>> Still, I'll be putting the iwconfig txpower info you gave me to good
>> use. ?I noticed that if I set 'iwconfig wlan0 txpower 0' I can still
>> connect to the network. ?Do you know why that is?
>
> No idea what '0' does, but turning the transmit power of is accomplished
> by "iwconfig wlan0 txpower off".
>
> Maybe '0' means the lowest possible level, but not sure. Maybe someone
> else on this list knows this?
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> Mihai
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> ath9k-devel mailing list
> ath9k-devel at lists.ath9k.org
> https://lists.ath9k.org/mailman/listinfo/ath9k-devel
>
>

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Mihai Moldovan]

* On 17.07.2011 03:58 AM, Adrian Chadd wrote:
> I'm not sure.
>
> txpower 0 (dBm) is a legitimate value. The AR5416/AR9130/AR9160 go
> down to this value. It's not 0 mW, it's just $SMALL mW.

I see, thanks. :)


> The AR9280 and later NICs can go down to -5 dBm.

Interestingly, this won't work on Linux with my AR9380:

250 [0 running job(s)] {history#4338}  4:09:10 11-07-17
root at valery~# iwconfig wlan1 txpower -5
Error for wireless request "Set Tx Power" (8B26) :
    SET failed on device wlan1 ; Invalid argument.

Obviously negative values are not allowed (neither -4, -3, -2 or -1
works but interestingly -0...)

Just for reference. :)

Best regards,


Mihai

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[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Adrian Chadd]

I never said ifconfig/iwconfig/iw support - dBm TX power settings,
just that the hardware does. :)


Adrian

On 17 July 2011 10:10, Mihai Moldovan <ionic@ionic.de> wrote:
> * On 17.07.2011 03:58 AM, Adrian Chadd wrote:
>> I'm not sure.
>>
>> txpower 0 (dBm) is a legitimate value. The AR5416/AR9130/AR9160 go
>> down to this value. It's not 0 mW, it's just $SMALL mW.
>
> I see, thanks. :)
>
>
>> The AR9280 and later NICs can go down to -5 dBm.
>
> Interestingly, this won't work on Linux with my AR9380:
>
> 250 [0 running job(s)] {history#4338} ?4:09:10 11-07-17
> root at valery~# iwconfig wlan1 txpower -5
> Error for wireless request "Set Tx Power" (8B26) :
> ? ?SET failed on device wlan1 ; Invalid argument.
>
> Obviously negative values are not allowed (neither -4, -3, -2 or -1
> works but interestingly -0...)
>
> Just for reference. :)
>
> Best regards,
>
>
> Mihai
>
>

[ath9k-devel] 802.11n PCI-E 300Mbps with AP mode?

[Grant]

> txpower 0 (dBm) is a legitimate value. The AR5416/AR9130/AR9160 go
> down to this value. It's not 0 mW, it's just $SMALL mW. The AR9280 and
> later NICs can go down to -5 dBm.

Thanks to everyone for all the help.  Really looking forward to the
arrival of my miniPCIe card.  If all goes well I'll get another for
the client side of my router (to the wireless bridge) and another for
my laptop.

- Grant


>>> Still, I'll be putting the iwconfig txpower info you gave me to good
>>> use. ?I noticed that if I set 'iwconfig wlan0 txpower 0' I can still
>>> connect to the network. ?Do you know why that is?
>>
>> No idea what '0' does, but turning the transmit power of is accomplished
>> by "iwconfig wlan0 txpower off".
>>
>> Maybe '0' means the lowest possible level, but not sure. Maybe someone
>> else on this list knows this?
>>
>> Best regards,
>>
>>
>> Mihai