From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-path: Received: from mx1.redhat.com ([209.132.183.28]:43643 "EHLO mx1.redhat.com" rhost-flags-OK-OK-OK-OK) by vger.kernel.org with ESMTP id S1752928AbbGAOxq (ORCPT ); Wed, 1 Jul 2015 10:53:46 -0400 Message-ID: <1435762425.7441.8.camel@redhat.com> (sfid-20150701_165350_230377_B5C7767F) Subject: Re: Dual mode operation From: Dan Williams To: Stark Pister Cc: linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org Date: Wed, 01 Jul 2015 09:53:45 -0500 In-Reply-To: References: Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" Mime-Version: 1.0 Sender: linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org List-ID: On Tue, 2015-06-30 at 16:57 -0700, Stark Pister wrote: > I am trying to figure out how to use virtual interfaces to run my wifi > module in both AP mode and station mode simultaneously. From the > description on this page > (https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/documentation/iw/vif) it > would seem this is possible on devices using the mac80211 subsystem, > but from what I have read online it only works with madwifi drivers > which is outdated and abandoned. Most of the common mac80211-based devices allow this. You can see what modes your driver supports by doing: $ iw phy phy0 info ... software interface modes (can always be added): * AP/VLAN * monitor valid interface combinations: * #{ managed } <= 1, #{ AP, P2P-client, P2P-GO } <= 1, #{ P2P-device } <= 1, total <= 3, #channels <= 2 ... This is for an Intel 7265 card, and you can see that this device supports simultaneous STA and AP modes, but only one interface of each. > Are there other drivers that tap into this capability of mac80211 or > is no one else interested in this? Is the generic nl80211 driver > capable of using this functionality and if so, how do I go about using > it (note that the "AP" and "Station" sections of the above > documentation page are blank)? If not, what would I have to change to > enable the use of this dual mode capability? Whether your device has this capability highly depends on the hardware, firmware, and driver. The 'iw' command I posted above will show what your combination supports. Dan