mac80211-based commercial router?

mac80211-based commercial router?

[Björn Smedman]

Hi all,

Is there any commercial router or access point in the market (or
planned) that uses a mac80211-based driver out of the box?

More intrested in consumer grade stuff but anything is of interest. I
was hoping Atheros might be first with this but from what I hear it
seems unlikely the access point SDK will come with ath9k anytime
soon...

Best regards,

Björn

Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Xianghua Xiao]

2010/9/2 Björn Smedman <bjorn.smedman@venatech.se>:
> Hi all,
>
> Is there any commercial router or access point in the market (or
> planned) that uses a mac80211-based driver out of the box?
>
> More intrested in consumer grade stuff but anything is of interest. I
> was hoping Atheros might be first with this but from what I hear it
> seems unlikely the access point SDK will come with ath9k anytime
> soon...
>
> Best regards,
>
> Björn
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
>

Looks like the commercial SDKs are all based on madwifi-alike code?
Xianghua

Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

[jpo]

Björn Smedman <bjorn.smedman@...> writes:

> 
> Hi all,
> 
> Is there any commercial router or access point in the market (or
> planned) that uses a mac80211-based driver out of the box?

Android 2.2 comes with AP functionality. Are the Android WLAN drivers mac80211
based?

Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Bob Copeland]

On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM, jpo <pommnitz@yahoo.com> wrote:

> Android 2.2 comes with AP functionality. Are the Android WLAN drivers mac80211
> based?

No, they aren't.  Does Android really do AP mode or
just adhoc?

wl1251 is an in-tree module for the TI chip used in G1,
but it doesn't support AP mode.  I do not know if there's
a mac80211 driver that supports the broadcom chip used
in other phones.

-- 
Bob Copeland %% www.bobcopeland.com

Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Gábor Stefanik]

On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 10:08 PM, Bob Copeland <me@bobcopeland.com> wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM, jpo <pommnitz@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
>> Android 2.2 comes with AP functionality. Are the Android WLAN drivers mac80211
>> based?
>
> No, they aren't.  Does Android really do AP mode or
> just adhoc?
>
> wl1251 is an in-tree module for the TI chip used in G1,
> but it doesn't support AP mode.  I do not know if there's
> a mac80211 driver that supports the broadcom chip used
> in other phones.

AFAIK BCM4325 should be doable, especially if it is attached via SDIO
bus. In phones where SPI is used, it is more problematic, as b43
doesn't support SPI.

>
> --
> Bob Copeland %% www.bobcopeland.com
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
>



-- 
Vista: [V]iruses, [I]ntruders, [S]pyware, [T]rojans and [A]dware. :-)

Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Björn Smedman]

2010/9/6 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
> On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 10:08 PM, Bob Copeland <me@bobcopeland.com> wrote:
>> On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM, jpo <pommnitz@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Android 2.2 comes with AP functionality. Are the Android WLAN drivers mac80211
>>> based?
>>
>> No, they aren't.  Does Android really do AP mode or
>> just adhoc?
>>
>> wl1251 is an in-tree module for the TI chip used in G1,
>> but it doesn't support AP mode.  I do not know if there's
>> a mac80211 driver that supports the broadcom chip used
>> in other phones.
>
> AFAIK BCM4325 should be doable, especially if it is attached via SDIO
> bus. In phones where SPI is used, it is more problematic, as b43
> doesn't support SPI.
>

I guess the short answer is no then; all the chip vendors still focus
on their own proprietary mac implementations, at least on the AP side.
Any thoughts on what would be required for them to switch to mac80211?
Will it ever happen?

/Björn

Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Gábor Stefanik]

2010/9/6 Björn Smedman <bjorn.smedman@venatech.se>:
> 2010/9/6 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
>> On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 10:08 PM, Bob Copeland <me@bobcopeland.com> wrote:
>>> On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM, jpo <pommnitz@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Android 2.2 comes with AP functionality. Are the Android WLAN drivers mac80211
>>>> based?
>>>
>>> No, they aren't.  Does Android really do AP mode or
>>> just adhoc?
>>>
>>> wl1251 is an in-tree module for the TI chip used in G1,
>>> but it doesn't support AP mode.  I do not know if there's
>>> a mac80211 driver that supports the broadcom chip used
>>> in other phones.
>>
>> AFAIK BCM4325 should be doable, especially if it is attached via SDIO
>> bus. In phones where SPI is used, it is more problematic, as b43
>> doesn't support SPI.
>>
>
> I guess the short answer is no then; all the chip vendors still focus
> on their own proprietary mac implementations, at least on the AP side.
> Any thoughts on what would be required for them to switch to mac80211?
> Will it ever happen?
>
> /Björn
>

AFAIK, the status is the following:
-Atheros: Ath9k is officially supported and recommended by Atheros,
and is usable for an AP - indeed, I believe Atheros is the first and
only company to officially support a mac80211 driver AND make chipsets
for APs. AFAIK, for the AR9002 family, no other Linux driver is
available (at least not wit 802.11n support). Once we begin seeing
AR9002-based APs with Linux firmware, chances are they will have a
mac80211 driver inside. CCing Luis on this one.
-Broadcom: they refuse to even acknowledge (maybe with the exception
of legal threats) the development of b43, and supply binary drivers
(and a 2.4-series kernel) in their platform kits. Also, b43 is way
behind time when it comes to HW support (it doesn't support N-PHY,
which is the norm now), and usually when APs begin shipping wiht a new
Broadcom chipset, b43 still doesn't support that chipset until much
later. I don't know about APs that include a Broadcom CPU but an
Atheros wireless chip - AFAIK some do exist, but all use madwifi or
some variant.
-Ralink: Again, platform kits contain non-mac80211 drivers, even for
recent chipsets (at least they are open-source, though). Someone
should find a way to make them base drivers for the eventual RT4xxx
(?) chipsets on the rt2x00 framework.
-Marvell: No idea.
-Realtek: Same situation as Ralink.

And some embedded Linux vendors:
-MontaVista: I believe they are still using 2.4.x kernels (though I've
heard of MontaVista-based routers with 2.6.8 - but even that one is
way too old for mac80211.)
-MikroTik: AFAIK RouterOS contains binary drivers with no relation to
their open-source counterparts. They even named their Atheros driver
"ath5k" IIRC, ignoring the in-tree driver with the same name! Plus,
even if it had mac80211-based drivers, it wouldn't matter, since there
is no (legal) way to access a Unix shell in RouterOS; instead it uses
a proprietary "configuration shell" apparently inspired by Cisco IOS
and ZyNOS.

-- 
Vista: [V]iruses, [I]ntruders, [S]pyware, [T]rojans and [A]dware. :-)

RE: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Sushil DUTT]

Friends,

I saw in this thread that Athreos Ath9k is based on mac80211. Any idea, from where I can get this development kit? This kit seems perfect for my WLAN solution:)

To give a background about my project,
Our lab has developed a WLAN solution which shows better results(in comaprision of mkt available solutions) in simulation. Now my job is to embedd & prove this solution in a stable hardware environment. I need a platform with SDK which can support both AP & Station. Reference application is highly desirable to reduce my development time.

Thanks in advance for your responses.


Thanks & Regards,
Sushil Dutt
Centre for Communications Engineering Research
School of Engineering
Edith Cowan University
100 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup WA 6027, Australia.
Telephone: (61 8) 6304 5318 or (61 8) 6304 5458
Fax: (61 8) 6304 5811


________________________________________
From: linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org [linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org] on behalf of Gábor Stefanik [netrolller.3d@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 7:29 AM
To: Björn Smedman
Cc: Bob Copeland; jpo; linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org; Luis R. Rodriguez
Subject: Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

2010/9/6 Björn Smedman <bjorn.smedman@venatech.se>:
> 2010/9/6 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
>> On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 10:08 PM, Bob Copeland <me@bobcopeland.com> wrote:
>>> On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM, jpo <pommnitz@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Android 2.2 comes with AP functionality. Are the Android WLAN drivers mac80211
>>>> based?
>>>
>>> No, they aren't.  Does Android really do AP mode or
>>> just adhoc?
>>>
>>> wl1251 is an in-tree module for the TI chip used in G1,
>>> but it doesn't support AP mode.  I do not know if there's
>>> a mac80211 driver that supports the broadcom chip used
>>> in other phones.
>>
>> AFAIK BCM4325 should be doable, especially if it is attached via SDIO
>> bus. In phones where SPI is used, it is more problematic, as b43
>> doesn't support SPI.
>>
>
> I guess the short answer is no then; all the chip vendors still focus
> on their own proprietary mac implementations, at least on the AP side.
> Any thoughts on what would be required for them to switch to mac80211?
> Will it ever happen?
>
> /Björn
>

AFAIK, the status is the following:
-Atheros: Ath9k is officially supported and recommended by Atheros,
and is usable for an AP - indeed, I believe Atheros is the first and
only company to officially support a mac80211 driver AND make chipsets
for APs. AFAIK, for the AR9002 family, no other Linux driver is
available (at least not wit 802.11n support). Once we begin seeing
AR9002-based APs with Linux firmware, chances are they will have a
mac80211 driver inside. CCing Luis on this one.
-Broadcom: they refuse to even acknowledge (maybe with the exception
of legal threats) the development of b43, and supply binary drivers
(and a 2.4-series kernel) in their platform kits. Also, b43 is way
behind time when it comes to HW support (it doesn't support N-PHY,
which is the norm now), and usually when APs begin shipping wiht a new
Broadcom chipset, b43 still doesn't support that chipset until much
later. I don't know about APs that include a Broadcom CPU but an
Atheros wireless chip - AFAIK some do exist, but all use madwifi or
some variant.
-Ralink: Again, platform kits contain non-mac80211 drivers, even for
recent chipsets (at least they are open-source, though). Someone
should find a way to make them base drivers for the eventual RT4xxx
(?) chipsets on the rt2x00 framework.
-Marvell: No idea.
-Realtek: Same situation as Ralink.

And some embedded Linux vendors:
-MontaVista: I believe they are still using 2.4.x kernels (though I've
heard of MontaVista-based routers with 2.6.8 - but even that one is
way too old for mac80211.)
-MikroTik: AFAIK RouterOS contains binary drivers with no relation to
their open-source counterparts. They even named their Atheros driver
"ath5k" IIRC, ignoring the in-tree driver with the same name! Plus,
even if it had mac80211-based drivers, it wouldn't matter, since there
is no (legal) way to access a Unix shell in RouterOS; instead it uses
a proprietary "configuration shell" apparently inspired by Cisco IOS
and ZyNOS.

--
Vista: [V]iruses, [I]ntruders, [S]pyware, [T]rojans and [A]dware. :-)
--
To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless" in
the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html

Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Bruno Randolf]

hi sushil!

try any board which has good support in OpenWRT, e.g. the RouterStation Pro - 
which is what we are using here for a commercial mac80211 + ath5k based mesh 
routing device.

bruno

On Mon September 6 2010 14:12:56 Sushil DUTT wrote:
> Friends,
> 
> I saw in this thread that Athreos Ath9k is based on mac80211. Any idea,
> from where I can get this development kit? This kit seems perfect for my
> WLAN solution:)
> 
> To give a background about my project,
> Our lab has developed a WLAN solution which shows better results(in
> comaprision of mkt available solutions) in simulation. Now my job is to
> embedd & prove this solution in a stable hardware environment. I need a
> platform with SDK which can support both AP & Station. Reference
> application is highly desirable to reduce my development time.
> 
> Thanks in advance for your responses.
> 
> 
> Thanks & Regards,
> Sushil Dutt
> Centre for Communications Engineering Research
> School of Engineering
> Edith Cowan University
> 100 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup WA 6027, Australia.
> Telephone: (61 8) 6304 5318 or (61 8) 6304 5458
> Fax: (61 8) 6304 5811
> 
> 
> ________________________________________
> From: linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org
> [linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org] on behalf of Gábor Stefanik
> [netrolller.3d@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 7:29 AM
> To: Björn Smedman
> Cc: Bob Copeland; jpo; linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org; Luis R. Rodriguez
> Subject: Re: mac80211-based commercial router?
> 
> 2010/9/6 Björn Smedman <bjorn.smedman@venatech.se>:
> > 2010/9/6 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
> >> On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 10:08 PM, Bob Copeland <me@bobcopeland.com> wrote:
> >>> On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM, jpo <pommnitz@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >>>> Android 2.2 comes with AP functionality. Are the Android WLAN drivers
> >>>> mac80211 based?
> >>> 
> >>> No, they aren't.  Does Android really do AP mode or
> >>> just adhoc?
> >>> 
> >>> wl1251 is an in-tree module for the TI chip used in G1,
> >>> but it doesn't support AP mode.  I do not know if there's
> >>> a mac80211 driver that supports the broadcom chip used
> >>> in other phones.
> >> 
> >> AFAIK BCM4325 should be doable, especially if it is attached via SDIO
> >> bus. In phones where SPI is used, it is more problematic, as b43
> >> doesn't support SPI.
> > 
> > I guess the short answer is no then; all the chip vendors still focus
> > on their own proprietary mac implementations, at least on the AP side.
> > Any thoughts on what would be required for them to switch to mac80211?
> > Will it ever happen?
> > 
> > /Björn
> 
> AFAIK, the status is the following:
> -Atheros: Ath9k is officially supported and recommended by Atheros,
> and is usable for an AP - indeed, I believe Atheros is the first and
> only company to officially support a mac80211 driver AND make chipsets
> for APs. AFAIK, for the AR9002 family, no other Linux driver is
> available (at least not wit 802.11n support). Once we begin seeing
> AR9002-based APs with Linux firmware, chances are they will have a
> mac80211 driver inside. CCing Luis on this one.
> -Broadcom: they refuse to even acknowledge (maybe with the exception
> of legal threats) the development of b43, and supply binary drivers
> (and a 2.4-series kernel) in their platform kits. Also, b43 is way
> behind time when it comes to HW support (it doesn't support N-PHY,
> which is the norm now), and usually when APs begin shipping wiht a new
> Broadcom chipset, b43 still doesn't support that chipset until much
> later. I don't know about APs that include a Broadcom CPU but an
> Atheros wireless chip - AFAIK some do exist, but all use madwifi or
> some variant.
> -Ralink: Again, platform kits contain non-mac80211 drivers, even for
> recent chipsets (at least they are open-source, though). Someone
> should find a way to make them base drivers for the eventual RT4xxx
> (?) chipsets on the rt2x00 framework.
> -Marvell: No idea.
> -Realtek: Same situation as Ralink.
> 
> And some embedded Linux vendors:
> -MontaVista: I believe they are still using 2.4.x kernels (though I've
> heard of MontaVista-based routers with 2.6.8 - but even that one is
> way too old for mac80211.)
> -MikroTik: AFAIK RouterOS contains binary drivers with no relation to
> their open-source counterparts. They even named their Atheros driver
> "ath5k" IIRC, ignoring the in-tree driver with the same name! Plus,
> even if it had mac80211-based drivers, it wouldn't matter, since there
> is no (legal) way to access a Unix shell in RouterOS; instead it uses
> a proprietary "configuration shell" apparently inspired by Cisco IOS
> and ZyNOS.
> 
> --
> Vista: [V]iruses, [I]ntruders, [S]pyware, [T]rojans and [A]dware. :-)
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless"
> in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html--
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless"
> in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html

AW: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Joerg Pommnitz]

> Von: Bob Copeland <me@bobcopeland.com>

> An: jpo <pommnitz@yahoo.com>
> CC: linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org
> Gesendet: Sonntag, den 5. September 2010, 22:08:20 Uhr
> Betreff: Re: mac80211-based commercial router?
> 
> On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM, jpo <pommnitz@yahoo.com> wrote:
> 
> >  Android 2.2 comes with AP functionality. Are the Android WLAN drivers  
>mac80211
> > based?
> 
> No, they aren't.  Does Android really do AP  mode or
> just adhoc?

Think so. From http://developer.android.com/sdk/android-2.2-highlights.html

"Certain devices like the Nexus One can be turned into a portable Wi-Fi 
hotspot that can be shared with up to 8 devices."

Regards
  Joerg

RE: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Sushil DUTT]

Hi Bruno,

Thanks for your email.

I am new to Linux development. So if I understood well, I will:
- buy few routers(to make AP-Station Model) e..g RouterStation Pro or DIR-300, WNDR3700 from open market.
- Just unscrew the box and connect with PC viz UART or JTAG whatever supports available.
- Now just to start, I want to recompile the complete image. For this:
   Is all the main() application open source and downloadable from svn? e.g. C code..
   Drivers are all part of linux release i.e. backfire..., is it true?
- I can use a linux IDE to build my application with any changes, is it so?
- and then flash the image back in the hardware...

Many thanks for your response, as I am little confused at this moment, so many thing running in mind about open source, linux etc...:)

Thanks & Regards,
Sushil Dutt

Centre for Communications Engineering Research

School of Engineering

Edith Cowan University

100 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup WA 6027, Australia.

Telephone: (61 8) 6304 5318 or (61 8) 6304 5458

Fax: (61 8) 6304 5811

________________________________________
From: Bruno Randolf [br1@einfach.org]
Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 1:54 PM
To: Sushil DUTT
Cc: Gábor Stefanik; Björn Smedman; Bob Copeland; jpo; linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org; Luis R. Rodriguez
Subject: Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

hi sushil!

try any board which has good support in OpenWRT, e.g. the RouterStation Pro -
which is what we are using here for a commercial mac80211 + ath5k based mesh
routing device.

bruno

On Mon September 6 2010 14:12:56 Sushil DUTT wrote:
> Friends,
>
> I saw in this thread that Athreos Ath9k is based on mac80211. Any idea,
> from where I can get this development kit? This kit seems perfect for my
> WLAN solution:)
>
> To give a background about my project,
> Our lab has developed a WLAN solution which shows better results(in
> comaprision of mkt available solutions) in simulation. Now my job is to
> embedd & prove this solution in a stable hardware environment. I need a
> platform with SDK which can support both AP & Station. Reference
> application is highly desirable to reduce my development time.
>
> Thanks in advance for your responses.
>
>
> Thanks & Regards,
> Sushil Dutt
> Centre for Communications Engineering Research
> School of Engineering
> Edith Cowan University
> 100 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup WA 6027, Australia.
> Telephone: (61 8) 6304 5318 or (61 8) 6304 5458
> Fax: (61 8) 6304 5811
>
>
> ________________________________________
> From: linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org
> [linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org] on behalf of Gábor Stefanik
> [netrolller.3d@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 7:29 AM
> To: Björn Smedman
> Cc: Bob Copeland; jpo; linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org; Luis R. Rodriguez
> Subject: Re: mac80211-based commercial router?
>
> 2010/9/6 Björn Smedman <bjorn.smedman@venatech.se>:
> > 2010/9/6 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
> >> On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 10:08 PM, Bob Copeland <me@bobcopeland.com> wrote:
> >>> On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM, jpo <pommnitz@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >>>> Android 2.2 comes with AP functionality. Are the Android WLAN drivers
> >>>> mac80211 based?
> >>>
> >>> No, they aren't.  Does Android really do AP mode or
> >>> just adhoc?
> >>>
> >>> wl1251 is an in-tree module for the TI chip used in G1,
> >>> but it doesn't support AP mode.  I do not know if there's
> >>> a mac80211 driver that supports the broadcom chip used
> >>> in other phones.
> >>
> >> AFAIK BCM4325 should be doable, especially if it is attached via SDIO
> >> bus. In phones where SPI is used, it is more problematic, as b43
> >> doesn't support SPI.
> >
> > I guess the short answer is no then; all the chip vendors still focus
> > on their own proprietary mac implementations, at least on the AP side.
> > Any thoughts on what would be required for them to switch to mac80211?
> > Will it ever happen?
> >
> > /Björn
>
> AFAIK, the status is the following:
> -Atheros: Ath9k is officially supported and recommended by Atheros,
> and is usable for an AP - indeed, I believe Atheros is the first and
> only company to officially support a mac80211 driver AND make chipsets
> for APs. AFAIK, for the AR9002 family, no other Linux driver is
> available (at least not wit 802.11n support). Once we begin seeing
> AR9002-based APs with Linux firmware, chances are they will have a
> mac80211 driver inside. CCing Luis on this one.
> -Broadcom: they refuse to even acknowledge (maybe with the exception
> of legal threats) the development of b43, and supply binary drivers
> (and a 2.4-series kernel) in their platform kits. Also, b43 is way
> behind time when it comes to HW support (it doesn't support N-PHY,
> which is the norm now), and usually when APs begin shipping wiht a new
> Broadcom chipset, b43 still doesn't support that chipset until much
> later. I don't know about APs that include a Broadcom CPU but an
> Atheros wireless chip - AFAIK some do exist, but all use madwifi or
> some variant.
> -Ralink: Again, platform kits contain non-mac80211 drivers, even for
> recent chipsets (at least they are open-source, though). Someone
> should find a way to make them base drivers for the eventual RT4xxx
> (?) chipsets on the rt2x00 framework.
> -Marvell: No idea.
> -Realtek: Same situation as Ralink.
>
> And some embedded Linux vendors:
> -MontaVista: I believe they are still using 2.4.x kernels (though I've
> heard of MontaVista-based routers with 2.6.8 - but even that one is
> way too old for mac80211.)
> -MikroTik: AFAIK RouterOS contains binary drivers with no relation to
> their open-source counterparts. They even named their Atheros driver
> "ath5k" IIRC, ignoring the in-tree driver with the same name! Plus,
> even if it had mac80211-based drivers, it wouldn't matter, since there
> is no (legal) way to access a Unix shell in RouterOS; instead it uses
> a proprietary "configuration shell" apparently inspired by Cisco IOS
> and ZyNOS.
>
> --
> Vista: [V]iruses, [I]ntruders, [S]pyware, [T]rojans and [A]dware. :-)
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless"
> in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html--
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless"
> in the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html

Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Ivo Van Doorn]

> -Ralink: Again, platform kits contain non-mac80211 drivers, even for
> recent chipsets (at least they are open-source, though). Someone
> should find a way to make them base drivers for the eventual RT4xxx
> (?) chipsets on the rt2x00 framework.

This has been asked to Ralink, and they have promised they will do so,
currently their open source code for RT2800 also contains references
to mac80211, but this seems to be a hook into cfg80211 only.

So for now, all we have is the promise from Ralink that future Ralink
drivers will be mac80211/rt2x00 based. Obviously I will have to see
some proof before I really believe it. ;)

Ivo

Re: mac80211-based commercial router?

[Bruno Randolf]

hi sushil!

yes, what you described is basically right. OpenWRT itself does not contain a 
lot of source code - you can think of it as a set of recipies (Makefiles) and 
patches which are used to download source code, patch/fix it up, cross-compile 
it and package it (there is a package management system similar to debian). 
this is done for everything you need - kernel, drivers, userspace 
applications, scripts, configuration/web interface, etc... and finally an 
image is created which you can flash to your device (usually a serial cable is 
sufficient for that and you don't need JTAG). you would simply add a little 
Makefile for your own application to OpenWRT in order to cross-compile it for 
your target.

since this is off-topic to this mailing-list, feel free to ask more questions 
by private mail.

bruno

On Mon September 6 2010 19:44:19 you wrote:
> Hi Bruno,
> 
> Thanks for your email.
> 
> I am new to Linux development. So if I understood well, I will:
> - buy few routers(to make AP-Station Model) e..g RouterStation Pro or
> DIR-300, WNDR3700 from open market. - Just unscrew the box and connect
> with PC viz UART or JTAG whatever supports available. - Now just to start,
> I want to recompile the complete image. For this: Is all the main()
> application open source and downloadable from svn? e.g. C code.. Drivers
> are all part of linux release i.e. backfire..., is it true? - I can use a
> linux IDE to build my application with any changes, is it so? - and then
> flash the image back in the hardware...
> 
> Many thanks for your response, as I am little confused at this moment, so
> many thing running in mind about open source, linux etc...:)
> 
> Thanks & Regards,
> Sushil Dutt
> 
> Centre for Communications Engineering Research
> 
> School of Engineering
> 
> Edith Cowan University
> 
> 100 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup WA 6027, Australia.
> 
> Telephone: (61 8) 6304 5318 or (61 8) 6304 5458
> 
> Fax: (61 8) 6304 5811
> 
> ________________________________________
> From: Bruno Randolf [br1@einfach.org]
> Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 1:54 PM
> To: Sushil DUTT
> Cc: Gábor Stefanik; Björn Smedman; Bob Copeland; jpo;
> linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org; Luis R. Rodriguez Subject: Re:
> mac80211-based commercial router?
> 
> hi sushil!
> 
> try any board which has good support in OpenWRT, e.g. the RouterStation Pro
> - which is what we are using here for a commercial mac80211 + ath5k based
> mesh routing device.
> 
> bruno
> 
> On Mon September 6 2010 14:12:56 Sushil DUTT wrote:
> > Friends,
> > 
> > I saw in this thread that Athreos Ath9k is based on mac80211. Any idea,
> > from where I can get this development kit? This kit seems perfect for my
> > WLAN solution:)
> > 
> > To give a background about my project,
> > Our lab has developed a WLAN solution which shows better results(in
> > comaprision of mkt available solutions) in simulation. Now my job is to
> > embedd & prove this solution in a stable hardware environment. I need a
> > platform with SDK which can support both AP & Station. Reference
> > application is highly desirable to reduce my development time.
> > 
> > Thanks in advance for your responses.
> > 
> > 
> > Thanks & Regards,
> > Sushil Dutt
> > Centre for Communications Engineering Research
> > School of Engineering
> > Edith Cowan University
> > 100 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup WA 6027, Australia.
> > Telephone: (61 8) 6304 5318 or (61 8) 6304 5458
> > Fax: (61 8) 6304 5811
> > 
> > 
> > ________________________________________
> > From: linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org
> > [linux-wireless-owner@vger.kernel.org] on behalf of Gábor Stefanik
> > [netrolller.3d@gmail.com] Sent: Monday, September 06, 2010 7:29 AM
> > To: Björn Smedman
> > Cc: Bob Copeland; jpo; linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org; Luis R. Rodriguez
> > Subject: Re: mac80211-based commercial router?
> > 
> > 2010/9/6 Björn Smedman <bjorn.smedman@venatech.se>:
> > > 2010/9/6 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
> > >> On Sun, Sep 5, 2010 at 10:08 PM, Bob Copeland <me@bobcopeland.com> 
wrote:
> > >>> On Fri, Sep 3, 2010 at 4:43 PM, jpo <pommnitz@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > >>>> Android 2.2 comes with AP functionality. Are the Android WLAN
> > >>>> drivers mac80211 based?
> > >>> 
> > >>> No, they aren't.  Does Android really do AP mode or
> > >>> just adhoc?
> > >>> 
> > >>> wl1251 is an in-tree module for the TI chip used in G1,
> > >>> but it doesn't support AP mode.  I do not know if there's
> > >>> a mac80211 driver that supports the broadcom chip used
> > >>> in other phones.
> > >> 
> > >> AFAIK BCM4325 should be doable, especially if it is attached via SDIO
> > >> bus. In phones where SPI is used, it is more problematic, as b43
> > >> doesn't support SPI.
> > > 
> > > I guess the short answer is no then; all the chip vendors still focus
> > > on their own proprietary mac implementations, at least on the AP side.
> > > Any thoughts on what would be required for them to switch to mac80211?
> > > Will it ever happen?
> > > 
> > > /Björn
> > 
> > AFAIK, the status is the following:
> > -Atheros: Ath9k is officially supported and recommended by Atheros,
> > and is usable for an AP - indeed, I believe Atheros is the first and
> > only company to officially support a mac80211 driver AND make chipsets
> > for APs. AFAIK, for the AR9002 family, no other Linux driver is
> > available (at least not wit 802.11n support). Once we begin seeing
> > AR9002-based APs with Linux firmware, chances are they will have a
> > mac80211 driver inside. CCing Luis on this one.
> > -Broadcom: they refuse to even acknowledge (maybe with the exception
> > of legal threats) the development of b43, and supply binary drivers
> > (and a 2.4-series kernel) in their platform kits. Also, b43 is way
> > behind time when it comes to HW support (it doesn't support N-PHY,
> > which is the norm now), and usually when APs begin shipping wiht a new
> > Broadcom chipset, b43 still doesn't support that chipset until much
> > later. I don't know about APs that include a Broadcom CPU but an
> > Atheros wireless chip - AFAIK some do exist, but all use madwifi or
> > some variant.
> > -Ralink: Again, platform kits contain non-mac80211 drivers, even for
> > recent chipsets (at least they are open-source, though). Someone
> > should find a way to make them base drivers for the eventual RT4xxx
> > (?) chipsets on the rt2x00 framework.
> > -Marvell: No idea.
> > -Realtek: Same situation as Ralink.
> > 
> > And some embedded Linux vendors:
> > -MontaVista: I believe they are still using 2.4.x kernels (though I've
> > heard of MontaVista-based routers with 2.6.8 - but even that one is
> > way too old for mac80211.)
> > -MikroTik: AFAIK RouterOS contains binary drivers with no relation to
> > their open-source counterparts. They even named their Atheros driver
> > "ath5k" IIRC, ignoring the in-tree driver with the same name! Plus,
> > even if it had mac80211-based drivers, it wouldn't matter, since there
> > is no (legal) way to access a Unix shell in RouterOS; instead it uses
> > a proprietary "configuration shell" apparently inspired by Cisco IOS
> > and ZyNOS.
> > 
> > --
> > Vista: [V]iruses, [I]ntruders, [S]pyware, [T]rojans and [A]dware. :-)
> > --
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