Re: working usb wifi card, that is still possible to buy

[Pavel Machek <pma@sysgo.com>]

Hi!

So... these are my results of wifi testing. 802.11n driver currently
working on powerpc is rtl8712 -- staging -- EMTEC Wi350 ...

802.11 A+N card available is DLINK DWA-160, but carl9170 driver did
disconnect during tests of less than one hour...

								Pavel

-*- org -*-


Linux drivers

>From http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers, all that can do 802.11n on USB:

| Name       |               | features           | avail | remark                                              |
| -          |               |                    |       |                                                     |
| ar9170usb  | ZyDAS/Atheros | yes no yes no yes  | yes   | ? ask ruik, we had that                             |
| carl9170   | ZyDAS/Atheros | yes yes yes no yes | yes   | disconnects under load, unresponsive maintainer     |
| ar9271     | Atheros       | no ? ? ? ?         | yes   | superseeded by ath9k_htc ?                          |
| ath9k_htc  | Atheros       | yes no yes no yes  | yes   | works on d37, endianness problems on powerpc?       |
| rt2800usb  | Ralink        | yes ? ? ? yes      | yes   | works on d37, does not scan on powerpc, endianness? |
| r8192u_usb | Realtek       | no ? ? ? ?         | yes   | staging                                             |

>From http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers, all that can do 802.11a on USB:

| Name      |                   | features             | bands      | avail | remark                                                    |
| -         |                   |                      |            |       |                                                           |
| ar9170usb | ZyDAS/Atheros     | yes no  yes  no  yes | A(1)/B/G/N | USB   |                                                           |
| carl9170  | ZyDAS/Atheros     | yes yes yes  no  yes | A(1)/B/G/N | USB   |                                                           |
| p54usb    | Intersil/Conexant | yes yes yes  yes yes | A(1)/B/G   | USB   |                                                           |
| rt73usb   | Ralink            | yes yes yes  no  yes | A(1)/B/G   | USB   | http://www.alza.cz/tp-link-tl-wn321g-d155287.htm -- not A |
| rt2500usb | Ralink            | yes yes yes  no  yes | A(1)/B/G   | USB   |                                                           |
| rt2800usb | Ralink            | yes ?   ?    ?   yes | A(1)/B/G/N | USB   |                                                           |
| vt6656    | VIA               | no  ?   ?    ?   ?   | A/B/G      | USB   |                                                           |
| zd1211rw  | ZyDAS/Atheros     | yes no  yes  yes no  | A(2)/B/G   | USB   |                                                           |

Available devices

| Marketing name            | USB ID    | driver              | 802.11   | avail   | remark                    |                                                                                                                    |
| -                         |           |                     |          |         |                           |                                                                                                                    |
| DLink DWA-160             | 07d1:3a09 | carl9170 or others  | n        | yes     | disconnects under load    | - GPL firmware                                                                                                     |
| Netgear WPN111            | 1385:5f01 | carl9170 or others? |          | alza    |                           |                                                                                                                    |
| AirLive wt-2000usb        | 148f:2573 | rt2500usb+rt73usb   | g        | no      | works                     | - non-free firmware for rt73  according to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_open_source_wireless_drivers |
| AirLive Wl-1600 USB       | 1b75:8187 | rtl8187             | g        | yes     | works                     | - firmware status unknown                                                                                          |
| Netgear wg111             | 05e3:4260 | rtl8187             | g        | Germany | works                     |                                                                                                                    |
| PEGATRON WL166N11         | 1d4d:000c | rt2800usb+rt2870sta | n-lite   | alza    | works on d37              | called "prestigio" on web page                                                                                     |
| TP-LINK TL-WN321G         | 148f:2070 | rt2800usb           | g        | alza    | d32 detects, d37 scans    |                                                                                                                    |
| MSI WLAN 11N US300EX Lite | 148f:3070 | rt2800usb+rt2870sta | a+n      | yes     | works on d37              | Info - Chipset detected - rt: 3070, rf: 0000, rev: 0201.                                                           |
| Tenda w311U               | 148f:3070 | rt2800usb+rt2870sta |          | alza    | d32 detects it            | same as usb IDs as MSI                                                                                             |
| edimax ew-7711UMn         | 7392:7711 | rt2800usb+rt2870sta | a+n-d    | yes     | d32 detects it            | Info - Chipset detected - rt: 3070, rf: 0002, rev: 0201.                                                           |
| Canyon CNP-WF518N2        | 0bda:8171 | r8712u (staging)    | n/150    | alza    | works on d37, stable ping | mini                                                                                                               |
| EMTEC Wi350               | 0bda:8172 | r8712u (staging)    | n/300    | yes     | works                     |                                                                                                                    |
| D-Link DWA-131            | 07d1:3303 | r8712u (staging)    | n-d2/300 | yes     | works                     | mini, l-k recommends -- firmware license unknown, no sources to be seen                                            |
| TP-Link TL-WN721N         | 0cf3:9271 | ath9k_htc           |          | yes     | works on d37-wtest        | merged in 2.6.35                                                                                                   |
| TP-Link TL-WN322G         | 0cf3:1006 | ath9k_htc           | g        | alza    | works on d37-wtest        |                                                                                                                    |

Tested against: ZyXEL NBG-417N router, "802.11n draft"
Should test against: Linksys WRT610N
To run AP manually, do: hostapd /etc/hostapd/hostapd.conf

fc9: 2.6.27.25-78.2.56.fc9.i686
mpc5200b: ppc based devel board on 2.6.34-7, elinos-5.1
mpc5200b.37: ppc based devel board on 2.6.37-wireless testing
d32: Debian 2.6.32-trunk-686
	- rt2800usb driver does not seem to be able to scan on it
d37: Debian with 2.6.37-rc3+ kernel

* carl9170 -- DLink DWA-160

DLink with carl9170 driver:

- only supported in 2.6.36-wireless-testing and 2.6.37-rc1
- self disconnect

* rt2500usb+rt73usb -- unavailable, 802.11g -- AirLive wt-2000usb

- ping sometimes goes to 500msec range (even on same table)

64 bytes from 192.168.2.2: seq=114 ttl=64 time=27.2 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.2: seq=115 ttl=64 time=1023.2 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.2: seq=116 ttl=64 time=32.2 ms

- long term seems to work ok: 

So far (during single bulk transfer)

--- 192.168.2.3 ping statistics ---
559 packets transmitted, 513 received, 8% packet loss, time 558863ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 11.301/480.135/26952.502/2615.430 ms, pipe 27

64 bytes from 192.168.2.3: icmp_req=891 ttl=64 time=238 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.3: icmp_req=892 ttl=64 time=218 ms
^C
--- 192.168.2.3 ping statistics ---
894 packets transmitted, 854 received, 4% packet loss, time 893929ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 1.266/197.493/1169.791/86.623 ms, pipe 2
pavel@pma:~$ 

--- 192.168.2.3 ping statistics ---
340 packets transmitted, 302 received, 11% packet loss, time 339531ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 10.079/196.275/1020.862/82.172 ms, pipe 2

- survived overnight test:

64 bytes from 192.168.2.3: icmp_req=63549 ttl=64 time=216 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.2.3: icmp_req=63550 ttl=64 time=174 ms
^C
--- 192.168.2.3 ping statistics ---
63550 packets transmitted, 59911 received, +212 errors, 5% packet loss, time 63623758ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 1.246/490.418/102617.256/3307.015 ms, pipe 103
pavel@pma:~$ 

* rtl8187 -- 802.11g -- AirLive Wl-1600 USB

- strangely disconnected once
- survived 30 min test

* rt2800usb+rt2870sta ? -- Tenda w311U
  - claims 802.11n (Draft 2.0)
  - staging driver
    
[509571.148021] usb 3-2: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 15
[509571.297285] usb 3-2: New USB device found, idVendor=148f, idProduct=3070
[509571.297290] usb 3-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[509571.297293] usb 3-2: Product: 802.11 n WLAN
[509571.297294] usb 3-2: Manufacturer: Ralink
[509571.297296] usb 3-2: SerialNumber: 1.0
[509571.297394] usb 3-2: configuration #1 chosen from 1 choice
[509571.747583] phy1: Selected rate control algorithm 'minstrel'
[509571.748329] Registered led device: rt2800usb-phy1::radio
[509571.748346] Registered led device: rt2800usb-phy1::assoc
[509571.748364] Registered led device: rt2800usb-phy1::quality
[509571.748679] usbcore: registered new interface driver rt2800usb
[509571.780200] rt2870sta: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.
[509571.785834] rtusb init --->

   - GPL firmware?  2010_0709_RT2870_Linux_STA_v2.4.0.1, http://www.ralinktech.com/support.php?s=2
   - mam dobry fw?

  - mpc5200b says:

usb 1-1: new full speed USB device using ppc-of-ohci and address 2
phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'pid'
phy0: hwaddr 00:4f:78:01:0d:b3, RTL8187vB (default) V1 + rtl8225z2, rfkill mask 2
rtl8187: Customer ID is 0xFF
Registered led device: rtl8187-phy0::radio
Registered led device: rtl8187-phy0::tx
Registered led device: rtl8187-phy0::rx
rtl8187: wireless switch is on
warning: `proftpd' uses 32-bit capabilities (legacy support in use)
phy0: device now idle
phy0: device no longer idle - scanning
PHY: f0003000:00 - Link is Up - 100/Full
phy0: device now idle
usb 1-1: USB disconnect, address 2
usb 1-1: new full speed USB device using ppc-of-ohci and address 3
usb 1-1: USB disconnect, address 3
usb 1-1: new full speed USB device using ppc-of-ohci and address 4
phy1 -> rt2800_init_eeprom: Error - Invalid RF chipset detected.
phy1 -> rt2x00lib_probe_dev: Error - Failed to allocate device.

     
* ath9k_htc -- 802.11g -- TP-LINK TL-WN321G

   mpc5200b:
-sh-4.1# 
-sh-4.1# usb 1-1: USB disconnect, address 5
usb 1-1: new full speed USB device using ppc-of-ohci and address 6
phy3 -> rt2800_init_eeprom: Error - Invalid RF chipset detected.
phy3 -> rt2x00lib_probe_dev: Error - Failed to allocate device.

Hmm... is byte swapping neccessary?

#define GET_FIELD(__reg, __type, __field)       \
({                                              \
        typecheck(__type, __field);             \
        ((__reg) & ((__field).bit_mask)) >>     \
            ((__field).bit_offset);             \
})

drivers/net/wireless/rt2x00$ less rt2x00reg.h

Works with d37:

[  329.545082] udev[13420]: starting version 164
[  333.030536] lp: driver loaded but no devices found
[  365.598290] usb 2-2: USB disconnect, address 2
[  367.484022] usb 2-2: new high speed USB device using ehci_hcd and address 3
[  367.633390] usb 2-2: New USB device found, idVendor=148f, idProduct=2070
[  367.633442] usb 2-2: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
[  367.633490] usb 2-2: Product: 802.11 g WLAN
[  367.633535] usb 2-2: Manufacturer: Ralink
[  367.633579] usb 2-2: SerialNumber: 1.0
[  367.652799] cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
[  367.699944] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'minstrel_ht'
[  367.700495] Registered led device: rt2800usb-phy0::radio
[  367.700515] Registered led device: rt2800usb-phy0::assoc
[  367.700534] Registered led device: rt2800usb-phy0::quality
[  367.700777] usbcore: registered new interface driver rt2800usb
[  367.701332] rt2870sta: module is from the staging directory, the quality is unknown, you have been warned.
[  367.706312] rtusb init --->
[  367.706622] usbcore: registered new interface driver rt2870
[  367.764544] udev[13528]: renamed network interface wlan0 to wlan2
[  416.882482] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan2: link is not ready
pavel@pma:~/bb/trunk/report$ 

...but kills machine after unplug.

* rt2800usb -- Edimax ew-7711UMn

- detected by d32 / mpc5200b.37
- no scan results
- scans/pings on d37
- ping stable -- in 30msec range.
- kills machine on unplug
- master?

* rtl8712 -- staging -- EMTEC Wi350

- driver from staging
- seems to ping on mpc5200b.37
- link quality does not work, strange interface -- no cfg80211
- not in 2.6.34
- ported, works :-).
- master does _not_ work.
- overnight (mpc5200b): good!

64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=64301 ttl=64 time=2.6 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=64302 ttl=64 time=2.6 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=64303 ttl=64 time=2.6 ms
^C
--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
64304 packets transmitted, 64304 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 1.9/18.0/1020.5 ms

- ap->powerpc:
- bandwidth on mpc5200b -- stable, cca 700KB/sec
- bandwidth on sc2 -- stable, cca 2MB/sec, opposite cca 2.2MB/sec

- overnight test:

64 bytes from 192.168.1.33: icmp_req=62554 ttl=64 time=4.59 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.33: icmp_req=62555 ttl=64 time=4.62 ms
^C
--- 192.168.1.33 ping statistics ---
62555 packets transmitted, 62536 received, 0% packet loss, time 62645629ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 1.092/26.026/12612.128/361.248 ms, pipe 13
pma:/home/pavel# 


* How to test

To test:

nc 192.168.2.2 chargen > /dev/null
ping 192.168.2.3

Compile tests with 2.6.34:

Atmel at76c50x chipset  802.11b support
Atmel at76c503/at76c505/at76c505a USB cards
USB ZD1201 based Wireless device support
Wireless RNDIS USB support
Realtek 8187 and 8187B USB support
Atheros AR9170 802.11n USB support 
	- we know it does not work at all on powerpc
Marvell Libertas 8388 USB 802.11b/g cards
Prism54 USB support
Ralink rt2501/rt73 (USB) support 
       - already tested
Ralink rt2800 (USB) support (EXPERIMENTAL)
rt2800usb - Include support for rt30xx (USB) devices
rt2800usb - Include support for rt35xx (USB) devices
rt2800usb - Include support for unknown (USB) devices
ZyDAS ZD1211/ZD1211B USB-wireless support

...all compile ok.

* ALZA shopping

Tryed to buy 13 cards, one was unavailable:

http://www.alza.cz/msi-us300ex-lite-d135883.htm  (ralink chipset, ??? driver)
http://www.alza.cz/edimax-nmax-ew-7711umn-v3-d166741.htm (nLite, ??? driver)
http://www.alza.cz/edimax-nmax-ew-7717un-d100390.htm (ndraft 2, ??? driver)
http://www.alza.cz/emtec-ekcowi350-mini-d164593.htm (mini, ??? driver)
http://www.alza.cz/w311u-d139111.htm  (???driver)
http://www.alza.cz/bezdratovy-usb-adapter-netgear-wg111-d87276.htm
(netgear, g only, p54usb driver)
http://www.alza.cz/bezdratovy-usb-adapter-netgear-wpn111-rangemax-d87278.htm
(netgear, g only, ??? driver
http://www.alza.cz/prestigio-ion-pc-wifi-dongle-bily-d148563.htm (??? driver)

http://www.alza.cz/d-link-dwa-131-d154446.htm (dlink, mini, ?? driver)
http://www.alza.cz/tp-link-tl-wn721n-lite-d155290.htm (tplink, ath9k_htc driver)
http://www.alza.cz/tp-link-tl-wn322g-d185161.htm (tplink, g only, ?? driver)
http://www.alza.cz/ovislink-airlive-wl-1600usb-d118619.htm (ovislink
airlive, g only, ?? driver)
http://www.alza.cz/canyon-cnp-wf518n2-d158786.htm (mini, zd121rw
driver)
http://www.alza.cz/tp-link-tl-wn321g-d155287.htm (this one should have
same chipset as AirLive wt-2000USB and thus should work reasonably).

Ta chodici airlive:
rt2500usb driver
	  0x148f 0x2573

http://www.alza.cz/tp-link-tl-wn321g-d155287.htm: