Re: [RFC PATCH] qtnfmac: enable access to the card in calibration mode

[Sergey Matyukevich <sergey.matyukevich.os@quantenna.com>]

> > Enable access to the wireless card in calibration mode using service
> > ethernet port. Wireless functionality is not available in calibration
> > mode. Service ethernet port can be used for various maintenance tasks
> > including calibration, configuration, troubleshooting. Add new kernel
> > module parameter force_svcmode. Set this parameter to one in order
> > to boot wireless card into the calibration mode.
> >
> > Signed-off-by: Sergey Matyukevich <sergey.matyukevich.os@quantenna.com>
> >
> > ---
> >
> > Hello Kalle and all,
> >
> > I would like to add support for a simple service mode for calibration.
> > This patch includes some controversial bits, that is why it is marked
> > as RFC. Could you please take a closer look and tell me whether it is
> > acceptable for mainlining.
> 
> Is there a reason why you can't use nl80211 testmode? The use cases you
> list were exactly the reasons why we added testmode to nl80211 in the
> first place.

Hello Kalle,

Thanks for reminding me of testmode. I took a closer look at this feature.
This is what I would be using if I had to implement calibration mode and
tools from the scratch. In my case I have to deal with legacy behavior in
calibration mode: special firmware mode and tools that expect simple
network access to firmware. One possible option would be to provide a
dummy wireless interface. However additional manipulations with carrier
would be required to bring-up dummy wireless interface. So I ended up
with a simple ethernet based solution.

Regards,
Sergey