iwlwifi in AP mode is experimental?

iwlwifi in AP mode is experimental?

[Robert E. Cochran]

Hello,

On wireless.wiki.kernel.org, iwlwifi is listed as experimental for AP Mode.

We have done some basic testing with a 3160 card in AP mode & hostapd 
without issue.  Now we need to determine if it makes sense to ramp up a 
rigorous test plan for it.

Is AP mode with iwlwifi basically a "use at your own risk" scenario?  
Can I expect AP mode to be supported more fully in the future?  Is there 
a particular HW module that does AP mode better than others?  Is there a 
list of missing features?  Are others using iwlwifi for AP mode in a  
product?

Any additional, current information on this will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,

Bob

Re: iwlwifi in AP mode is experimental?

[Emmanuel Grumbach]

Hello Robert,

On Fri, Jun 12, 2015 at 8:43 PM, Robert E. Cochran <wifi@mindchasers.com> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> On wireless.wiki.kernel.org, iwlwifi is listed as experimental for AP Mode.
>
> We have done some basic testing with a 3160 card in AP mode & hostapd
> without issue.  Now we need to determine if it makes sense to ramp up a
> rigorous test plan for it.

3160 should provide decently support AP mode. Basically, I can tell
that devices driven by iwlmvm are better tested in AP mode. Note that
the hardware is not designed for AP mode and the AP mode suffers from
limitations in terms of number of clients etc...

>
> Is AP mode with iwlwifi basically a "use at your own risk" scenario?  Can I
> expect AP mode to be supported more fully in the future?  Is there a
> particular HW module that does AP mode better than others?  Is there a list
> of missing features?  Are others using iwlwifi for AP mode in a  product?

Unless you have a support business agreement, anything from upstream
is "at your own risk" :) We do provide support and if you have an
issue, we will try to help. I can't think about anything specific that
is not supported, but don't expect a full blown commercial AP that can
support 256 concurrent clients etc...
I think that we have customers who made an AP with iwlwifi. There is
no Intel HW that can give you a better support for AP besides the fact
that 3160 doesn't support MIMO and is definitely the low end of
Intel's devices. But that's something you are surely aware of.

>
> Any additional, current information on this will be greatly appreciated.
>
> Thank you,
>
> Bob
>
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Re: iwlwifi in AP mode is experimental?

[Bjørn Mork]

Emmanuel Grumbach <egrumbach@gmail.com> writes:

> I can't think about anything specific that is not supported,

Is AP mode on 5 GHz supported on the 3160?


Bjørn

Re: iwlwifi in AP mode is experimental?

[Emmanuel Grumbach]

On Sun, Jun 14, 2015 at 12:52 PM, Bjørn Mork <bjorn@mork.no> wrote:
> Emmanuel Grumbach <egrumbach@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> I can't think about anything specific that is not supported,
>
> Is AP mode on 5 GHz supported on the 3160?
>
>

Well no :) This is true for all Intel devices because of regulatory concerns.

Re: iwlwifi in AP mode is experimental?

[Emmanuel Grumbach]

On Sun, Jun 14, 2015 at 12:52 PM, Bjørn Mork <bjorn@mork.no> wrote:
> Emmanuel Grumbach <egrumbach@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> I can't think about anything specific that is not supported,
>
> Is AP mode on 5 GHz supported on the 3160?
>

So apparently I was wrong. We do support AP mode on 5GHz, but only
with 7265-D and onward. This will work only when regulatory conditions
apply.