b43 on HP nx6325 w/ openSUSE 10.3 (x86_64)

b43 on HP nx6325 w/ openSUSE 10.3 (x86_64)

[Rafael J. Wysocki]

Hi,

I'm trying to make the b43 driver work on an HP nx6325 with openSUSE 10.3
(64-bit).  In short, it sort of works, but some things are a bit ugly.

The kernel is the current -git (approx. 2.6.24-rc1-git13) with the following
extra patches applied:

b43: Fix rfkill callback deadlock
b43: debugfs SHM read buffer overrun fix
b43: Rewrite and fix rfkill init

and I'm using the firmware from
http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2

Here's the debug info from dmesg:

b43-phy1: Broadcom 4311 WLAN found
b43-phy1 debug: Found PHY: Analog 4, Type 2, Revision 8
b43-phy1 debug: Found Radio: Manuf 0x17F, Version 0x2050, Revision 2
b43-phy1 debug: Loading firmware version 351.126 (2006-07-29 05:54:02)
Registered led device: b43-phy1:tx
Registered led device: b43-phy1:rx
b43-phy1 debug: Chip initialized
b43-phy1 debug: 32-bit DMA initialized
b43-phy1 debug: Wireless interface started
b43-phy1 debug: Adding Interface type 2

Now, the first problem is that the card seems to lose frames from time to
time.  This is visible in the output of mtr and while trying to transfer large
files using scp.  With scp the transfer just stalls and stays this way although
the other end is pingable etc. (eg. attempting to transfer more than 400 MB at
once triggers this 100% of the time).

If you can suggest some more specific tests to me, I'll run them and report
back.

The second problem is that YaST is apparently unable to detect the device,
which sort of sucks, because it leads to configuration problems (basically, you
need to set up everything manually).  Evidently, udev manages to handle it, so
this may be related to HAL.  Anyway, it looks like the problem is related to
the fact that the device is not present under /sys/bus/pci/devices/ directly,
but you need to go through the ssb0:0 subdirectory to get to it.

Do you have any ideas how to tell the user space stuff where the devices is
in sysfs?

Greetings,
Rafael

Re: b43 on HP nx6325 w/ openSUSE 10.3 (x86_64)

[Larry Finger]

Rafael J. Wysocki wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> I'm trying to make the b43 driver work on an HP nx6325 with openSUSE 10.3
> (64-bit).  In short, it sort of works, but some things are a bit ugly.
> 
> The kernel is the current -git (approx. 2.6.24-rc1-git13) with the following
> extra patches applied:
> 
> b43: Fix rfkill callback deadlock
> b43: debugfs SHM read buffer overrun fix
> b43: Rewrite and fix rfkill init
> 
> and I'm using the firmware from
> http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2
> 
> Here's the debug info from dmesg:
> 
> b43-phy1: Broadcom 4311 WLAN found
> b43-phy1 debug: Found PHY: Analog 4, Type 2, Revision 8
> b43-phy1 debug: Found Radio: Manuf 0x17F, Version 0x2050, Revision 2
> b43-phy1 debug: Loading firmware version 351.126 (2006-07-29 05:54:02)
> Registered led device: b43-phy1:tx
> Registered led device: b43-phy1:rx
> b43-phy1 debug: Chip initialized
> b43-phy1 debug: 32-bit DMA initialized
> b43-phy1 debug: Wireless interface started
> b43-phy1 debug: Adding Interface type 2
> 
> Now, the first problem is that the card seems to lose frames from time to
> time.  This is visible in the output of mtr and while trying to transfer large
> files using scp.  With scp the transfer just stalls and stays this way although
> the other end is pingable etc. (eg. attempting to transfer more than 400 MB at
> once triggers this 100% of the time).
> 
> If you can suggest some more specific tests to me, I'll run them and report
> back.
> 
> The second problem is that YaST is apparently unable to detect the device,
> which sort of sucks, because it leads to configuration problems (basically, you
> need to set up everything manually).  Evidently, udev manages to handle it, so
> this may be related to HAL.  Anyway, it looks like the problem is related to
> the fact that the device is not present under /sys/bus/pci/devices/ directly,
> but you need to go through the ssb0:0 subdirectory to get to it.
> 
> Do you have any ideas how to tell the user space stuff where the devices is
> in sysfs?

Your configuration is exactly like mine - openSUSE 10.3, x86_64 with Linus's latest git, and a 4311.
 I have not used mtr or scp and cannot comment on your transfer problems. I have had 0 problems
configuring the device with YaST. On the x86_64 laptop, I let NetworkManager control the wireless
connection, but I have also used the traditional ifup/ifdown method. On an i386 system, I use
ifup/ifdown as I don't run X on that machine. Both make fast connections.

Larry

Re: b43 on HP nx6325 w/ openSUSE 10.3 (x86_64)

[Rafael J. Wysocki]

On Monday, 5 of November 2007, Larry Finger wrote:
> Rafael J. Wysocki wrote:
> > Hi,
> > 
> > I'm trying to make the b43 driver work on an HP nx6325 with openSUSE 10.3
> > (64-bit).  In short, it sort of works, but some things are a bit ugly.
> > 
> > The kernel is the current -git (approx. 2.6.24-rc1-git13) with the following
> > extra patches applied:
> > 
> > b43: Fix rfkill callback deadlock
> > b43: debugfs SHM read buffer overrun fix
> > b43: Rewrite and fix rfkill init
> > 
> > and I'm using the firmware from
> > http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2
> > 
> > Here's the debug info from dmesg:
> > 
> > b43-phy1: Broadcom 4311 WLAN found
> > b43-phy1 debug: Found PHY: Analog 4, Type 2, Revision 8
> > b43-phy1 debug: Found Radio: Manuf 0x17F, Version 0x2050, Revision 2
> > b43-phy1 debug: Loading firmware version 351.126 (2006-07-29 05:54:02)
> > Registered led device: b43-phy1:tx
> > Registered led device: b43-phy1:rx
> > b43-phy1 debug: Chip initialized
> > b43-phy1 debug: 32-bit DMA initialized
> > b43-phy1 debug: Wireless interface started
> > b43-phy1 debug: Adding Interface type 2
> > 
> > Now, the first problem is that the card seems to lose frames from time to
> > time.  This is visible in the output of mtr and while trying to transfer large
> > files using scp.  With scp the transfer just stalls and stays this way although
> > the other end is pingable etc. (eg. attempting to transfer more than 400 MB at
> > once triggers this 100% of the time).
> > 
> > If you can suggest some more specific tests to me, I'll run them and report
> > back.
> > 
> > The second problem is that YaST is apparently unable to detect the device,
> > which sort of sucks, because it leads to configuration problems (basically, you
> > need to set up everything manually).  Evidently, udev manages to handle it, so
> > this may be related to HAL.  Anyway, it looks like the problem is related to
> > the fact that the device is not present under /sys/bus/pci/devices/ directly,
> > but you need to go through the ssb0:0 subdirectory to get to it.
> > 
> > Do you have any ideas how to tell the user space stuff where the devices is
> > in sysfs?
> 
> Your configuration is exactly like mine - openSUSE 10.3, x86_64 with Linus's latest git, and a 4311.
>  I have not used mtr or scp and cannot comment on your transfer problems.

That may be AP-related, but I had no such problems with the bcm43xx used
previously on the same hardware w/ the same AP.

> I have had 0 problems configuring the device with YaST.

Hm, I wonder what I've done wrong, then. :-)

Can you send me /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-wlan0 (or whatever the card is
visible as on your system) from the x86_64 laptop?

> On the x86_64 laptop, I let NetworkManager control the wireless 
> connection, but I have also used the traditional ifup/ifdown method. On an i386 system, I use
> ifup/ifdown as I don't run X on that machine. Both make fast connections.

Well, finally I did configure the card with YaST, but I had to manually add it
to the list.  ifup/ifdown works, but I haven't tried NetworkManager yet.

Greetings,
Rafael

Re: b43 on HP nx6325 w/ openSUSE 10.3 (x86_64)

[Larry Finger]

Rafael J. Wysocki wrote:
> On Monday, 5 of November 2007, Larry Finger wrote:
>> Rafael J. Wysocki wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> I'm trying to make the b43 driver work on an HP nx6325 with openSUSE 10.3
>>> (64-bit).  In short, it sort of works, but some things are a bit ugly.
>>>
>>> The kernel is the current -git (approx. 2.6.24-rc1-git13) with the following
>>> extra patches applied:
>>>
>>> b43: Fix rfkill callback deadlock
>>> b43: debugfs SHM read buffer overrun fix
>>> b43: Rewrite and fix rfkill init
>>>
>>> and I'm using the firmware from
>>> http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2
>>>
>>> Here's the debug info from dmesg:
>>>
>>> b43-phy1: Broadcom 4311 WLAN found
>>> b43-phy1 debug: Found PHY: Analog 4, Type 2, Revision 8
>>> b43-phy1 debug: Found Radio: Manuf 0x17F, Version 0x2050, Revision 2
>>> b43-phy1 debug: Loading firmware version 351.126 (2006-07-29 05:54:02)
>>> Registered led device: b43-phy1:tx
>>> Registered led device: b43-phy1:rx
>>> b43-phy1 debug: Chip initialized
>>> b43-phy1 debug: 32-bit DMA initialized
>>> b43-phy1 debug: Wireless interface started
>>> b43-phy1 debug: Adding Interface type 2
>>>
>>> Now, the first problem is that the card seems to lose frames from time to
>>> time.  This is visible in the output of mtr and while trying to transfer large
>>> files using scp.  With scp the transfer just stalls and stays this way although
>>> the other end is pingable etc. (eg. attempting to transfer more than 400 MB at
>>> once triggers this 100% of the time).
>>>
>>> If you can suggest some more specific tests to me, I'll run them and report
>>> back.
>>>
>>> The second problem is that YaST is apparently unable to detect the device,
>>> which sort of sucks, because it leads to configuration problems (basically, you
>>> need to set up everything manually).  Evidently, udev manages to handle it, so
>>> this may be related to HAL.  Anyway, it looks like the problem is related to
>>> the fact that the device is not present under /sys/bus/pci/devices/ directly,
>>> but you need to go through the ssb0:0 subdirectory to get to it.
>>>
>>> Do you have any ideas how to tell the user space stuff where the devices is
>>> in sysfs?
>> Your configuration is exactly like mine - openSUSE 10.3, x86_64 with Linus's latest git, and a 4311.
>>  I have not used mtr or scp and cannot comment on your transfer problems.
> 
> That may be AP-related, but I had no such problems with the bcm43xx used
> previously on the same hardware w/ the same AP.
> 
>> I have had 0 problems configuring the device with YaST.
> 
> Hm, I wonder what I've done wrong, then. :-)
> 
> Can you send me /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-wlan0 (or whatever the card is
> visible as on your system) from the x86_64 laptop?

This config file is for WPA-PSK TKIP

BOOTPROTO='dhcp'
BROADCAST=''
ETHTOOL_OPTIONS=''
IFPLUGD_PRIORITY='10'
IPADDR=''
MTU=''
NAME='Hewlett-Packard Company WLAN controller'
NETMASK=''
NETWORK=''
REMOTE_IPADDR=''
STARTMODE='ifplugd'
USERCONTROL='yes'
WIRELESS_AP=''
WIRELESS_AUTH_MODE='psk'
WIRELESS_BITRATE='auto'
WIRELESS_CA_CERT=''
WIRELESS_CHANNEL=''
WIRELESS_CLIENT_CERT=''
WIRELESS_CLIENT_KEY=''
WIRELESS_CLIENT_KEY_PASSWORD=''
WIRELESS_DEFAULT_KEY='0'
WIRELESS_EAP_AUTH=''
WIRELESS_EAP_MODE=''
WIRELESS_ESSID='lwfdjf'
WIRELESS_FREQUENCY=''
WIRELESS_KEY=''
WIRELESS_KEY_0=''
WIRELESS_KEY_1=''
WIRELESS_KEY_2=''
WIRELESS_KEY_3=''
WIRELESS_KEY_LENGTH='128'
WIRELESS_MODE='Managed'
WIRELESS_NICK=''
WIRELESS_NWID=''
WIRELESS_PEAP_VERSION=''
WIRELESS_POWER='yes'
WIRELESS_WPA_ANONID=''
WIRELESS_WPA_IDENTITY=''
WIRELESS_WPA_PASSWORD=''
WIRELESS_WPA_PSK='<My secret>'

Larry

Re: b43 on HP nx6325 w/ openSUSE 10.3 (x86_64)

[Rafael J. Wysocki]

On Tuesday, 6 of November 2007, Larry Finger wrote:
> Rafael J. Wysocki wrote:
> > On Monday, 5 of November 2007, Larry Finger wrote:
> >> Rafael J. Wysocki wrote:
> >>> Hi,
> >>>
> >>> I'm trying to make the b43 driver work on an HP nx6325 with openSUSE 10.3
> >>> (64-bit).  In short, it sort of works, but some things are a bit ugly.
> >>>
> >>> The kernel is the current -git (approx. 2.6.24-rc1-git13) with the following
> >>> extra patches applied:
> >>>
> >>> b43: Fix rfkill callback deadlock
> >>> b43: debugfs SHM read buffer overrun fix
> >>> b43: Rewrite and fix rfkill init
> >>>
> >>> and I'm using the firmware from
> >>> http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2
> >>>
> >>> Here's the debug info from dmesg:
> >>>
> >>> b43-phy1: Broadcom 4311 WLAN found
> >>> b43-phy1 debug: Found PHY: Analog 4, Type 2, Revision 8
> >>> b43-phy1 debug: Found Radio: Manuf 0x17F, Version 0x2050, Revision 2
> >>> b43-phy1 debug: Loading firmware version 351.126 (2006-07-29 05:54:02)
> >>> Registered led device: b43-phy1:tx
> >>> Registered led device: b43-phy1:rx
> >>> b43-phy1 debug: Chip initialized
> >>> b43-phy1 debug: 32-bit DMA initialized
> >>> b43-phy1 debug: Wireless interface started
> >>> b43-phy1 debug: Adding Interface type 2
> >>>
> >>> Now, the first problem is that the card seems to lose frames from time to
> >>> time.  This is visible in the output of mtr and while trying to transfer large
> >>> files using scp.  With scp the transfer just stalls and stays this way although
> >>> the other end is pingable etc. (eg. attempting to transfer more than 400 MB at
> >>> once triggers this 100% of the time).
> >>>
> >>> If you can suggest some more specific tests to me, I'll run them and report
> >>> back.
> >>>
> >>> The second problem is that YaST is apparently unable to detect the device,
> >>> which sort of sucks, because it leads to configuration problems (basically, you
> >>> need to set up everything manually).  Evidently, udev manages to handle it, so
> >>> this may be related to HAL.  Anyway, it looks like the problem is related to
> >>> the fact that the device is not present under /sys/bus/pci/devices/ directly,
> >>> but you need to go through the ssb0:0 subdirectory to get to it.
> >>>
> >>> Do you have any ideas how to tell the user space stuff where the devices is
> >>> in sysfs?
> >> Your configuration is exactly like mine - openSUSE 10.3, x86_64 with Linus's latest git, and a 4311.
> >>  I have not used mtr or scp and cannot comment on your transfer problems.
> > 
> > That may be AP-related, but I had no such problems with the bcm43xx used
> > previously on the same hardware w/ the same AP.
> > 
> >> I have had 0 problems configuring the device with YaST.
> > 
> > Hm, I wonder what I've done wrong, then. :-)
> > 
> > Can you send me /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-wlan0 (or whatever the card is
> > visible as on your system) from the x86_64 laptop?
> 
> This config file is for WPA-PSK TKIP
> 
> BOOTPROTO='dhcp'
> BROADCAST=''
> ETHTOOL_OPTIONS=''
> IFPLUGD_PRIORITY='10'
> IPADDR=''
> MTU=''
> NAME='Hewlett-Packard Company WLAN controller'
> NETMASK=''
> NETWORK=''
> REMOTE_IPADDR=''
> STARTMODE='ifplugd'
> USERCONTROL='yes'
> WIRELESS_AP=''
> WIRELESS_AUTH_MODE='psk'
> WIRELESS_BITRATE='auto'
> WIRELESS_CA_CERT=''
> WIRELESS_CHANNEL=''
> WIRELESS_CLIENT_CERT=''
> WIRELESS_CLIENT_KEY=''
> WIRELESS_CLIENT_KEY_PASSWORD=''
> WIRELESS_DEFAULT_KEY='0'
> WIRELESS_EAP_AUTH=''
> WIRELESS_EAP_MODE=''
> WIRELESS_ESSID='lwfdjf'
> WIRELESS_FREQUENCY=''
> WIRELESS_KEY=''
> WIRELESS_KEY_0=''
> WIRELESS_KEY_1=''
> WIRELESS_KEY_2=''
> WIRELESS_KEY_3=''
> WIRELESS_KEY_LENGTH='128'
> WIRELESS_MODE='Managed'
> WIRELESS_NICK=''
> WIRELESS_NWID=''
> WIRELESS_PEAP_VERSION=''
> WIRELESS_POWER='yes'
> WIRELESS_WPA_ANONID=''
> WIRELESS_WPA_IDENTITY=''
> WIRELESS_WPA_PASSWORD=''
> WIRELESS_WPA_PSK='<My secret>'

Thanks!

Well, it's similar to mine ...

Anyway, I'm now running NetworkManager with b43 and it seems fine so far
(except for the transfer problems described in the $subject message).

Greetings,
Rafael