Master mode in rtl8187

DISCUSSION Ben Gamari 4 participants 4 messages Jul 21, 2010 – Jul 26, 2010

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Ben Gamari

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2010-07-21 18:17 UTC #0 lore raw

Hey all,

I recently purchased a Netgear WG111v2 (based on rtl8187b) and after seeing scattered reports[1] that master mode may be supported by the rtl8187 driver. Unfortunately, hostapd throws up when it attempts to put the card into master mode. Is master mode supported by this driver? I've tried both 2.6.34 as well as the latest wireless-testing tree and neither seem to work.

I noticed there was a patch[2] sent out a few years back, but it seems no one followed up. While I don't have much experience working with wireless hardware I've done kernel driver work before, so with some guidance I might be able to finish up that patch. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

- Ben

[1] http://osdir.com/ml/linux.kernel.wireless.general/2007-07/msg00289.html
[2] http://osdir.com/ml/linux.kernel.wireless.general/2007-06/msg00455.html

Larry Finger

2010-07-21 19:19 UTC #1 lore raw

Quoted 8 lines · Ben Gamari

Hey all,
I recently purchased a Netgear WG111v2 (based on rtl8187b) and after seeing scattered reports[1] that master mode may be supported by the rtl8187 driver. Unfortunately, hostapd throws up when it attempts to put the card into master mode. Is master mode supported by this driver? I've tried both 2.6.34 as well as the latest wireless-testing tree and neither seem to work.

My WG111V2 has an RTL8187L chip in it, not an RTL8187B. No, master mode is NOT supported by this driver. Adding that feature has been on my list of things to do, but the priority is very low. I really have little desire to convert my $600 laptop into a $40 access point.

Quoted 8 lines

I noticed there was a patch[2] sent out a few years back, but it seems no one followed up. While I don't have much experience working with wireless hardware I've done kernel driver work before, so with some guidance I might be able to finish up that patch. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
[1] http://osdir.com/ml/linux.kernel.wireless.general/2007-07/msg00289.html
[2] http://osdir.com/ml/linux.kernel.wireless.general/2007-06/msg00455.html

That patch is useless. The rtl8187 driver and mac80211 have changed so much that it cannot be made to apply, and would not be likely to work.

One other thing to consider. The RTL8187L has only a single transmit queue. Will the device be able to transmit beacons with an appropriate timing accuracy?

To modify the driver, you will need to study some other driver that does work in master mode.

Larry

Hin-Tak Leung

2010-07-24 21:26 UTC #2 lore raw

Quoted 33 lines · Larry Finger

Quoted 8 lines · Ben Gamari
Hey all,
I recently purchased a Netgear WG111v2 (based on rtl8187b) and after seeing scattered reports[1] that master mode may be supported by the rtl8187 driver. Unfortunately, hostapd throws up when it attempts to put the card into master mode. Is master mode supported by this driver? I've tried both 2.6.34 as well as the latest wireless-testing tree and neither seem to work.
My WG111V2 has an RTL8187L chip in it, not an RTL8187B. No, master mode is NOT
supported by this driver. Adding that feature has been on my list of things to
do, but the priority is very low. I really have little desire to convert my $600
laptop into a $40 access point.
Quoted 10 lines
I noticed there was a patch[2] sent out a few years back, but it seems no one followed up. While I don't have much experience working with wireless hardware I've done kernel driver work before, so with some guidance I might be able to finish up that patch. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
[1]
http://osdir.com/ml/linux.kernel.wireless.general/2007-07/msg00289.html
[2]
http://osdir.com/ml/linux.kernel.wireless.general/2007-06/msg00455.html
That patch is useless. The rtl8187 driver and mac80211 have changed so much that
it cannot be made to apply, and would not be likely to work.

Quoted 7 lines

One other thing to consider. The RTL8187L has only a single transmit queue. Will
the device be able to transmit beacons with an appropriate timing accuracy?
To modify the driver, you will need to study some other driver that does work in
master mode.

There were some discussion a while back that some generic master mode support for all mac80211-based drivers might eventually happen. Is that still the case?

Hin-Tak

August

2010-07-26 01:14 UTC #3 lore raw

I've followed the driver of the rtl818x in 26.34 and draw some pictures of source.However, some additional work interrupted me. The address is http://augustseu-blog.appspot.com/2010/06/6/Wlan.html
If it was any helpful,

2010/7/25 Hin-Tak Leung <[email protected]>:

Quoted 52 lines · Larry Finger

Quoted 33 lines · Ben Gamari
Quoted 8 lines
Hey all,
I recently purchased a Netgear WG111v2 (based on rtl8187b) and after seeing scattered reports[1] that master mode may be supported by the rtl8187 driver. Unfortunately, hostapd throws up when it attempts to put the card into master mode. Is master mode supported by this driver? I've tried both 2.6.34 as well as the latest wireless-testing tree and neither seem to work.
My WG111V2 has an RTL8187L chip in it, not an RTL8187B. No, master mode is NOT
supported by this driver. Adding that feature has been on my list of things to
do, but the priority is very low. I really have little desire to convert my $600
laptop into a $40 access point.
Quoted 10 lines
I noticed there was a patch[2] sent out a few years back, but it seems no one followed up. While I don't have much experience working with wireless hardware I've done kernel driver work before, so with some guidance I might be able to finish up that patch. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
[1]
http://osdir.com/ml/linux.kernel.wireless.general/2007-07/msg00289.html
[2]
http://osdir.com/ml/linux.kernel.wireless.general/2007-06/msg00455.html
That patch is useless. The rtl8187 driver and mac80211 have changed so much that
it cannot be made to apply, and would not be likely to work.
Quoted 7 lines
One other thing to consider. The RTL8187L has only a single transmit queue. Will
the device be able to transmit beacons with an appropriate timing accuracy?
To modify the driver, you will need to study some other driver that does work in
master mode.
There were some discussion a while back that some generic master mode support for all mac80211-based drivers might eventually happen. Is that still the case?
Hin-Tak
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