iwlwifi in AP mode is experimental?

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

Hello Robert,

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...

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.

Is AP mode on 5 GHz supported on the 3160?

Bjørn

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

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.