[gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Mick]

Hi All,

Until gentoo-sources-2.6.29-r5 came out I was able to use my ath5 card
with wpa_supplicant.  My /etc/conf.d/net contained:
=============================================
modules=( "wpa_supplicant" )
wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
=============================================

All went swimmingly well until I tried to re-emerge wpa_supplicant
after I compiled my new kernel - an error message warned that
CONFIG_KMOD was missing ...
=============================================
 * Found sources for kernel version:
 *     2.6.29-gentoo-r5
 * Checking for suitable kernel configuration options...
 *    requires CONFIG_KMOD to be set to y or m
 * Please check to make sure these options are set correctly.
 * Failure to do so may cause unexpected problems.
 * Once you have satisfied these options, please try merging
 * this package again.
=============================================

I searched for KMOD in vane - couldn't find it in the new kernel
.config.  So I concluded that it may be curtains for wpa_supplicant.
I enabled ath5k in the kernel as a module, commented out all the
wpa_supplicant entries in my /etc/conf.d/net and rebooted.  When I
plugged in my ath5 cardbus it seems that the device is recognised, the
module loaded, but it cannot associate:
=============================================
 *     Found 00:1D:A2:86:D1:00 (managed, encrypted)
 *     Found 00:1D:A2:86:D1:80 (managed, encrypted)
 *     Found 00:1D:A2:86:D4:C0 (managed, encrypted)
 *     Found "blah-blah" at 00:1D:A2:86:CF:01 (managed)
 *     Found 00:1D:A2:86:CF:00 (managed, encrypted)
 *   Connecting to "blah-blah" in managed mode (WEP Disabled) ...
    [ !! ]
 *   Couldn't associate with any access points on wlan1
 *   Failed to configure wireless for wlan1                               [ !! ]
=============================================

However, running the following commands manually gets me online
without any problems:
=============================================
# modprobe -v ath5k
insmod /lib/modules/2.6.29-gentoo-r5/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath5k/ath5k.ko
# ip link set wlan1 up
# iwconfig wlan1 essid any
# dhcpcd wlan1 up
wlan1: dhcpcd 4.0.13 starting
wlan1: broadcasting for a lease
wlan1: offered 10.211.38.232 from 1.1.1.1
wlan1: acknowledged 10.211.38.232 from 1.1.1.1
wlan1: checking 10.211.38.232 is available on attached networks
wlan1: leased 10.211.38.232 for 86400 seconds
=============================================

I am a bit rusty will all this as I did not have to configure it for
years.  If I am not doing anything wrong, any idea what I should enter
in my /etc/conf.d/net to allow the device to come up automatically
when plugged in?
-- 
Regards,
Mick

Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Michael Niggli]

Mick wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Until gentoo-sources-2.6.29-r5 came out I was able to use my ath5 card
> with wpa_supplicant.  My /etc/conf.d/net contained:
> =============================================
> modules=( "wpa_supplicant" )
> wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
> =============================================
> [snip]
>   
Hi Mick

You might want to try and change
     wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
to
     wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dwext"

Works like a charm over here :-)

Regards
Michael

Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Mick]

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On Monday 01 June 2009, Michael Niggli wrote:
> Mick wrote:
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Until gentoo-sources-2.6.29-r5 came out I was able to use my ath5 card
> > with wpa_supplicant.  My /etc/conf.d/net contained:
> > =============================================
> > modules=( "wpa_supplicant" )
> > wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
> > =============================================
> > [snip]
>
> Hi Mick
>
> You might want to try and change
>      wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
> to
>      wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dwext"
>
> Works like a charm over here :-)

Thanks Michael, I did try it, but I am not sure if wpa_supplicant is meant to 
work with kernel modules or with external modules ... or with both?
-- 
Regards,
Mick

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Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Michael Niggli]

Mick wrote:
> On Monday 01 June 2009, Michael Niggli wrote:
>   
>> Mick wrote:
>>     
>>> Hi All,
>>>
>>> Until gentoo-sources-2.6.29-r5 came out I was able to use my ath5 card
>>> with wpa_supplicant.  My /etc/conf.d/net contained:
>>> =============================================
>>> modules=( "wpa_supplicant" )
>>> wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
>>> =============================================
>>> [snip]
>>>       
>> Hi Mick
>>
>> You might want to try and change
>>      wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
>> to
>>      wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dwext"
>>
>> Works like a charm over here :-)
>>     
>
> Thanks Michael, I did try it, but I am not sure if wpa_supplicant is meant to 
> work with kernel modules or with external modules ... or with both?
>   
It should work with both - from its perspective, there shouldn't be any
difference between in-kernel or an external module, actually :-)

So if it doesn't work already with -Dwext, you might want to make sure
/etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf is properly configured
(wpa_supplicant usually doesn't automatically pick up networks it is not
configured for).

man wpa_supplicant.conf helps here :-)

A minimal configuration for an unencrypted network might look like

   ctrl_interface=DIR=/var/run/wpa_supplicant GROUP=wheel
   network={
           ssid="your-essid"
           key_mgmt=NONE
   }


Hope that helps.

Regards
Michael

Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Neil Bothwick]

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On Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:15:36 +0200, Michael Niggli wrote:

> You might want to try and change
>      wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
> to
>      wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dwext"
> 
> Works like a charm over here :-)

ath5k calls the device wlan0.


-- 
Neil Bothwick

"I need your clothes, your boots, and your tagline!"

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Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Mick]

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On Monday 01 June 2009, Neil Bothwick wrote:
> On Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:15:36 +0200, Michael Niggli wrote:
> > You might want to try and change
> >      wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
> > to
> >      wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dwext"
> >
> > Works like a charm over here :-)
>
> ath5k calls the device wlan0.

Yes it does, but this is what I am getting when I try to run wpa_cli in a 
terminal:
=====================================================
$ wpa_cli
wpa_cli v0.6.4
Copyright (c) 2004-2008, Jouni Malinen <j@w1.fi> and contributors

This program is free software. You can distribute it and/or modify it
under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2.

Alternatively, this software may be distributed under the terms of the
BSD license. See README and COPYING for more details.


Selected interface 'ath0'
Could not connect to wpa_supplicant - re-trying
=====================================================

ps axf shows:

/bin/wpa_cli -a/etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_cli.sh -p/var/run/wpa_supplicant -iwlan1 -P/var/run/wpa_cli-wlan1.pid -B

Why is it picking up 'ath0' when there are no references to ath0 in 
my /etc/conf.d/net?  Both wpa_cli and wpa_gui seem to work fine when I 
define -iwlan1 on the CLI.

My log shows that wlan0 is renamed to wlan1:
=====================================================
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy pcmcia_socket pcmcia_socket1: pccard: CardBus card 
inserted into slot 1
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy pci 0000:04:00.0: reg 10 32bit mmio: [0x000000-0x00ffff]
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy ath5k 0000:04:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002)
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy ath5k 0000:04:00.0: PCI INT A -> Link[C0C0] -> GSI 11 
(level, low) -> IRQ 11
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy ath5k 0000:04:00.0: registered as 'phy1'
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy wmaster0 (ath5k): not using net_device_ops yet
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy phy1: Selected rate control algorithm 'minstrel'
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy wlan0 (ath5k): not using net_device_ops yet
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy ath5k phy1: Atheros AR5213A chip found (MAC: 0x59, PHY: 
0x43)
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy ath5k phy1: RF5112B multiband radio found (0x36)
Jun  2 06:23:53 lappy udev: renamed network interface wlan0 to wlan1
Jun  2 06:23:56 lappy rc-scripts: We only hotplug for ethernet interfaces
Jun  2 06:23:57 lappy rc-scripts: wpa_supplicant_wlan1 does not define a 
driver
=====================================================

Not sure why this happens.  Any ideas?
-- 
Regards,
Mick

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Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Stroller]

On 2 Jun 2009, at 06:31, Mick wrote:
>> ...
>> ath5k calls the device wlan0.
>
> Yes it does, but this is what I am getting when I try to run wpa_cli  
> in a
> terminal:
> =====================================================
> $ wpa_cli
> wpa_cli v0.6.4
> Copyright (c) 2004-2008, Jouni Malinen <j@w1.fi> and contributors
>
> This program is free software. You can distribute it and/or modify it
> under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2.
>
> Alternatively, this software may be distributed under the terms of the
> BSD license. See README and COPYING for more details.
>
>
> Selected interface 'ath0'
> Could not connect to wpa_supplicant - re-trying
> ...
> Why is it picking up 'ath0' when there are no references to ath0 in
> my /etc/conf.d/net?  Both wpa_cli and wpa_gui seem to work fine when I
> define -iwlan1 on the CLI.

Did you use ath0 in the past? Maybe this name has been stored in udev- 
rules.

I would suggest `grep -R ath0 /etc`

I'm pretty sure that ath0 was used when I first used madwifi 2 or 3  
years ago, but had changed to wlan0 the next time I tried it.

Stroller.

Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Neil Bothwick]

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On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 06:31:20 +0100, Mick wrote:

> My log shows that wlan0 is renamed to wlan1:
> 
> Not sure why this happens.  Any ideas?

It's udev, you probably used another wireless device, with a different
MAC address, as wlan0 in the past. Edit or
delete /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules to fix it.


-- 
Neil Bothwick

This tagline is umop apisdn

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Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Mick]

2009/6/2 Neil Bothwick <neil@digimed.co.uk>:
> On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 06:31:20 +0100, Mick wrote:
>
>> My log shows that wlan0 is renamed to wlan1:
>>
>> Not sure why this happens.  Any ideas?
>
> It's udev, you probably used another wireless device, with a different
> MAC address, as wlan0 in the past. Edit or
> delete /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules to fix it.

You are both frightfully correct!

/etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules:SUBSYSTEM=="net",
ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="00:20:a6:60:d7:cb",
ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="ath*", NAME="ath0"

I'll delete it now and see what gives, thank you!  :)
-- 
Regards,
Mick

Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Mick]

2009/6/2 Mick <michaelkintzios@gmail.com>:
> 2009/6/2 Neil Bothwick <neil@digimed.co.uk>:
>> On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 06:31:20 +0100, Mick wrote:
>>
>>> My log shows that wlan0 is renamed to wlan1:
>>>
>>> Not sure why this happens.  Any ideas?
>>
>> It's udev, you probably used another wireless device, with a different
>> MAC address, as wlan0 in the past. Edit or
>> delete /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules to fix it.
>
> You are both frightfully correct!
>
> /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules:SUBSYSTEM=="net",
> ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*", ATTR{address}=="00:20:a6:60:d7:cb",
> ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="ath*", NAME="ath0"
>
> I'll delete it now and see what gives, thank you!  :)

I'm afraid that although my card is now recognised as wlan0, both
wpa_cli and gui insist on trying to connect to ath0, unless I specify
-iwlan0 at the terminal.  I don't have (knowingly) specified ath0 in
any other configuration file ... where else could wpa_supplicant pick
this from?
-- 
Regards,
Mick

Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Neil Bothwick]

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On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 13:24:38 +0100, Mick wrote:

> I'm afraid that although my card is now recognised as wlan0, both
> wpa_cli and gui insist on trying to connect to ath0, unless I specify
> -iwlan0 at the terminal.  I don't have (knowingly) specified ath0 in
> any other configuration file ... where else could wpa_supplicant pick
> this from?

Have you tried "grep -r ath0 /etc" ?


-- 
Neil Bothwick

One person's error is another person's data.

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Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Mick]

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On Tuesday 02 June 2009, Neil Bothwick wrote:
> On Tue, 2 Jun 2009 13:24:38 +0100, Mick wrote:
> > I'm afraid that although my card is now recognised as wlan0, both
> > wpa_cli and gui insist on trying to connect to ath0, unless I specify
> > -iwlan0 at the terminal.  I don't have (knowingly) specified ath0 in
> > any other configuration file ... where else could wpa_supplicant pick
> > this from?
>
> Have you tried "grep -r ath0 /etc" ?

Yes, of course:
===========================================
# grep -r ath0 /etc
/etc/conf.d/net:#wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi" # For Atheros based cards
/etc/conf.d/net:#wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
/etc/conf.d/wireless.example:# eth0, eth1, wlan0, ath0 - you get the idea. If 
you're not sure
/etc/conf.d/wireless.example:# Say that your wireless interface is ath0 - the 
line
/etc/conf.d/wireless.example:#      #essid_ath0="any"
/etc/conf.d/net.example:#wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi" # For Atheros based 
cards
/etc/conf.d/net.eth0:#wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi" # For Atheros based 
cards
/etc/conf.d/net.eth0:#wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
===========================================
It's all commented out.

However, I found this:

ls -la /var/run/wpa_supplicant/ath0
srwxrwx--- 1 root users 0 Jun  1 11:25 /var/run/wpa_supplicant/ath0

Shall I get rid of it?
-- 
Regards,
Mick

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Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Neil Bothwick]

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On Wed, 3 Jun 2009 07:14:06 +0100, Mick wrote:

> However, I found this:
> 
> ls -la /var/run/wpa_supplicant/ath0
> srwxrwx--- 1 root users 0 Jun  1 11:25 /var/run/wpa_supplicant/ath0

You could, but judging by the date, it was created since you switched to
wlan0 so it will probably return. I suspect this is a symptom, not the
cause.


-- 
Neil Bothwick

Few women admit their age. Few men act theirs.

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Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Paul Hartman]

On Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 7:24 AM, Mick <michaelkintzios@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm afraid that although my card is now recognised as wlan0, both
> wpa_cli and gui insist on trying to connect to ath0, unless I specify
> -iwlan0 at the terminal.  I don't have (knowingly) specified ath0 in
> any other configuration file ... where else could wpa_supplicant pick
> this from?

On my system I've got ath5k for wifi, too. It uses wpa_supplicant and
my device is wlan0 and all works well enough. I switched 2 machines
from madwifi to ath5k and only had to make 4 changes to my
configuration:

1. Edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist and add this line:
blacklist ath_pci

2. In /etc/conf.d/net I have changed this line:
wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"

to this:
wpa_supplicant_wlan0="-Dwext"

3. In /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules I deleted the old
entry for my wireless card and let it re-create, which came out as:
# PCI device 0x168c:0x001c (ath5k_pci)
SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*",
ATTR{address}=="00:15:af:15:e3:3e", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="wlan*",
NAME="wlan0"

4. Rename /etc/init.d/net.ath0 symlink to /etc/init.d/net.wlan0 and
make sure it is in the "default" runlevel.

And finally reboot. Good luck!

Re: [gentoo-user] ath5k and wpa_supplicant

[Mick]

2009/6/3 Paul Hartman <paul.hartman+gentoo@gmail.com>:
> On Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 7:24 AM, Mick <michaelkintzios@gmail.com> wrote:
>> I'm afraid that although my card is now recognised as wlan0, both
>> wpa_cli and gui insist on trying to connect to ath0, unless I specify
>> -iwlan0 at the terminal.  I don't have (knowingly) specified ath0 in
>> any other configuration file ... where else could wpa_supplicant pick
>> this from?
>
> On my system I've got ath5k for wifi, too. It uses wpa_supplicant and
> my device is wlan0 and all works well enough. I switched 2 machines
> from madwifi to ath5k and only had to make 4 changes to my
> configuration:
>
> 1. Edit /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist and add this line:
> blacklist ath_pci

I didn't have to do that.

> 2. In /etc/conf.d/net I have changed this line:
> wpa_supplicant_ath0="-Dmadwifi"
>
> to this:
> wpa_supplicant_wlan0="-Dwext"

Yep, done that.

> 3. In /etc/udev/rules.d/70-persistent-net.rules I deleted the old
> entry for my wireless card and let it re-create, which came out as:
> # PCI device 0x168c:0x001c (ath5k_pci)
> SUBSYSTEM=="net", ACTION=="add", DRIVERS=="?*",
> ATTR{address}=="00:15:af:15:e3:3e", ATTR{type}=="1", KERNEL=="wlan*",
> NAME="wlan0"

I deleted the old rule in there.

> 4. Rename /etc/init.d/net.ath0 symlink to /etc/init.d/net.wlan0 and
> make sure it is in the "default" runlevel.

Aha!  Hadn't done that until now and I also deleted /var/run/wpa_supplicant/ath0

This has fixed it!  wpa_cli and wpa_gui now find my card.  Thank you
all for your help.

PS.  I noticed that unlike madwifi the in-kernel driver does not work
particularly well with iwlist:

# iwlist wlan0 ap
wlan0     Interface doesn't have a list of Peers/Access-Points

# iwlist wlan0 rate
wlan0     unknown bit-rate information.
          Current Bit Rate=24 Mb/s

wpa_cli thought shows the full list of APs.
-- 
Regards,
Mick