[PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Pavel Ivanov]

When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.

Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>
---

diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
index d9c08c6..2573f77 100644
--- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
+++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ config ATH9K
 	select LEDS_CLASS
 	select NEW_LEDS
 	select ATH9K_COMMON
+	select WIRELESS_EXT
 	---help---
 	  This module adds support for wireless adapters based on
 	  Atheros IEEE 802.11n AR5008, AR9001 and AR9002 family

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Gábor Stefanik]

On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 5:28 AM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
> When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
> WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
> driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
> any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
> that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
> selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.

WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.

>
> Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>
> ---
>
> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> index d9c08c6..2573f77 100644
> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> @@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ config ATH9K
>        select LEDS_CLASS
>        select NEW_LEDS
>        select ATH9K_COMMON
> +       select WIRELESS_EXT
>        ---help---
>          This module adds support for wireless adapters based on
>          Atheros IEEE 802.11n AR5008, AR9001 and AR9002 family
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
>



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Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Pavel Ivanov]

> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.

Since what version it's deprecated? Do user-space tools know about this new API?

Neither iwconfig nor iwlist worked for me without WIRELESS_EXT.


Pavel


2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
> On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 5:28 AM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
>> When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
>> WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
>> driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
>> any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
>> that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
>> selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.
>
> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>
>>
>> Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>
>> ---
>>
>> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> index d9c08c6..2573f77 100644
>> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> @@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ config ATH9K
>>        select LEDS_CLASS
>>        select NEW_LEDS
>>        select ATH9K_COMMON
>> +       select WIRELESS_EXT
>>        ---help---
>>          This module adds support for wireless adapters based on
>>          Atheros IEEE 802.11n AR5008, AR9001 and AR9002 family

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Gábor Stefanik]

2011/8/17 Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>:
>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>
> Since what version it's deprecated? Do user-space tools know about this new API?
>
> Neither iwconfig nor iwlist worked for me without WIRELESS_EXT.
>
>
> Pavel
>

Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
configuration tool.

>
> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
>> On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 5:28 AM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
>>> WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
>>> driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
>>> any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
>>> that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
>>> selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.
>>
>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>>
>>>
>>> Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>
>>> ---
>>>
>>> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>> b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>> index d9c08c6..2573f77 100644
>>> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>> @@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ config ATH9K
>>>        select LEDS_CLASS
>>>        select NEW_LEDS
>>>        select ATH9K_COMMON
>>> +       select WIRELESS_EXT
>>>        ---help---
>>>          This module adds support for wireless adapters based on
>>>          Atheros IEEE 802.11n AR5008, AR9001 and AR9002 family
>



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Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Valdis.Kletnieks]

[-- Attachment #1: Type: text/plain, Size: 413 bytes --]

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:25:49 +0200, Gábor Stefanik said:

> Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
> configuration tool.

Somebody better tell Fedora Rawhide - as of the version released on July 27,
their 'initscripts' RPM was still using iwconfig in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifup-wireless

So don't be quite so fast to be declaring WIRELESS_EXT dead just yet.




[-- Attachment #2: Type: application/pgp-signature, Size: 227 bytes --]

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Larry Finger]

On 08/17/2011 05:51 PM, Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu wrote:
> On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:25:49 +0200, Gábor Stefanik said:
>
>> Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
>> configuration tool.
>
> Somebody better tell Fedora Rawhide - as of the version released on July 27,
> their 'initscripts' RPM was still using iwconfig in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifup-wireless
>
> So don't be quite so fast to be declaring WIRELESS_EXT dead just yet.

Well, any distro is free to include any package they want. They can even devote 
resources to maintaining it after it is abandoned. Given the feelings among 
developers about the WEXT methods, I doubt that will happen.

The distro is also including one of the drivers that need WEXT, which is what 
the OP refused to do. If and when all such drivers are converted or removed, the 
distro is still free to patch in the WEXT code, but again I doubt that will happen.

Anyone using deprecated methods has been warned.

Larry

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Dan Williams]

On Wed, 2011-08-17 at 18:51 -0400, Valdis.Kletnieks@vt.edu wrote:
> On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:25:49 +0200, Gábor Stefanik said:
> 
> > Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
> > configuration tool.
> 
> Somebody better tell Fedora Rawhide - as of the version released on July 27,
> their 'initscripts' RPM was still using iwconfig in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifup-wireless
> 
> So don't be quite so fast to be declaring WIRELESS_EXT dead just yet.

Given that nobody has stepped up to write patches to convert them to use
iw (or wpa_supplicant in the *correct* manner), and that for the most
part wifi on Fedora goes through NetworkManager and/or wpa_supplicant,
it's not surprising.  I don't have any particular interest in keeping
the existing ifup-wireless iwconfig hackery around, instead if it's
converted at all, it should be converted to use wpa_supplicant instead,
in the manner in which I've described in the various bug reports that
keep coming up.  That means not just pointing wpa_supplicant at a config
file, but instead keeping the options in the ifcfg file and writing out
a temporary wpa_supplicant config on-the-fly so that it integrates with
existing administrator expectations and workflow.

Dan

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Pavel Ivanov]

> Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
> configuration tool.

I've just tried to use iw and it didn't quite work for me. Maybe it's
interfering with something installed in Ubuntu by default but
connect/disconnect commands didn't seem to do anything. And why these
commands can be executed only as root?
Well, maybe in Ubuntu 11.10 it will work better.


Pavel


2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
> 2011/8/17 Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>:
>>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
>>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>>
>> Since what version it's deprecated? Do user-space tools know about this new API?
>>
>> Neither iwconfig nor iwlist worked for me without WIRELESS_EXT.
>>
>>
>> Pavel
>>
>
> Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
> configuration tool.
>
>>
>> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
>>> On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 5:28 AM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
>>>> WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
>>>> driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
>>>> any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
>>>> that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
>>>> selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.
>>>
>>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
>>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>
>>>> ---
>>>>
>>>> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>>> b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>>> index d9c08c6..2573f77 100644
>>>> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>>> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>>> @@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ config ATH9K
>>>>        select LEDS_CLASS
>>>>        select NEW_LEDS
>>>>        select ATH9K_COMMON
>>>> +       select WIRELESS_EXT
>>>>        ---help---
>>>>          This module adds support for wireless adapters based on
>>>>          Atheros IEEE 802.11n AR5008, AR9001 and AR9002 family

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Adrian Chadd]

Distributions? Using deprecated APIs?

That's unpossible! :-)



Adrian

2011/8/18 Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>:
>> Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
>> configuration tool.
>
> I've just tried to use iw and it didn't quite work for me. Maybe it's
> interfering with something installed in Ubuntu by default but
> connect/disconnect commands didn't seem to do anything. And why these
> commands can be executed only as root?
> Well, maybe in Ubuntu 11.10 it will work better.
>
>
> Pavel
>
>
> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
>> 2011/8/17 Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>:
>>>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
>>>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>>>
>>> Since what version it's deprecated? Do user-space tools know about this new API?
>>>
>>> Neither iwconfig nor iwlist worked for me without WIRELESS_EXT.
>>>
>>>
>>> Pavel
>>>
>>
>> Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
>> configuration tool.
>>
>>>
>>> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
>>>> On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 5:28 AM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
>>>>> WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
>>>>> driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
>>>>> any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
>>>>> that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
>>>>> selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.
>>>>
>>>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
>>>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>
>>>>> ---
>>>>>
>>>>> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>>>> b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>>>> index d9c08c6..2573f77 100644
>>>>> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>>>> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>>>>> @@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ config ATH9K
>>>>>        select LEDS_CLASS
>>>>>        select NEW_LEDS
>>>>>        select ATH9K_COMMON
>>>>> +       select WIRELESS_EXT
>>>>>        ---help---
>>>>>          This module adds support for wireless adapters based on
>>>>>          Atheros IEEE 802.11n AR5008, AR9001 and AR9002 family
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
>

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Dan Williams]

On Thu, 2011-08-18 at 00:01 -0400, Pavel Ivanov wrote:
> > Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
> > configuration tool.
> 
> I've just tried to use iw and it didn't quite work for me. Maybe it's
> interfering with something installed in Ubuntu by default but

Ubuntu installs NetworkManager by default, so if you want to manually
control the wifi card you'll have to tell NM to ignore the wifi device,
or turn NM off temporarily.

> connect/disconnect commands didn't seem to do anything. And why these
> commands can be executed only as root?

Because poking and configuring hardware is a privileged operation; tools
like NetworkManager selectively poke holes through that wall and often
require administrator passwords to do it, but at the end of the day its
an operation that can affect security and stability, and that means it
needs to be privileged.

In the end, you probably want to be using wpa_supplicant instead of
trying to configure stuff with iw directly.

Dan

> Well, maybe in Ubuntu 11.10 it will work better.
> 
> 
> Pavel
> 
> 
> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
> > 2011/8/17 Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>:
> >>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
> >>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
> >>
> >> Since what version it's deprecated? Do user-space tools know about this new API?
> >>
> >> Neither iwconfig nor iwlist worked for me without WIRELESS_EXT.
> >>
> >>
> >> Pavel
> >>
> >
> > Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
> > configuration tool.
> >
> >>
> >> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
> >>> On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 5:28 AM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>>> When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
> >>>> WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
> >>>> driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
> >>>> any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
> >>>> that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
> >>>> selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.
> >>>
> >>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
> >>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
> >>>
> >>>>
> >>>> Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>
> >>>> ---
> >>>>
> >>>> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> >>>> b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> >>>> index d9c08c6..2573f77 100644
> >>>> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> >>>> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> >>>> @@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ config ATH9K
> >>>>        select LEDS_CLASS
> >>>>        select NEW_LEDS
> >>>>        select ATH9K_COMMON
> >>>> +       select WIRELESS_EXT
> >>>>        ---help---
> >>>>          This module adds support for wireless adapters based on
> >>>>          Atheros IEEE 802.11n AR5008, AR9001 and AR9002 family
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Pavel Ivanov]

> In the end, you probably want to be using wpa_supplicant instead of
> trying to configure stuff with iw directly.

I see Ubuntu already have wpa_supplicant installed and running.
Although its command line is not what suggested in documentation and I
don't see configuration file /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf. Does that mean
it works somehow differently than stated in documentation? And also
does all this mean that even if I'll be able to make wpa_supplicant
work as I need I won't be able to control wireless connection using
the standard Ubuntu's icon and it won't show me its state correctly?


Pavel


On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 3:20 PM, Dan Williams <dcbw@redhat.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 2011-08-18 at 00:01 -0400, Pavel Ivanov wrote:
>> > Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
>> > configuration tool.
>>
>> I've just tried to use iw and it didn't quite work for me. Maybe it's
>> interfering with something installed in Ubuntu by default but
>
> Ubuntu installs NetworkManager by default, so if you want to manually
> control the wifi card you'll have to tell NM to ignore the wifi device,
> or turn NM off temporarily.
>
>> connect/disconnect commands didn't seem to do anything. And why these
>> commands can be executed only as root?
>
> Because poking and configuring hardware is a privileged operation; tools
> like NetworkManager selectively poke holes through that wall and often
> require administrator passwords to do it, but at the end of the day its
> an operation that can affect security and stability, and that means it
> needs to be privileged.
>
> In the end, you probably want to be using wpa_supplicant instead of
> trying to configure stuff with iw directly.
>
> Dan
>
>> Well, maybe in Ubuntu 11.10 it will work better.
>>
>>
>> Pavel
>>
>>
>> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
>> > 2011/8/17 Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>:
>> >>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
>> >>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>> >>
>> >> Since what version it's deprecated? Do user-space tools know about this new API?
>> >>
>> >> Neither iwconfig nor iwlist worked for me without WIRELESS_EXT.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Pavel
>> >>
>> >
>> > Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
>> > configuration tool.
>> >
>> >>
>> >> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
>> >>> On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 5:28 AM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >>>> When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
>> >>>> WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
>> >>>> driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
>> >>>> any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
>> >>>> that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
>> >>>> selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.
>> >>>
>> >>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
>> >>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>> >>>
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>
>> >>>> ---
>> >>>>
>> >>>> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> >>>> b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> >>>> index d9c08c6..2573f77 100644
>> >>>> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> >>>> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> >>>> @@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ config ATH9K
>> >>>>        select LEDS_CLASS
>> >>>>        select NEW_LEDS
>> >>>>        select ATH9K_COMMON
>> >>>> +       select WIRELESS_EXT
>> >>>>        ---help---
>> >>>>          This module adds support for wireless adapters based on
>> >>>>          Atheros IEEE 802.11n AR5008, AR9001 and AR9002 family
>> --
>> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless" in
>> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
>> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
>
>
>

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Dan Williams]

On Thu, 2011-08-18 at 15:30 -0400, Pavel Ivanov wrote:
> > In the end, you probably want to be using wpa_supplicant instead of
> > trying to configure stuff with iw directly.
> 
> I see Ubuntu already have wpa_supplicant installed and running.
> Although its command line is not what suggested in documentation and I
> don't see configuration file /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf. Does that mean
> it works somehow differently than stated in documentation? And also
> does all this mean that even if I'll be able to make wpa_supplicant
> work as I need I won't be able to control wireless connection using
> the standard Ubuntu's icon and it won't show me its state correctly?

NetworkManager is installed by default, and NM sends configuration to
wpa_supplicant using a different control interface, not the config file.
If you want to take the wifi interface out from NM's control, I think
you can add the interface to /etc/network/interfaces and NM will then
ignore it, and you can run wpa_supplicant manually with the '-i wlan0'
option to point it to the right interface, and when you've got a config
file, use '-c /path/to/config/file' to give it your configuration.

Or, since I'm a NetworkManager developer, is there something that you're
not sure how to make NM do, or are you just looking to experiment?

Dan

> 
> Pavel
> 
> 
> On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 3:20 PM, Dan Williams <dcbw@redhat.com> wrote:
> > On Thu, 2011-08-18 at 00:01 -0400, Pavel Ivanov wrote:
> >> > Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
> >> > configuration tool.
> >>
> >> I've just tried to use iw and it didn't quite work for me. Maybe it's
> >> interfering with something installed in Ubuntu by default but
> >
> > Ubuntu installs NetworkManager by default, so if you want to manually
> > control the wifi card you'll have to tell NM to ignore the wifi device,
> > or turn NM off temporarily.
> >
> >> connect/disconnect commands didn't seem to do anything. And why these
> >> commands can be executed only as root?
> >
> > Because poking and configuring hardware is a privileged operation; tools
> > like NetworkManager selectively poke holes through that wall and often
> > require administrator passwords to do it, but at the end of the day its
> > an operation that can affect security and stability, and that means it
> > needs to be privileged.
> >
> > In the end, you probably want to be using wpa_supplicant instead of
> > trying to configure stuff with iw directly.
> >
> > Dan
> >
> >> Well, maybe in Ubuntu 11.10 it will work better.
> >>
> >>
> >> Pavel
> >>
> >>
> >> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
> >> > 2011/8/17 Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>:
> >> >>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
> >> >>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
> >> >>
> >> >> Since what version it's deprecated? Do user-space tools know about this new API?
> >> >>
> >> >> Neither iwconfig nor iwlist worked for me without WIRELESS_EXT.
> >> >>
> >> >>
> >> >> Pavel
> >> >>
> >> >
> >> > Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
> >> > configuration tool.
> >> >
> >> >>
> >> >> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
> >> >>> On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 5:28 AM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> >>>> When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
> >> >>>> WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
> >> >>>> driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
> >> >>>> any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
> >> >>>> that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
> >> >>>> selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.
> >> >>>
> >> >>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
> >> >>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
> >> >>>
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>> Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>
> >> >>>> ---
> >> >>>>
> >> >>>> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> >> >>>> b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> >> >>>> index d9c08c6..2573f77 100644
> >> >>>> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> >> >>>> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
> >> >>>> @@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ config ATH9K
> >> >>>>        select LEDS_CLASS
> >> >>>>        select NEW_LEDS
> >> >>>>        select ATH9K_COMMON
> >> >>>> +       select WIRELESS_EXT
> >> >>>>        ---help---
> >> >>>>          This module adds support for wireless adapters based on
> >> >>>>          Atheros IEEE 802.11n AR5008, AR9001 and AR9002 family
> >> --
> >> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless" in
> >> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> >> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
> >
> >
> >
> --
> To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless" in
> the body of a message to majordomo@vger.kernel.org
> More majordomo info at  http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Pavel Ivanov]

> Or, since I'm a NetworkManager developer, is there something that you're
> not sure how to make NM do, or are you just looking to experiment?

I want to make the wireless work when kernel is compiled without
WIRELESS_EXT. Last time I tried it Ubuntu (I guess I should say
NetworkManager) wasn't able to discover any wireless networks in our
area and wasn't able to connect to my default network. Was it supposed
to do that?


Pavel


On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 4:35 PM, Dan Williams <dcbw@redhat.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 2011-08-18 at 15:30 -0400, Pavel Ivanov wrote:
>> > In the end, you probably want to be using wpa_supplicant instead of
>> > trying to configure stuff with iw directly.
>>
>> I see Ubuntu already have wpa_supplicant installed and running.
>> Although its command line is not what suggested in documentation and I
>> don't see configuration file /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf. Does that mean
>> it works somehow differently than stated in documentation? And also
>> does all this mean that even if I'll be able to make wpa_supplicant
>> work as I need I won't be able to control wireless connection using
>> the standard Ubuntu's icon and it won't show me its state correctly?
>
> NetworkManager is installed by default, and NM sends configuration to
> wpa_supplicant using a different control interface, not the config file.
> If you want to take the wifi interface out from NM's control, I think
> you can add the interface to /etc/network/interfaces and NM will then
> ignore it, and you can run wpa_supplicant manually with the '-i wlan0'
> option to point it to the right interface, and when you've got a config
> file, use '-c /path/to/config/file' to give it your configuration.
>
> Or, since I'm a NetworkManager developer, is there something that you're
> not sure how to make NM do, or are you just looking to experiment?
>
> Dan
>
>>
>> Pavel
>>
>>
>> On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 3:20 PM, Dan Williams <dcbw@redhat.com> wrote:
>> > On Thu, 2011-08-18 at 00:01 -0400, Pavel Ivanov wrote:
>> >> > Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
>> >> > configuration tool.
>> >>
>> >> I've just tried to use iw and it didn't quite work for me. Maybe it's
>> >> interfering with something installed in Ubuntu by default but
>> >
>> > Ubuntu installs NetworkManager by default, so if you want to manually
>> > control the wifi card you'll have to tell NM to ignore the wifi device,
>> > or turn NM off temporarily.
>> >
>> >> connect/disconnect commands didn't seem to do anything. And why these
>> >> commands can be executed only as root?
>> >
>> > Because poking and configuring hardware is a privileged operation; tools
>> > like NetworkManager selectively poke holes through that wall and often
>> > require administrator passwords to do it, but at the end of the day its
>> > an operation that can affect security and stability, and that means it
>> > needs to be privileged.
>> >
>> > In the end, you probably want to be using wpa_supplicant instead of
>> > trying to configure stuff with iw directly.
>> >
>> > Dan
>> >
>> >> Well, maybe in Ubuntu 11.10 it will work better.
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> Pavel
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
>> >> > 2011/8/17 Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>:
>> >> >>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
>> >> >>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Since what version it's deprecated? Do user-space tools know about this new API?
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Neither iwconfig nor iwlist worked for me without WIRELESS_EXT.
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Pavel
>> >> >>
>> >> >
>> >> > Iwconfig and iwlist are themselves deprecated. Iw is the new wireless
>> >> > configuration tool.
>> >> >
>> >> >>
>> >> >> 2011/8/17 Gábor Stefanik <netrolller.3d@gmail.com>:
>> >> >>> On Wed, Aug 17, 2011 at 5:28 AM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
>> >> >>>> When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
>> >> >>>> WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
>> >> >>>> driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
>> >> >>>> any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
>> >> >>>> that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
>> >> >>>> selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>> WIRELESS_EXT is not required for configuring wireless on recent
>> >> >>> kernels - in fact, the WEXT API is deprecated in favor of nl80211 now.
>> >> >>>
>> >> >>>>
>> >> >>>> Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>
>> >> >>>> ---
>> >> >>>>
>> >> >>>> diff --git a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> >> >>>> b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> >> >>>> index d9c08c6..2573f77 100644
>> >> >>>> --- a/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> >> >>>> +++ b/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/Kconfig
>> >> >>>> @@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ config ATH9K
>> >> >>>>        select LEDS_CLASS
>> >> >>>>        select NEW_LEDS
>> >> >>>>        select ATH9K_COMMON
>> >> >>>> +       select WIRELESS_EXT
>> >> >>>>        ---help---
>> >> >>>>          This module adds support for wireless adapters based on
>> >> >>>>          Atheros IEEE 802.11n AR5008, AR9001 and AR9002 family

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Johannes Berg]

On Thu, 18 Aug 2011 18:56:11 -0400, Pavel Ivanov wrote:
>> Or, since I'm a NetworkManager developer, is there something that 
>> you're
>> not sure how to make NM do, or are you just looking to experiment?
>
> I want to make the wireless work when kernel is compiled without
> WIRELESS_EXT. Last time I tried it Ubuntu (I guess I should say
> NetworkManager) wasn't able to discover any wireless networks in our
> area and wasn't able to connect to my default network. Was it 
> supposed
> to do that?

*sigh*

Please quote properly and delete stuff you're not replying to.

Also, have you discovered CONFIG_CFG80211_WEXT yet? It's even "default 
y", so how did you manage to mess it up?

johannes

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Pavel Ivanov]

On Thu, Aug 18, 2011 at 6:56 PM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Or, since I'm a NetworkManager developer, is there something that you're
>> not sure how to make NM do, or are you just looking to experiment?
>
> I want to make the wireless work when kernel is compiled without
> WIRELESS_EXT. Last time I tried it Ubuntu (I guess I should say
> NetworkManager) wasn't able to discover any wireless networks in our
> area and wasn't able to connect to my default network. Was it supposed
> to do that?

Well, I guess I should say sorry. After all this discussion I've tried
to compile and boot kernel without WIRELESS_EXT once more. And now it
worked.
Last time I tried it was 3.0. Driver from vanilla sources didn't work,
so I compiled compat-wireless-3.0-2 and it did warn me during
compilation, something like "WIRELESS_EXT is not set, something won't
work". Then after boot syslog had somewhat the same message and
wireless didn't work. That's why I started this thread. Now with
3.1-rc2 everything works as is, no warnings in syslog and
NetworkManager connects to my network without any problems. I don't
know what has changed but I feel very sorry for all this mess.


Pavel

Re: [PATCH] ath9k: make driver usable standalone

[Luis R. Rodriguez]

On Tue, Aug 16, 2011 at 8:28 PM, Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com> wrote:
> When ath9k is the only wireless driver included in the build
> WIRELESS_EXT configuration option becomes undefined. Because of that
> driver becomes essentially unusable as you can't actually connect to
> any WiFi network. By including WIRELESS_EXT into Kconfig we ensure
> that build with ath9k and without other drivers (having WIRELESS_EXT
> selected in their Kconfig) is actually usable.
>
> Signed-off-by: Pavel Ivanov <paivanof@gmail.com>

Fuck no, NACK.

  Luis