Re: iwlwifi/LinuxKPI 802.11 update

From: Takashi Inoue <inoue.takashi_at_nihon-u.ac.jp>
Date: Sat, 26 Mar 2022 10:27:59 UTC
Hi Kzrysztof,

Thanks for your report.
Because I use 13 stable and cannot test the current,
your report is very useful to me.
I'm using ThinkPad X1 nano which has a AX201.

I have some questions.

Do we need the 'if_iwlwifi_load="YES"' line
in addition to the  'kld_list=if_iwlfiwi' line?
I don't think so, but I may be wrong.

Do you use "wifimgr" which is a GUI tool to select AP.
When I use "if_iwlfiwi.ko", wave strength displayed
in wifimgr is 0 for all access point.
Do you see this phenomenon? Or, does someone see this?

Best,
Takashi


On 3/26/22 09:14, Krzysztof Piecuch wrote:
> Hi Bjoern,
> 
> I posted my previous experience on this group some time ago. This time
> it looks much better.
> 
> For the reference, I tested this commit:
> 
> commit 9d9ba2b79b3196935431879efd9094eb9bfedd95 (HEAD)
> Author: Bjoern A. Zeeb <bz@FreeBSD.org>
> Date:   Thu Mar 24 19:09:04 2022 +0000
> 
> with my Network controller: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX201 (rev 20)
> 
> For now I tested it only once, for about 10  minutes. I'll update you
> when longer testing reveals any issues with current version.
> 
> good things:
> - no errors when powering off the machine
> 
> - no errors when loading the module on boot through /etc/rc.conf
> 
> - no errors when leaving the machine idle with no connections
> 
> - overall, looks much more stable than previous releases. Worth the wait!
> 
> bad things:
> - the wifi interface would go up -> down -> up on boot? Not sure if I'm
>    reading dmesg correctly, please double-check it.
> 
> - there are dips in wifi speed. I downloaded over 100MB data though pkg
>    update (see attachment logs). My download speed would go to 2MBps,
>    2.1MBps, 2.2MBps, hit 2.4MBps, stay there for a while and then dip to
>    <1MBps only to jump back to 1.8MBps or higher. 2.4MBps is the expected
>    upper limit as my ISP can't go any faster.
> 
>    I'm sorry I don't have any better metrics on that, I just reported
>    what I saw printed by `pkg`. I am reporting in MBps because that's
>    what pkg reported. The signal strength was good, there's only 1 thin
>    wall between my laptop and wifi hotspot.
> 
>    post-factum `netstat -i` doesn't look horrible IMO:
> 
> --------8<-------------------------->8-----------------------------------------------
> Name    Mtu Network       Address              Ipkts Ierrs Idrop    Opkts Oerrs  Coll
> lo0   16384 <Link#1>      lo0                    148     0     0      148     0     0
> lo0       - localhost     localhost                0     -     -        0     -     -
> lo0       - fe80::%lo0/64 fe80::1%lo0              0     -     -        0     -     -
> lo0       - your-net      localhost              148     -     -      148     -     -
> wifi   1500 <Link#2>      dc:21:48:5d:d7:11   184805     0     0    94540    23     0
> wifi      - 192.168.0.0/2 192.168.0.8         184728     -     -    94537     -     -
> --------8<-------------------------->8-----------------------------------------------
> 
> Please see the attached /var/log/messages.
> 
> relevant lines in /etc/rc.conf - I have not configured anything manually
> during machine's run.
> 
> 
> -----8<-------------8<-------------------
> kld_list="${kld_list} if_iwlwifi i915kms"
> if_iwlwifi_load="YES"
> wlans_iwlwifi0="wifi"
> create_args_wifi="wlandev iwlwifi0"
> ifconfig_wifi="WPA SYNCDHCP"
> -----8<-------------8<-------------------
> 
> Best,
> Kris
>