docs/142367: wlan(4) does not document requirement for kernel option "IEEE80211_DEBUG"

Matthew Thyer matt.thyer at gmail.com
Wed Jan 6 00:50:08 UTC 2010


>Number:         142367
>Category:       docs
>Synopsis:       wlan(4) does not document requirement for kernel option "IEEE80211_DEBUG"
>Confidential:   no
>Severity:       non-critical
>Priority:       low
>Responsible:    freebsd-doc
>State:          open
>Quarter:        
>Keywords:       
>Date-Required:
>Class:          doc-bug
>Submitter-Id:   current-users
>Arrival-Date:   Wed Jan 06 00:50:07 UTC 2010
>Closed-Date:
>Last-Modified:
>Originator:     Matthew Thyer
>Release:        8-STABLE
>Organization:
>Environment:
FreeBSD soekris-builder8 8.0-STABLE FreeBSD 8.0-STABLE #0 r200974: Fri Dec 25 12
:30:51 CST 2009     root at soekris-builder8:/usr/obj/usr/src/sys/MYGENERIC  i386
>Description:
Use of the "wlandebug" command produces the error message:

wlandebug: sysctl-get(net.wlan.0.debug): No such file or directory

This is due to the "IEEE80211_DEBUG" option not being present in the GENERIC ker
nel (for both 8-STABLE and HEAD).

The wlan(4) manual page does not describe the need for this kernel option and so
 the end user has to search the web to gain a clue as to what the problem is.

I suggest that this requirement be mentioned in the "DEBUGGING" section of the w
lan(4) manual page.

Sam Leffler notes this requirement in a message to the FreeBSD-CURRENT mailing l
ist with Message-ID: 481A2748.7080801 at freebsd.org, Subject: "Re: Connection prob
lems with wme enabled" & date: "Thu, 01 May 2008 13:25:44 -0700".

Quote:

"Looks like I failed to include IEEE80211_DEBUG in the default kernel
configs; you'll need that to get wlan debug msgs."
>How-To-Repeat:
Run "wlandebug" with a GENERIC kernel and you'll get the error message:

wlandebug: sysctl-get(net.wlan.0.debug): No such file or directory
>Fix:
Add text to the "DEBUGGING" section of the wlan(4) manual page similar to:

The kernel option "IEEE80211_DEBUG" is required to use debugging controls.

Patch attached with submission follows:

--- /usr/src/share/man/man4/wlan.4	2009-12-24 15:14:38.000000000 +1030
+++ /usr/src/share/man/man4/wlan.4.new	2010-01-06 11:01:04.000000000 +1030
@@ -156,6 +156,8 @@
 defines the initial value of the debugging flags for each cloned
 .Nm
 interface; this is useful to enable debug messages during interface creation.
+.Pp
+The kernel option "IEEE80211_DEBUG" is required to use debugging controls.
 .Sh COMPATIBILITY
 The module name of
 .Nm


>Release-Note:
>Audit-Trail:
>Unformatted:



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