if_iwi.ko - INTEL/pro 2915abg - /stand/sysinstall - does the job, it's working ;o)

[Hanno Krusken]

Hi Jeremie,
and all the others on this mailing list, who are watching the
discussions around Intel/Pro-2915abg and FreeBSD.

GOOD news !!

GOT WiFi CONNECTION !!
on my iTronix IX260 II Celeron, to a new "Linksys WAG54G"
ADSL-wireless-G Gatway-router on http://192.168.1.1
witch I just had in the post this morning !
20 minutes setup, out off the box with basic setings for:
(InfraStructure/Open/no WEP/DHCP-Server) and the on-board INTEL/PRO
wireless 2915abg miniPCI card, using:

Wireless-G 54g protocoll !!!

FreeBSD-5.4-RELEASE-p1
iwi-freebsd-1.3.4.tgz
iwi-firmware-1.3.tbz

##------ IT WORK'S ---- !!!

Do this basic settings on your router first in "hard wirered mode",
before attempting doing any connections by WiFi:

### Router options:
Wireless mode:	"MIXED"
SSID:		"your SSID name"
DHCP Server:	"ENABLED"
Channel:	"any! (but "11") standard-mode works in my case"
Encryption:	"DISABLED"

### Wireless options:
Wireless network:	"MIXED"
Wireless network name:	"your SSID name"
Wireless Channel"	"11 - 2.462GHz"
Wireless SSID-Broadcast: "ENABLED"
Security mode:		"DISABLED"

## --- note ---
there are many more settings for advanced accesss and so on... forget it
for the moment !

the trick is to get "if_iwi.ko" loaded in /defaults/rc.conf first, boot
the machine, at least it makes it easier, than switch the Intel/pro
2915abg on !
(well you may load it by "#kldload -v if_iwi", but I'm lazy)

Now, like:

### options for: INTEL/PRO wireless 2915abg miniPCI
# settings in: /boot/loader.conf
##############################################################
###  Networking drivers  #####################################
##############################################################

miibus_load="YES"	# miibus support, needed for some drivers
if_iwi_load="YES"	# Intel Pro/2915abg miniPCI WiFi

##------ note ----
## "/etc/rc.conf" doesn't seems to work at boot for some reason.)
defaultrouter="192.168.1.1"
devd_enable="YES"
hostname="your host name"
named_enable="YES"
network_interfaces="ed0 ed1 lo0 iwi0"
nfs_client_enable="YES"
nfs_client_flags="-n 4"
nfs_server_enable="NO"
pccard_enable="YES"
pccard_mem="DEFAULT"
pccardd_flags="-z -i 10"
ifconfig_iwi0="DHCP"  ## <-- will NOT work automaticly at this stage !
                    ## /stand/sysinstall will put this one in as well
                    ## but it will not deliver the IP-address automaticly
                    ## as it dose with other PCMCIA card's like "ed0"
                    ## it may need a delay-flags ?!?

##----- note ----
may some one can give me a jump start around here, to load the WiFi
automaticly... to make live easier .... may a little workaround ?... ;o)

##------ note ----
make sure you see some thing like this at boot time and you are OK for a
start!

iwi0: <Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2915ABG MiniPCI> mem 0xdfeff000-0xdfefffff
irq 11 at device 8.0 on pci3
iwi0: Ethernet address: 00:0e:35:9a:bf:7d
iwi0: 11a rates: 6Mbps 9Mbps 12Mbps 18Mbps 24Mbps 36Mbps 48Mbps 54Mbps
iwi0: 11b rates: 1Mbps 2Mbps 5.5Mbps 11Mbps
iwi0: 11g rates: 1Mbps 2Mbps 5.5Mbps 11Mbps 6Mbps 9Mbps 12Mbps 18Mbps
24Mbps 36Mbps 48Mbps 54Mbps


##------ note ----
well.... how I did it, after the files been installed as descriped by:
(http://damien.bergamini.free.fr/ipw/iwi-freebds.html)
"Compiling and installing the driver" and
"Installing firmware binary images"
In case you have to compile a new kernel, you have to:

#cp /boot/kernel.old/if_iwi.ko /boot/kernel

and boot your new kernel !
after that, in single steps, that made me happy ;o):

#kldload -v if_iwi

#dmesg | grep iwi

#iwicontrol -i iwi0 -d /usr/local/libdata/if_iwi -m bss

#ifconfig iwi0   ### (status: NO carrier) as normal to check it out !

#iwicontrol -i iwi0 -r
Radio is ON

#wiconfig -i iwi -l
0 Station

#ifconfig iwi0 mode 11g   ### if you got only "11b" use that !
                           ### I don't know if it is supported yet !

#/stand/sysinstall

### use the network setup and detection for "iwi0"
(it will be recognized by now and it will be the 1st device in the list)
DHCP will find the host, gateway, DHCP-address, and every thing else.
(may even an installation will work at that stage / NO complain here ! )

Any way, after you found your local settings, "exit" /stand/sysinstall !
take the settings the probe could find in an "xterm" window as root, as
I did.
test it out !

#ifconfig iwi0   ### (NO carrier)

#wiconfig -i iwi -l
1 Station

ap[0]:
	netname (SSID):			[your SSID name]
	BSSID:				[your MAC address]
	Channel:			[11]       ## or any other !
	Quality/Signal/Noice [signal]:	[0/217/ 0] ## there is a signal!
				[dBm]:	[0/68/-149]
	BSS Beacon Interval [msec]:	[100]
	Capinfo:			[ESS]

##### NOW watch out for the settings /stand/sysinstall found out!!
##### use that IP address and SSID, given by DHCP.
like this on the prompt in your xterm:

#ifconfig iwi0 inet 192.168.1.xxx netmask 255.255.255.0 ssid "your SSID"

#ifconfig iwi0
iwi0: flags=<8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
   inet 192.168.1.xxx netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
   ether xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
   media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect mode 11g (OFDM/36Mbps)
   status: associated
   ssid "your SSID" 1:"your SSID"
   channel 11 authmode OPEN powersafemode OFF powersaveleep 100
   rtsthreshold 2312 protmode CTS txpower 100
   wepmode OFF weptxkey 1

#### check it out with:

#netstat -rn

### open your web-browser and type: "http://192.168.1.1"
(FireFox in my case)
The window with ENTER USERNAME AND PASSWORD FOR http://192.168.1.1
pops up !
type your: "admin" and your "Password" in, and you are in the:
Setup on your router-BOX !

I can change the setup on the router like I would do as normal, being
hard wirered.
IT WORK'S !!!!! ;o)

well I just moved house, and my DSL account with the phone company is
not yet set up, so I only can try it out on the cold and dusty way, my
other Laptop, a iTronix XC-6250 200MHz with OpenBSD 3.6 and a Linksys
PCM100 card, is not set up properly either, so I can only test the
DSL-modem-router for the moment and can not tell you any thing about the
connection speed or connecting to the DSL-Internet, witch I'm most
interrested in to get working.

Well "ifconfig iwi0" tell's "36Mbps" connection established !!!

 > media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect mode 11g (OFDM/36Mbps)

Now, I'll hope that this "way description" helps to solve some problems
how to adapt the Intel/PRO wireless 2915abg miniPCI card to use on a
wireless lan and RELENG_5_4

Again, hop some one "clever guy", know about a faster and smarter way
for share, to make live easier for the lazy ones among us, or just let's
say for thus how want to work with FreeBSD and not just testing new
fanzy-gear... or reading "man pages with-out samples" ... ;o)

Thanks and happy beaming ;o)
Hanno


Jeremie Le Hen wrote:
> Hi Hanno,
> 
> 
>>QUESTION:
>>Is there any way to enable for driver build under FreeBSD-5.4 ???
>>I would like to take the "#" off, but "config my-kernel" is complaining
> 
> 
> AFAIK, no.  iwi(4) is still highly experimental : Damien Bergamini just
> commited a few fixes which allows my card to associate, but I still
> can't communicate with other hosts.
> 
> Furthermore, there were major rewrites of the 802.11 code by Sam Leffler
> in -CURRENT, and I believe they have not been MFC'd to RELENG_5.  Since
> iwi(4) should make an intensive use of this framework, it won't work
> on RELENG_5 likely.
> 
> Regards,





		
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