2012-05-30 12:09:33

by Erwin Van de Velde

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Master mode support in iwlagn?

Dear all,

Are there any plans to add Master mode support to iwlagn?

Regards,
Erwin




2012-05-31 12:27:32

by Arend van Spriel

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

On 05/31/2012 02:16 PM, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> I have one ethernet connection and want to share that connection over
> wireless, preferably in AP mode although I guess ad hoc mode is possible too.
> Just not sure if NetworkManager supports that.

NetworkManager does support ad-hoc, but your hardware need to support
beacon transmission for that as well. You could consider buying an AP.
They are not that expensive ;-)

Gr. AvS


2012-05-31 12:32:15

by Johannes Berg

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

On Thu, 2012-05-31 at 14:26 +0200, Arend van Spriel wrote:
> On 05/31/2012 02:16 PM, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> > I have one ethernet connection and want to share that connection over
> > wireless, preferably in AP mode although I guess ad hoc mode is possible too.
> > Just not sure if NetworkManager supports that.
>
> NetworkManager does support ad-hoc, but your hardware need to support
> beacon transmission for that as well. You could consider buying an AP.
> They are not that expensive ;-)

iwlwifi does support IBSS for all devices, just not AP mode.

johannes


2012-05-30 22:31:30

by Dan Williams

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

On Wed, 2012-05-30 at 14:31 +0200, Johannes Berg wrote:
> On Wed, 2012-05-30 at 14:09 +0200, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> > Dear all,
> >
> > Are there any plans to add Master mode support to iwlagn?
>
> Depending on the device, it is (partially) supported as part of P2P/GO
> mode, but other than that there are no plans.

What's the list of devices that will support Master mode? I recall that
3945 and 4965 never will. And I assume anything 6xxx-based will get it.
But I was somewhat fuzzy on where the 5xxx series stand.

Dan


2012-05-30 12:31:15

by Johannes Berg

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

On Wed, 2012-05-30 at 14:09 +0200, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> Are there any plans to add Master mode support to iwlagn?

Depending on the device, it is (partially) supported as part of P2P/GO
mode, but other than that there are no plans.

johannes


2012-05-31 17:00:37

by Johannes Berg

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

On Thu, 2012-05-31 at 18:52 +0200, Marcel Holtmann wrote:

> > The problem with Ad-Hoc as "hotspot" is that many devices like Android
> > phones simply ignore adhoc networks due to security issues (as stupid as
> > that may be, since anyone can set up an AP-mode network too). Which is
> > why real AP mode is nice, but clearly not all wifi hardware is going to
> > support it.
>
> the security issue is the missing proper encryption for IBSS networks.
> Even while in theory you can have RSN, but who is really supporting this
> on the other end.

We are actually supporting this now, and supposedly it interoperates
with Windows too :-)

johannes


2012-05-31 18:22:39

by Erwin Van de Velde

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

On Thursday 31 May 2012 14:26:49 Arend van Spriel wrote:
>
> NetworkManager does support ad-hoc, but your hardware need to support
> beacon transmission for that as well. You could consider buying an AP.
> They are not that expensive ;-)

True, but I have enough to carry around already :-) And what if the MAC
address needs to be registered first? From my point of view, it would be a lot
easier if AP mode was supported... But you already guessed that probably,
otherwise I would not have asked it in the first place, would I? ;-)

It is still (too) hard for Linux users to find a laptop with a wireless card
that supports monitor mode, AP mode, decent packet injection, etc.

If you are wondering why I need that, I give a course about wireless
networking and it is easier if I can test things from my own machine instead
of having to run to the lab all the time :-)

Grz,
Erwin

2012-05-31 12:16:18

by Erwin Van de Velde

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

I have one ethernet connection and want to share that connection over
wireless, preferably in AP mode although I guess ad hoc mode is possible too.
Just not sure if NetworkManager supports that.

Grz,
Erwin


On Thursday 31 May 2012 14:01:40 Arend van Spriel wrote:
> On 05/31/2012 11:57 AM, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> > The interface may be targeted for the laptop market, but as I said,
> > Internet sharing is quite handy sometimes and that is why I was looking
> > for the AP mode.
>
> Looking at your request from a higher level, I think you do not
> necessarily need AP mode, right. Or I am just confused by your use of
> the term "Internet sharing". What exactly is your usage scenario?
>
> Gr. AvS

2012-05-31 09:58:07

by Erwin Van de Velde

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

On Thursday 31 May 2012 11:20:49 Florian Fainelli wrote:
> Hi,
>
> On Thursday 31 May 2012 11:09:59 Johannes Berg wrote:
> > Please don't top-post.
> >
> > On Thu, 2012-05-31 at 11:03 +0200, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> > > What is the reasoning behind it? Why provide it for some wireless NICs
> > > and
>
> not
>
> > > for others? Seems quite odd for me and features like Internet sharing
> > > over
> > > wireless are not that exotic, are they?
> >
> > This features requires extensive testing, space in the firmware that not
> > all devices have, integration, etc. It's not trivial to port to
> > different devices.
>
> It certainly is not, but you can get some help from the software mac with
> that regard. Since your device is capable of beaconing for P2P and GO
> modes, Erwin's question is perfectly legitimate with respect to AP support.
> I suppose that you could get it working without too much firmware work.
>
> At the same time, since Intel's iwlwifi series are targetted at the laptop
> market, and not AP/router solutions, it certainly was not in a roadmap to
> get AP mode supported. Apart from pleasing people, that won't make you sell
> more adapters.
>

I am unable to give an opinion about the difficulty of this request, since I
have never had a look at the code :-) However, theoretically I would expect
that it is very similar to what is being done for other wireless drivers, but
I can be wrong...

The interface may be targeted for the laptop market, but as I said, Internet
sharing is quite handy sometimes and that is why I was looking for the AP
mode.
I do not understand the last sentence... If you please customers, does that
not lead to selling more of your products? So, the question is: how many
people would like to have this feature? And considering the availability of
this option in other drivers, software like e.g. NetworkManager, other OSs
like e.g. Max OSX, etc. I would like to argue that there is indeed a need for
this feature in the market.

Best regards,
Erwin


2012-05-31 09:10:03

by Johannes Berg

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

Please don't top-post.

On Thu, 2012-05-31 at 11:03 +0200, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> What is the reasoning behind it? Why provide it for some wireless NICs and not
> for others? Seems quite odd for me and features like Internet sharing over
> wireless are not that exotic, are they?

This features requires extensive testing, space in the firmware that not
all devices have, integration, etc. It's not trivial to port to
different devices.

johannes


2012-05-31 14:26:55

by Dan Williams

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

On Thu, 2012-05-31 at 14:26 +0200, Arend van Spriel wrote:
> On 05/31/2012 02:16 PM, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> > I have one ethernet connection and want to share that connection over
> > wireless, preferably in AP mode although I guess ad hoc mode is possible too.
> > Just not sure if NetworkManager supports that.
>
> NetworkManager does support ad-hoc, but your hardware need to support
> beacon transmission for that as well. You could consider buying an AP.
> They are not that expensive ;-)

The problem with Ad-Hoc as "hotspot" is that many devices like Android
phones simply ignore adhoc networks due to security issues (as stupid as
that may be, since anyone can set up an AP-mode network too). Which is
why real AP mode is nice, but clearly not all wifi hardware is going to
support it.

Dan


2012-05-31 07:40:43

by Johannes Berg

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

On Wed, 2012-05-30 at 17:32 -0500, Dan Williams wrote:
> On Wed, 2012-05-30 at 14:31 +0200, Johannes Berg wrote:
> > On Wed, 2012-05-30 at 14:09 +0200, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> > > Dear all,
> > >
> > > Are there any plans to add Master mode support to iwlagn?
> >
> > Depending on the device, it is (partially) supported as part of P2P/GO
> > mode, but other than that there are no plans.
>
> What's the list of devices that will support Master mode? I recall that
> 3945 and 4965 never will. And I assume anything 6xxx-based will get it.
> But I was somewhat fuzzy on where the 5xxx series stand.

That's not completely correct. Today, we have released firmware with
support for it for 100, 105, 135, 2000, 2030, 6205, 6030, 1030 and 6x50
devices. 6x00 doesn't have it, and I don't think it will.

I'm pretty sure any 5xxx series (there are a few different ones for
Wimax etc.) will not get it.

johannes


2012-05-31 09:03:50

by Erwin Van de Velde

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

What is the reasoning behind it? Why provide it for some wireless NICs and not
for others? Seems quite odd for me and features like Internet sharing over
wireless are not that exotic, are they?

Best regards,
Erwin


On Thursday 31 May 2012 09:40:22 Johannes Berg wrote:
> On Wed, 2012-05-30 at 17:32 -0500, Dan Williams wrote:
> > On Wed, 2012-05-30 at 14:31 +0200, Johannes Berg wrote:
> > > On Wed, 2012-05-30 at 14:09 +0200, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> > > > Dear all,
> > > >
> > > > Are there any plans to add Master mode support to iwlagn?
> > >
> > > Depending on the device, it is (partially) supported as part of P2P/GO
> > > mode, but other than that there are no plans.
> >
> > What's the list of devices that will support Master mode? I recall that
> > 3945 and 4965 never will. And I assume anything 6xxx-based will get it.
> > But I was somewhat fuzzy on where the 5xxx series stand.
>
> That's not completely correct. Today, we have released firmware with
> support for it for 100, 105, 135, 2000, 2030, 6205, 6030, 1030 and 6x50
> devices. 6x00 doesn't have it, and I don't think it will.
>
> I'm pretty sure any 5xxx series (there are a few different ones for
> Wimax etc.) will not get it.
>
> johannes

2012-05-31 20:00:33

by Marcel Holtmann

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

Hi Johannes,

> > > The problem with Ad-Hoc as "hotspot" is that many devices like Android
> > > phones simply ignore adhoc networks due to security issues (as stupid as
> > > that may be, since anyone can set up an AP-mode network too). Which is
> > > why real AP mode is nice, but clearly not all wifi hardware is going to
> > > support it.
> >
> > the security issue is the missing proper encryption for IBSS networks.
> > Even while in theory you can have RSN, but who is really supporting this
> > on the other end.
>
> We are actually supporting this now, and supposedly it interoperates
> with Windows too :-)

I still don't see the benefit of it. Android and iOS do proper Tethering
via AP mode. And so does Tizen since it uses ConnMan.

IBSS and also WEP support can be remove for all I care ;)

Regards

Marcel



2012-05-30 15:02:06

by Erwin Van de Velde

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

In my opinion it is a rather big issue. It is available on other platforms and
can come in handy, it is not just a minor feature that is missing. One wonders
why Intel does not provide it...

Erwin


On Wednesday 30 May 2012 14:31:11 Johannes Berg wrote:
> On Wed, 2012-05-30 at 14:09 +0200, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> > Dear all,
> >
> > Are there any plans to add Master mode support to iwlagn?
>
> Depending on the device, it is (partially) supported as part of P2P/GO
> mode, but other than that there are no plans.
>
> johannes

2012-05-31 12:01:52

by Arend van Spriel

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

On 05/31/2012 11:57 AM, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> The interface may be targeted for the laptop market, but as I said, Internet
> sharing is quite handy sometimes and that is why I was looking for the AP
> mode.

Looking at your request from a higher level, I think you do not
necessarily need AP mode, right. Or I am just confused by your use of
the term "Internet sharing". What exactly is your usage scenario?

Gr. AvS


2012-05-31 09:22:58

by Florian Fainelli

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

Hi,

On Thursday 31 May 2012 11:09:59 Johannes Berg wrote:
> Please don't top-post.
>
> On Thu, 2012-05-31 at 11:03 +0200, Erwin Van de Velde wrote:
> > What is the reasoning behind it? Why provide it for some wireless NICs and
not
> > for others? Seems quite odd for me and features like Internet sharing over
> > wireless are not that exotic, are they?
>
> This features requires extensive testing, space in the firmware that not
> all devices have, integration, etc. It's not trivial to port to
> different devices.

It certainly is not, but you can get some help from the software mac with that
regard. Since your device is capable of beaconing for P2P and GO modes,
Erwin's question is perfectly legitimate with respect to AP support. I suppose
that you could get it working without too much firmware work.

At the same time, since Intel's iwlwifi series are targetted at the laptop
market, and not AP/router solutions, it certainly was not in a roadmap to get
AP mode supported. Apart from pleasing people, that won't make you sell more
adapters.

My 2 cents.
--
Florian

2012-05-31 16:52:10

by Marcel Holtmann

[permalink] [raw]
Subject: Re: Master mode support in iwlagn?

Hi Dan,

> > > I have one ethernet connection and want to share that connection over
> > > wireless, preferably in AP mode although I guess ad hoc mode is possible too.
> > > Just not sure if NetworkManager supports that.
> >
> > NetworkManager does support ad-hoc, but your hardware need to support
> > beacon transmission for that as well. You could consider buying an AP.
> > They are not that expensive ;-)
>
> The problem with Ad-Hoc as "hotspot" is that many devices like Android
> phones simply ignore adhoc networks due to security issues (as stupid as
> that may be, since anyone can set up an AP-mode network too). Which is
> why real AP mode is nice, but clearly not all wifi hardware is going to
> support it.

the security issue is the missing proper encryption for IBSS networks.
Even while in theory you can have RSN, but who is really supporting this
on the other end.

For example ConnMan ignores IBSS networks as well for the exact above
reason. And it only provides Tethering via AP mode with RSN. If the
hardware does not support it, then you can not use Tethering.

We have enough crappy Windows machines and printers trying to play IBSS
tricks all the time. We do not need any extra ones ;)

Regards

Marcel