Hello,
The 'ath9k' project page
(http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k) mentions that '2x2
DB 11n' operation is supported for AR9280. A later section says that
'AP mode' is supported.
Does the AP mode support full 11n features in a dual-band
configuration? Is there a hard limit to the number of clients when the
AR9280 is used as an AP? I am currently using an AR9170 (using
carl9170 - thanks, Christian) as an AP and found that I had to switch
to software encryption to scale beyond 32 clients because of the
number of key slots on the chip.
And are the numbers in the 'power consumption' analysis
(http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k/power-consumption)
for STA mode or AP mode? The 'PS On' configuration implies that this
is for an STA mode but I wanted to confirm.
Thanks,
- Harshal
On 30 March 2012 14:04, Harshal Chhaya <[email protected]> wrote:
> Hello,
>
> The 'ath9k' project page
> (http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k) mentions that '2x2
> DB 11n' operation is supported for AR9280. A later section says that
> 'AP mode' is supported.
These are both true.
> Does the AP mode support full 11n features in a dual-band
> configuration? Is there a hard limit to the number of clients when the
> AR9280 is used as an AP? I am currently using an AR9170 (using
> carl9170 - thanks, Christian) as an AP and found that I had to switch
> to software encryption to scale beyond 32 clients because of the
> number of key slots on the chip.
Yes. It's a dual band chip, but you only get to choose one band at a time.
Yes, there are limited keycache slot chips. I don't remember if the
hardware limit is 32 or 64 clients.
> And are the numbers in the 'power consumption' analysis
> (http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k/power-consumption)
> for STA mode or AP mode? The 'PS On' configuration implies that this
> is for an STA mode but I wanted to confirm.
You should always do your own power consumption tests. It differs
based on operating mode, environment, TX rate selection/power, what
kind of amplifiers and other circuitry are on the NIC, etc.
Adrian
Adrian,
In addition to the questions below, one more big one. The host
processor in my design doesn't have a PCIe interface and I will have
to use AR7010 (USB to PCIe bridge) chip to interface to the AR9280.
Can I still use 'ath9k' or do I have to use 'ath9k_htc'? How stable is
the dual-band support for AP mode for AR7010+AR9280 in ath9k_htc?
Also, is 'ath9k_devel' a better list for these questions?
Thanks,
- Harshal
On Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 8:54 AM, Harshal Chhaya <[email protected]> wrote:
> Adrian,
>
> Thanks for your response.
>
> On Fri, Mar 30, 2012 at 9:01 PM, Adrian Chadd <[email protected]> wrote:
>> On 30 March 2012 14:04, Harshal Chhaya <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> Hello,
>>>
>>> The 'ath9k' project page
>>> (http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k) mentions that '2x2
>>> DB 11n' operation is supported for AR9280. A later section says that
>>> 'AP mode' is supported.
>>
>> These are both true.
>
> Good - thanks for the confirmation.
>
> Does ath9k already support DFS?
>
>>> Does the AP mode support full 11n features in a dual-band
>>> configuration? Is there a hard limit to the number of clients when the
>>> AR9280 is used as an AP? I am currently using an AR9170 (using
>>> carl9170 - thanks, Christian) as an AP and found that I had to switch
>>> to software encryption to scale beyond 32 clients because of the
>>> number of key slots on the chip.
>>
>> Yes. It's a dual band chip, but you only get to choose one band at a time.
>
> That's good to know - concurrent dual-band operation isn't a very
> important feature for me so this isn't a big problem.
>
>
>> Yes, there are limited keycache slot chips. I don't remember if the
>> hardware limit is 32 or 64 clients.
>
> Do you know if I can disable hw encryption and do only s/w encryption
> with ath9k? I realize that there may be a performance impact but I am
> willing to sacrifice some performance if I can support more clients.
>
>
>>> And are the numbers in the 'power consumption' analysis
>>> (http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k/power-consumption)
>>> for STA mode or AP mode? The 'PS On' configuration implies that this
>>> is for an STA mode but I wanted to confirm.
>>
>> You should always do your own power consumption tests. It differs
>> based on operating mode, environment, TX rate selection/power, what
>> kind of amplifiers and other circuitry are on the NIC, etc.
>
> Good point - we will certainly do the power measurements on our own
> board but I was curious about the power numbers published on the
> website. Since our design is power-constrained I wanted to check if
> AR9280 is even an option before we start designing boards.
>
> Thanks for the help.
>
> Regards,
> - Harshal
>
>
>> Adrian
Adrian,
Thanks for your response.
On Fri, Mar 30, 2012 at 9:01 PM, Adrian Chadd <[email protected]> wrote:
> On 30 March 2012 14:04, Harshal Chhaya <[email protected]> wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> The 'ath9k' project page
>> (http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k) mentions that '2x2
>> DB 11n' operation is supported for AR9280. A later section says that
>> 'AP mode' is supported.
>
> These are both true.
Good - thanks for the confirmation.
Does ath9k already support DFS?
>> Does the AP mode support full 11n features in a dual-band
>> configuration? Is there a hard limit to the number of clients when the
>> AR9280 is used as an AP? I am currently using an AR9170 (using
>> carl9170 - thanks, Christian) as an AP and found that I had to switch
>> to software encryption to scale beyond 32 clients because of the
>> number of key slots on the chip.
>
> Yes. It's a dual band chip, but you only get to choose one band at a time.
That's good to know - concurrent dual-band operation isn't a very
important feature for me so this isn't a big problem.
> Yes, there are limited keycache slot chips. I don't remember if the
> hardware limit is 32 or 64 clients.
Do you know if I can disable hw encryption and do only s/w encryption
with ath9k? I realize that there may be a performance impact but I am
willing to sacrifice some performance if I can support more clients.
>> And are the numbers in the 'power consumption' analysis
>> (http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k/power-consumption)
>> for STA mode or AP mode? The 'PS On' configuration implies that this
>> is for an STA mode but I wanted to confirm.
>
> You should always do your own power consumption tests. It differs
> based on operating mode, environment, TX rate selection/power, what
> kind of amplifiers and other circuitry are on the NIC, etc.
Good point - we will certainly do the power measurements on our own
board but I was curious about the power numbers published on the
website. Since our design is power-constrained I wanted to check if
AR9280 is even an option before we start designing boards.
Thanks for the help.
Regards,
- Harshal
> Adrian