Public bug reported: I experience a very poor 802.11ac performance of a QCA6174 Wireless card (Killer Wireless 1535).
This is a dev version of Zesty with a recently released 4.10 kernel: uname -r 4.10.0-9-generic dpkg -l linux-firmware | grep ii ii linux-firmware 1.163 all Firmware for Linux kernel drivers lspci -vvv: ... 3b:00.0 Network controller: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 32) Subsystem: Bigfoot Networks, Inc. QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx+ Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx- Latency: 0, Cache Line Size: 64 bytes Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 334 Region 0: Memory at dd200000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2M] Capabilities: <access denied> Kernel driver in use: ath10k_pci Kernel modules: ath10k_pci ----------------------------------------- Testing wireless speed with RT-87U 802.11ac router shows that the speed is only 27.3 megabits per second which is very low for an 802.11ac card: iperf -c rtr ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to rtr, TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 85.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local 10.10.10.78 port 48930 connected with 10.10.10.1 port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.0 sec 32.6 MBytes 27.3 Mbits/sec ------------------------------------ For comparison, on the same network (from the same distance to the router) I have the following result with an Intel's card (on a 4.8 kernel, different laptop): UX32LN:~$ lspci | grep 7260 02:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wireless 7260 (rev bb) UX32LN:~$ iperf -c rtr ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to rtr, TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 85.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local 10.10.10.208 port 37196 connected with 10.10.10.1 port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.1 sec 237 MBytes 198 Mbits/sec administrator@UX32LN:~$ lsp lspci lspcmcia lspgpot 200 Mbps is much better. ----------------------------------- Back to the problematic card: Booted 16.04.2 with the rolling HWE kernel 4.8: journalctl -k | grep -i ath Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002) Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: pci irq msi oper_irq_mode 2 irq_mode 0 reset_mode 0 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/pre-cal-pci-0000:3b:00.0.bin failed with error -2 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/cal-pci-0000:3b:00.0.bin failed with error -2 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin failed with error -2 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: could not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin': -2 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: qca6174 hw3.2 target 0x05030000 chip_id 0x00340aff sub 1a56:1535 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: kconfig debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 1 dfs 0 testmode 0 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: firmware ver WLAN.RM.2.0-00180-QCARMSWPZ-1 api 4 features wowlan,ignore-otp,no-4addr-pad crc32 75dee6c5 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: board_file api 2 bmi_id N/A crc32 6fc88fe7 Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: htt-ver 3.26 wmi-op 4 htt-op 3 cal otp max-sta 32 raw 0 hwcrypto 1 Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath: EEPROM regdomain: 0x6c Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath: EEPROM indicates we should expect a direct regpair map Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath: Country alpha2 being used: 00 Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath: Regpair used: 0x6c Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0 wlp59s0: renamed from wlan0 iperf -c 10.10.10.1 ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to 10.10.10.1, TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 85.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local 10.10.10.78 port 43786 connected with 10.10.10.1 port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.0 sec 43.0 MBytes 36.0 Mbits/sec -------------------------------- Booted on 4.4 General Availability kernel - the card did not work at all: Mar 04 18:51:54 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: failed to enable dynamic BW: -11 Mar 04 18:52:00 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: could not suspend target (-11) -------------------------------- The card's product name is Killer Wireless-AC 1535: http://www.killernetworking.com/products/killer-wireless-ac-1535 The card vendor refers to linux-firmware 1.163: http://www.killernetworking.com/driver-downloads/knowledge-base?view=topic&id=2 --------------------------------- I tend to blame Atheros firmware so I've tried whatever kvalo has in the ath10k-firmware https://github.com/kvalo/ath10k-firmware sudo rmmod ath10k_pci ath10k_core ath mac80211 cfg80211 # this gets rid of some of the kernel warnings about firmware but the performance remains low sudo cp ath10k- firmware/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-4.bin_WLAN.RM.2.0-00180-QCARMSWPZ-1 /lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin sudo cp ath10k-firmware/QCA6174/hw3.0/board-2.bin /lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/board-2.bin sudo modprobe -a ath10k_pci ath10k_core ath mac80211 cfg80211 ---------------------------------- Tried both 5.0 GHz and 2.4 GHz modes - got similar results. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 17.04 Package: linux-image-4.10.0-9-generic 4.10.0-9.11 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.10.0-9.11-generic 4.10.0 Uname: Linux 4.10.0-9-generic x86_64 NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm nvidia_modeset nvidia ApportVersion: 2.20.4-0ubuntu2 Architecture: amd64 AudioDevicesInUse: USER PID ACCESS COMMAND /dev/snd/controlC0: dima 3458 F.... pulseaudio /dev/snd/controlC1: dima 3458 F.... pulseaudio CurrentDesktop: Unity:Unity7 Date: Sat Mar 4 22:03:00 2017 InstallationDate: Installed on 2017-02-27 (5 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 17.04 "Zesty Zapus" - Alpha amd64 (20170227) MachineType: Razer Blade ProcFB: 0 inteldrmfb ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-4.10.0-9-generic.efi.signed root=UUID=3f515c94-cd91-48b4-80f6-84ec24cb7b8f ro rootflags=subvol=@ quiet button.lid_init_state=open pcie_aspm=off RelatedPackageVersions: linux-restricted-modules-4.10.0-9-generic N/A linux-backports-modules-4.10.0-9-generic N/A linux-firmware 1.163 SourcePackage: linux UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) dmi.bios.date: 01/10/2017 dmi.bios.vendor: Razer dmi.bios.version: 1.00 dmi.board.name: Razer dmi.board.vendor: Razer dmi.chassis.type: 9 dmi.chassis.vendor: Razer dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnRazer:bvr1.00:bd01/10/2017:svnRazer:pnBlade:pvr6.06:rvnRazer:rnRazer:rvr:cvnRazer:ct9:cvr: dmi.product.name: Blade dmi.product.version: 6.06 dmi.sys.vendor: Razer ** Affects: linux (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Tags: amd64 apport-bug zesty ** Summary changed: - Poor performance of Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac (rev 32) () + Poor performance of Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac (rev 32) (Killer Wireless 1535) -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Kernel Packages, which is subscribed to linux in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1670041 Title: Poor performance of Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac (rev 32) (Killer Wireless 1535) Status in linux package in Ubuntu: New Bug description: I experience a very poor 802.11ac performance of a QCA6174 Wireless card (Killer Wireless 1535). This is a dev version of Zesty with a recently released 4.10 kernel: uname -r 4.10.0-9-generic dpkg -l linux-firmware | grep ii ii linux-firmware 1.163 all Firmware for Linux kernel drivers lspci -vvv: ... 3b:00.0 Network controller: Qualcomm Atheros QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 32) Subsystem: Bigfoot Networks, Inc. QCA6174 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter Control: I/O- Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx+ Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx- Latency: 0, Cache Line Size: 64 bytes Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 334 Region 0: Memory at dd200000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2M] Capabilities: <access denied> Kernel driver in use: ath10k_pci Kernel modules: ath10k_pci ----------------------------------------- Testing wireless speed with RT-87U 802.11ac router shows that the speed is only 27.3 megabits per second which is very low for an 802.11ac card: iperf -c rtr ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to rtr, TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 85.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local 10.10.10.78 port 48930 connected with 10.10.10.1 port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.0 sec 32.6 MBytes 27.3 Mbits/sec ------------------------------------ For comparison, on the same network (from the same distance to the router) I have the following result with an Intel's card (on a 4.8 kernel, different laptop): UX32LN:~$ lspci | grep 7260 02:00.0 Network controller: Intel Corporation Wireless 7260 (rev bb) UX32LN:~$ iperf -c rtr ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to rtr, TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 85.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local 10.10.10.208 port 37196 connected with 10.10.10.1 port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.1 sec 237 MBytes 198 Mbits/sec administrator@UX32LN:~$ lsp lspci lspcmcia lspgpot 200 Mbps is much better. ----------------------------------- Back to the problematic card: Booted 16.04.2 with the rolling HWE kernel 4.8: journalctl -k | grep -i ath Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: enabling device (0000 -> 0002) Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: pci irq msi oper_irq_mode 2 irq_mode 0 reset_mode 0 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/pre-cal-pci-0000:3b:00.0.bin failed with error -2 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/cal-pci-0000:3b:00.0.bin failed with error -2 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: Direct firmware load for ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin failed with error -2 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: could not fetch firmware file 'ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin': -2 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: qca6174 hw3.2 target 0x05030000 chip_id 0x00340aff sub 1a56:1535 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: kconfig debug 0 debugfs 1 tracing 1 dfs 0 testmode 0 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: firmware ver WLAN.RM.2.0-00180-QCARMSWPZ-1 api 4 features wowlan,ignore-otp,no-4addr-pad crc32 75dee6c5 Mar 04 18:28:31 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: board_file api 2 bmi_id N/A crc32 6fc88fe7 Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: htt-ver 3.26 wmi-op 4 htt-op 3 cal otp max-sta 32 raw 0 hwcrypto 1 Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath: EEPROM regdomain: 0x6c Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath: EEPROM indicates we should expect a direct regpair map Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath: Country alpha2 being used: 00 Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath: Regpair used: 0x6c Mar 04 18:28:34 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0 wlp59s0: renamed from wlan0 iperf -c 10.10.10.1 ------------------------------------------------------------ Client connecting to 10.10.10.1, TCP port 5001 TCP window size: 85.0 KByte (default) ------------------------------------------------------------ [ 3] local 10.10.10.78 port 43786 connected with 10.10.10.1 port 5001 [ ID] Interval Transfer Bandwidth [ 3] 0.0-10.0 sec 43.0 MBytes 36.0 Mbits/sec -------------------------------- Booted on 4.4 General Availability kernel - the card did not work at all: Mar 04 18:51:54 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: failed to enable dynamic BW: -11 Mar 04 18:52:00 ubuntu kernel: ath10k_pci 0000:3b:00.0: could not suspend target (-11) -------------------------------- The card's product name is Killer Wireless-AC 1535: http://www.killernetworking.com/products/killer-wireless-ac-1535 The card vendor refers to linux-firmware 1.163: http://www.killernetworking.com/driver-downloads/knowledge-base?view=topic&id=2 --------------------------------- I tend to blame Atheros firmware so I've tried whatever kvalo has in the ath10k-firmware https://github.com/kvalo/ath10k-firmware sudo rmmod ath10k_pci ath10k_core ath mac80211 cfg80211 # this gets rid of some of the kernel warnings about firmware but the performance remains low sudo cp ath10k- firmware/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-4.bin_WLAN.RM.2.0-00180-QCARMSWPZ-1 /lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/firmware-5.bin sudo cp ath10k-firmware/QCA6174/hw3.0/board-2.bin /lib/firmware/ath10k/QCA6174/hw3.0/board-2.bin sudo modprobe -a ath10k_pci ath10k_core ath mac80211 cfg80211 ---------------------------------- Tried both 5.0 GHz and 2.4 GHz modes - got similar results. ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 17.04 Package: linux-image-4.10.0-9-generic 4.10.0-9.11 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.10.0-9.11-generic 4.10.0 Uname: Linux 4.10.0-9-generic x86_64 NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm nvidia_modeset nvidia ApportVersion: 2.20.4-0ubuntu2 Architecture: amd64 AudioDevicesInUse: USER PID ACCESS COMMAND /dev/snd/controlC0: dima 3458 F.... pulseaudio /dev/snd/controlC1: dima 3458 F.... pulseaudio CurrentDesktop: Unity:Unity7 Date: Sat Mar 4 22:03:00 2017 InstallationDate: Installed on 2017-02-27 (5 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 17.04 "Zesty Zapus" - Alpha amd64 (20170227) MachineType: Razer Blade ProcFB: 0 inteldrmfb ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/vmlinuz-4.10.0-9-generic.efi.signed root=UUID=3f515c94-cd91-48b4-80f6-84ec24cb7b8f ro rootflags=subvol=@ quiet button.lid_init_state=open pcie_aspm=off RelatedPackageVersions: linux-restricted-modules-4.10.0-9-generic N/A linux-backports-modules-4.10.0-9-generic N/A linux-firmware 1.163 SourcePackage: linux UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) dmi.bios.date: 01/10/2017 dmi.bios.vendor: Razer dmi.bios.version: 1.00 dmi.board.name: Razer dmi.board.vendor: Razer dmi.chassis.type: 9 dmi.chassis.vendor: Razer dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnRazer:bvr1.00:bd01/10/2017:svnRazer:pnBlade:pvr6.06:rvnRazer:rnRazer:rvr:cvnRazer:ct9:cvr: dmi.product.name: Blade dmi.product.version: 6.06 dmi.sys.vendor: Razer To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1670041/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~kernel-packages Post to : kernel-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~kernel-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp