Re: rt2800usb firmware rt2870.bin 0.36 not scanning
On Wed, Dec 13, 2017 at 11:24:28PM +, Craig McQueen wrote: > > Actually, I was wrong. With the 3.14.x Yocto-built kernel, this no-scan > > issue > > only happens with the Edup with the 5390 chipset, and the D-Link is fine. > > > > But further testing with the 4.4.12 Yocto-built kernel shows that it > > randomly > > sometimes happens and sometimes doesn't with either the Edup or D-Link > > devices. That's especially interesting, because it suggests that there may > > be a > > race condition happening during the driver initialisation code (called from > > rt2x00lib_start()). At first I thought it was a race condition between the > > calls > > to rt2x00lib_load_firmware() and rt2x00lib_initialize(), but adding a time > > delay between those calls didn't help. > > > > I'm wondering what the difference is between the two chipsets, so that the > > problem happens more on one chipset than the other. But not exclusively, as > > I mentioned above, so again, this points to a marginal timing issue that > > affects one more than the other. > > > > > With the Ubuntu 4.4.6 kernel, both devices work fine, without this > > > no-scan problem. > > > ... > > Now I'm using a 4.9.65 kernel, and this problem is still present. When the > USB Wi-Fi dongle is plugged in, it just doesn't do anything -- doesn't scan > for Wi-Fi networks, doesn't connect to anything. > > My project is using ConnMan, so I've patched ConnMan so that it takes the > device up, then down, then up again. Then it reliably works. But of course > this is an ugly hack. > > Based on my initial investigation, my hypothesis was that there's a race > condition during rt2x00lib_start() in rt2x00dev.c. At first I thought it was > between firmware loading and initialisation. But adding a time delay between > the calls to rt2x00lib_load_firmware() and rt2x00lib_initialize() didn't > help. Adding time delays at many possible points in the initialisation didn't > seem to help. I thought there must be a race condition in a very specific > location in the initialisation sequence, but could not confirm that > hypothesis. So now I've drawn a blank. > > Any advice on how to diagnose and remedy this issue? I know the vendor driver do initialization sequence twice - after finish first sequence the same steps are repeated second time. I don't know why that is needed and on all my Ralink USB devices one initialization sequence is sufficient with rt2x00 driver. Right fix to this will be found proper initialization sequence, so second step will not be needed, but perhaps this is firmware problem. Anyway ConnMan patch seems to be a good solution as well ;-) Cheers Stanislaw
RE: rt2800usb firmware rt2870.bin 0.36 not scanning
I wrote: > I wrote: > > I wrote: > > > I wrote: > > > > Xose Vazquez Perez wrote: > > > > > Craig McQueen wrote: > > > > > > > > > > > I have a D-Link DWA-140 USB Wi-Fi device which is rt2800 based > > > > > > (5392 chipset). I'm trying to use it on a BeagleBone Black > > > > > > based system with 3.14.x kernel built with Yocto. We're using > > > > > > ConnMan > > > > > > 1.30 at the > > > > moment. > > > > > > > > > > Try it with a _desktop x86_64 distribution_ , with a *recent > > > > > kernel* as > > > > > Fedora: (WORK is gnome) > > > > > https://alt.fedoraproject.org/pub/alt/live-respins/ > > > > > > > > Hmm, that is non-trivial but I may try it. > > > > > > > > For now, I'll also try a 4.4.6 kernel running on a BeagleBone > > > > Black (with a USB hub to work around another issue with the > > > > rt2800usb driver crashing as described in another e-mail). > > > > > > > > > > We've been finding some instabilities with it periodically > > > > > > disconnecting from some networks. So we tried upgrading the > > > > > > firmware file rt2870.bin from version 0.29 to 0.36. That seems > > > > > > to be more stable with the network. However, we're finding > > > > > > that it initially doesn't connect, until the Wi-Fi has been > > > > > > disabled and then re- > > > enabled. ' > > > > > scan wifi' > > > > > > and 'iwlist scan' don't return anything until Wi-Fi has been > > > > > > disabled and then re-enabled. > > > > > > > > > > Don't use any wrapper(NM, ConnMan, wicd, ...), usually are buggy. > > > > > You should use raw commands "iw" and "wpa_supplicant". Hints: > > > > > https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/documentation/iw and > > > > > wpa_supplicant always running with "-Dnl80211" > > > > > > > > Okay, I've stripped down the system so ConnMan, udev rules aren't > > > running. > > > > > > > > On all systems, after plugging in the device, I have to issue: > > > > > > > > ip link set wlan0 up > > > > > > > > After this, I try to do a scan: > > > > > > > > iw dev wlan0 scan > > > > > > > > On kernel 4.4.6, with firmware 0.36, it works fine (lists APs it > > > > finds). On kernel 3.14.x, with firmware 0.29, it works fine. But > > > > on kernel 3.14.x, with firmware 0.36, it returns nothing. But then, if > > > > I do > this: > > > > > > > > ip link set wlan0 down > > > > ip link set wlan0 up > > > > iw dev wlan0 scan > > > > > > > > Then it works fine. > > > > > > > > So, the question is, why does firmware 0.36 with kernel 3.14.x not > > > > work until I've made the interface go up, then down, and then up > again? > > > > > > I've managed to build, using Yocto, kernel 4.4.12 for BeagleBone. > > > When I run it, it has the same problem. That's different from the > > > Ubuntu > > > 16.04 for BeagleBone using 4.4.6 kernel. > > > > > > With my Yocto build, it had a different version of the 'ip' and 'iw' > > commands. > > > So I tried copying the Ubuntu versions, but that didn't make a > > > difference. I tried using the Yocto built 4.4.12 kernel with the > > > Ubuntu root filesystem, but it halted during the boot process (don't > > > know why). My best guess is that there's some kernel config > > > difference that makes a difference, but there are many differences, > > > so I'm not sure > > which one it might be. > > > > > > I'm not sure at this point how to narrow it down to the root cause. > > > Any advice? > > > > > > I wonder if maybe there's a race condition in the rt2800usb driver > > > between loading the rt2870.bin firmware and doing the interface-up > > initialisation. > > > Normally the firmware loads at the point of doing the 'iw link set wlan0 > up' > > > command. Is there a way to force the firmware to load before that > > > command? > > > > I've got two rt2800 devices: > > > > * D-Link DWA-140 with RT chipset 5392, rev 0223, and RF chipset 5372 > > * Edup EP-N8537 with RT chipset 5390, rev 0502, and RF chipset 5370 > > > > I've also found that with the Yocto-built 4.4.12 kernel, this no-scan > > issue only happens to the Edup with the 5390 chipset. The D-Link is fine. > > Actually, I was wrong. With the 3.14.x Yocto-built kernel, this no-scan issue > only happens with the Edup with the 5390 chipset, and the D-Link is fine. > > But further testing with the 4.4.12 Yocto-built kernel shows that it randomly > sometimes happens and sometimes doesn't with either the Edup or D-Link > devices. That's especially interesting, because it suggests that there may be > a > race condition happening during the driver initialisation code (called from > rt2x00lib_start()). At first I thought it was a race condition between the > calls > to rt2x00lib_load_firmware() and rt2x00lib_initialize(), but adding a time > delay between those calls didn't help. > > I'm wondering what the difference is between the two chipsets, so that the > problem happens more on one chipset than the other. But not exclusively, as > I mentioned above, so again, this points to a marginal timing issue that > affects
RE: rt2800usb firmware rt2870.bin 0.36 not scanning
I wrote: > I wrote: > > I wrote: > > > Xose Vazquez Perez wrote: > > > > Craig McQueen wrote: > > > > > > > > > I have a D-Link DWA-140 USB Wi-Fi device which is rt2800 based > > > > > (5392 chipset). I'm trying to use it on a BeagleBone Black based > > > > > system with 3.14.x kernel built with Yocto. We're using ConnMan > > > > > 1.30 at the > > > moment. > > > > > > > > Try it with a _desktop x86_64 distribution_ , with a *recent > > > > kernel* as > > > > Fedora: (WORK is gnome) > > > > https://alt.fedoraproject.org/pub/alt/live-respins/ > > > > > > Hmm, that is non-trivial but I may try it. > > > > > > For now, I'll also try a 4.4.6 kernel running on a BeagleBone Black > > > (with a USB hub to work around another issue with the rt2800usb > > > driver crashing as described in another e-mail). > > > > > > > > We've been finding some instabilities with it periodically > > > > > disconnecting from some networks. So we tried upgrading the > > > > > firmware file rt2870.bin from version 0.29 to 0.36. That seems > > > > > to be more stable with the network. However, we're finding that > > > > > it initially doesn't connect, until the Wi-Fi has been disabled > > > > > and then re- > > enabled. ' > > > > scan wifi' > > > > > and 'iwlist scan' don't return anything until Wi-Fi has been > > > > > disabled and then re-enabled. > > > > > > > > Don't use any wrapper(NM, ConnMan, wicd, ...), usually are buggy. > > > > You should use raw commands "iw" and "wpa_supplicant". Hints: > > > > https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/documentation/iw and > > > > wpa_supplicant always running with "-Dnl80211" > > > > > > Okay, I've stripped down the system so ConnMan, udev rules aren't > > running. > > > > > > On all systems, after plugging in the device, I have to issue: > > > > > > ip link set wlan0 up > > > > > > After this, I try to do a scan: > > > > > > iw dev wlan0 scan > > > > > > On kernel 4.4.6, with firmware 0.36, it works fine (lists APs it > > > finds). On kernel 3.14.x, with firmware 0.29, it works fine. But on > > > kernel 3.14.x, with firmware 0.36, it returns nothing. But then, if I do > > > this: > > > > > > ip link set wlan0 down > > > ip link set wlan0 up > > > iw dev wlan0 scan > > > > > > Then it works fine. > > > > > > So, the question is, why does firmware 0.36 with kernel 3.14.x not > > > work until I've made the interface go up, then down, and then up again? > > > > I've managed to build, using Yocto, kernel 4.4.12 for BeagleBone. When > > I run it, it has the same problem. That's different from the Ubuntu > > 16.04 for BeagleBone using 4.4.6 kernel. > > > > With my Yocto build, it had a different version of the 'ip' and 'iw' > commands. > > So I tried copying the Ubuntu versions, but that didn't make a > > difference. I tried using the Yocto built 4.4.12 kernel with the > > Ubuntu root filesystem, but it halted during the boot process (don't > > know why). My best guess is that there's some kernel config difference > > that makes a difference, but there are many differences, so I'm not sure > which one it might be. > > > > I'm not sure at this point how to narrow it down to the root cause. > > Any advice? > > > > I wonder if maybe there's a race condition in the rt2800usb driver > > between loading the rt2870.bin firmware and doing the interface-up > initialisation. > > Normally the firmware loads at the point of doing the 'iw link set wlan0 up' > > command. Is there a way to force the firmware to load before that > > command? > > I've got two rt2800 devices: > > * D-Link DWA-140 with RT chipset 5392, rev 0223, and RF chipset 5372 > * Edup EP-N8537 with RT chipset 5390, rev 0502, and RF chipset 5370 > > I've also found that with the Yocto-built 4.4.12 kernel, this no-scan issue > only > happens to the Edup with the 5390 chipset. The D-Link is fine. Actually, I was wrong. With the 3.14.x Yocto-built kernel, this no-scan issue only happens with the Edup with the 5390 chipset, and the D-Link is fine. But further testing with the 4.4.12 Yocto-built kernel shows that it randomly sometimes happens and sometimes doesn't with either the Edup or D-Link devices. That's especially interesting, because it suggests that there may be a race condition happening during the driver initialisation code (called from rt2x00lib_start()). At first I thought it was a race condition between the calls to rt2x00lib_load_firmware() and rt2x00lib_initialize(), but adding a time delay between those calls didn't help. I'm wondering what the difference is between the two chipsets, so that the problem happens more on one chipset than the other. But not exclusively, as I mentioned above, so again, this points to a marginal timing issue that affects one more than the other. > With the Ubuntu 4.4.6 kernel, both devices work fine, without this no-scan > problem. > ... -- Craig McQueen
RE: rt2800usb firmware rt2870.bin 0.36 not scanning
I wrote: > I wrote: > > Xose Vazquez Perez wrote: > > > Craig McQueen wrote: > > > > > > > I have a D-Link DWA-140 USB Wi-Fi device which is rt2800 based > > > > (5392 chipset). I'm trying to use it on a BeagleBone Black based > > > > system with 3.14.x kernel built with Yocto. We're using ConnMan > > > > 1.30 at the > > moment. > > > > > > Try it with a _desktop x86_64 distribution_ , with a *recent kernel* > > > as > > > Fedora: (WORK is gnome) > > > https://alt.fedoraproject.org/pub/alt/live-respins/ > > > > Hmm, that is non-trivial but I may try it. > > > > For now, I'll also try a 4.4.6 kernel running on a BeagleBone Black > > (with a USB hub to work around another issue with the rt2800usb driver > > crashing as described in another e-mail). > > > > > > We've been finding some instabilities with it periodically > > > > disconnecting from some networks. So we tried upgrading the > > > > firmware file rt2870.bin from version 0.29 to 0.36. That seems to > > > > be more stable with the network. However, we're finding that it > > > > initially doesn't connect, until the Wi-Fi has been disabled and then > > > > re- > enabled. ' > > > scan wifi' > > > > and 'iwlist scan' don't return anything until Wi-Fi has been > > > > disabled and then re-enabled. > > > > > > Don't use any wrapper(NM, ConnMan, wicd, ...), usually are buggy. > > > You should use raw commands "iw" and "wpa_supplicant". Hints: > > > https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/documentation/iw and > > > wpa_supplicant always running with "-Dnl80211" > > > > Okay, I've stripped down the system so ConnMan, udev rules aren't > running. > > > > On all systems, after plugging in the device, I have to issue: > > > > ip link set wlan0 up > > > > After this, I try to do a scan: > > > > iw dev wlan0 scan > > > > On kernel 4.4.6, with firmware 0.36, it works fine (lists APs it > > finds). On kernel 3.14.x, with firmware 0.29, it works fine. But on > > kernel 3.14.x, with firmware 0.36, it returns nothing. But then, if I do > > this: > > > > ip link set wlan0 down > > ip link set wlan0 up > > iw dev wlan0 scan > > > > Then it works fine. > > > > So, the question is, why does firmware 0.36 with kernel 3.14.x not > > work until I've made the interface go up, then down, and then up again? > > I've managed to build, using Yocto, kernel 4.4.12 for BeagleBone. When I run > it, it has the same problem. That's different from the Ubuntu 16.04 for > BeagleBone using 4.4.6 kernel. > > With my Yocto build, it had a different version of the 'ip' and 'iw' commands. > So I tried copying the Ubuntu versions, but that didn't make a difference. I > tried using the Yocto built 4.4.12 kernel with the Ubuntu root filesystem, but > it halted during the boot process (don't know why). My best guess is that > there's some kernel config difference that makes a difference, but there are > many differences, so I'm not sure which one it might be. > > I'm not sure at this point how to narrow it down to the root cause. Any > advice? > > I wonder if maybe there's a race condition in the rt2800usb driver between > loading the rt2870.bin firmware and doing the interface-up initialisation. > Normally the firmware loads at the point of doing the 'iw link set wlan0 up' > command. Is there a way to force the firmware to load before that > command? I've got two rt2800 devices: * D-Link DWA-140 with RT chipset 5392, rev 0223, and RF chipset 5372 * Edup EP-N8537 with RT chipset 5390, rev 0502, and RF chipset 5370 I've also found that with the Yocto-built 4.4.12 kernel, this no-scan issue only happens to the Edup with the 5390 chipset. The D-Link is fine. With the Ubuntu 4.4.6 kernel, both devices work fine, without this no-scan problem. I'm having trouble narrowing it down further, since these varying circumstances don't obviously point towards a root cause. Somehow it seems to be dependent on a combination of kernel configuration, the device's chipset, and which firmware is loaded on the device. Unless it's just a marginal timing issue due to some race condition. But at this point I'm not sure where to look. Any advice would be much appreciated; I'm not sure where to look next since I'm not familiar with the USB and Wi-Fi systems of the kernel. Where might I find rt2800 experts/maintainers these days who might be able to give some advice on this? Thanks, Craig McQueen
RE: rt2800usb firmware rt2870.bin 0.36 not scanning
Craig McQueen wrote: > Xose Vazquez Perez wrote: > > Craig McQueen wrote: > > > > > I have a D-Link DWA-140 USB Wi-Fi device which is rt2800 based (5392 > > > chipset). I'm trying to use it on a BeagleBone Black based system > > > with 3.14.x kernel built with Yocto. We're using ConnMan 1.30 at the > moment. > > > > Try it with a _desktop x86_64 distribution_ , with a *recent kernel* > > as > > Fedora: (WORK is gnome) > > https://alt.fedoraproject.org/pub/alt/live-respins/ > > Hmm, that is non-trivial but I may try it. > > For now, I'll also try a 4.4.6 kernel running on a BeagleBone Black (with a > USB > hub to work around another issue with the rt2800usb driver crashing as > described in another e-mail). > > > > We've been finding some instabilities with it periodically > > > disconnecting from some networks. So we tried upgrading the firmware > > > file rt2870.bin from version 0.29 to 0.36. That seems to be more > > > stable with the network. However, we're finding that it initially > > > doesn't connect, until the Wi-Fi has been disabled and then re-enabled. ' > > scan wifi' > > > and 'iwlist scan' don't return anything until Wi-Fi has been > > > disabled and then re-enabled. > > > > Don't use any wrapper(NM, ConnMan, wicd, ...), usually are buggy. You > > should use raw commands "iw" and "wpa_supplicant". Hints: > > https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/documentation/iw and > > wpa_supplicant always running with "-Dnl80211" > > Okay, I've stripped down the system so ConnMan, udev rules aren't running. > > On all systems, after plugging in the device, I have to issue: > > ip link set wlan0 up > > After this, I try to do a scan: > > iw dev wlan0 scan > > On kernel 4.4.6, with firmware 0.36, it works fine (lists APs it finds). On > kernel > 3.14.x, with firmware 0.29, it works fine. But on kernel 3.14.x, with firmware > 0.36, it returns nothing. But then, if I do this: > > ip link set wlan0 down > ip link set wlan0 up > iw dev wlan0 scan > > Then it works fine. > > So, the question is, why does firmware 0.36 with kernel 3.14.x not work until > I've made the interface go up, then down, and then up again? I've managed to build, using Yocto, kernel 4.4.12 for BeagleBone. When I run it, it has the same problem. That's different from the Ubuntu 16.04 for BeagleBone using 4.4.6 kernel. With my Yocto build, it had a different version of the 'ip' and 'iw' commands. So I tried copying the Ubuntu versions, but that didn't make a difference. I tried using the Yocto built 4.4.12 kernel with the Ubuntu root filesystem, but it halted during the boot process (don't know why). My best guess is that there's some kernel config difference that makes a difference, but there are many differences, so I'm not sure which one it might be. I'm not sure at this point how to narrow it down to the root cause. Any advice? I wonder if maybe there's a race condition in the rt2800usb driver between loading the rt2870.bin firmware and doing the interface-up initialisation. Normally the firmware loads at the point of doing the 'iw link set wlan0 up' command. Is there a way to force the firmware to load before that command? -- Craig McQueen
RE: rt2800usb firmware rt2870.bin 0.36 not scanning
Xose Vazquez Perez wrote: > Craig McQueen wrote: > > > I have a D-Link DWA-140 USB Wi-Fi device which is rt2800 based (5392 > > chipset). I'm trying to use it on a BeagleBone Black based system with > > 3.14.x kernel built with Yocto. We're using ConnMan 1.30 at the moment. > > Try it with a _desktop x86_64 distribution_ , with a *recent kernel* as > Fedora: (WORK is gnome) https://alt.fedoraproject.org/pub/alt/live-respins/ Hmm, that is non-trivial but I may try it. For now, I'll also try a 4.4.6 kernel running on a BeagleBone Black (with a USB hub to work around another issue with the rt2800usb driver crashing as described in another e-mail). > > We've been finding some instabilities with it periodically > > disconnecting from some networks. So we tried upgrading the firmware > > file rt2870.bin from version 0.29 to 0.36. That seems to be more > > stable with the network. However, we're finding that it initially > > doesn't connect, until the Wi-Fi has been disabled and then re-enabled. ' > scan wifi' > > and 'iwlist scan' don't return anything until Wi-Fi has been disabled > > and then re-enabled. > > Don't use any wrapper(NM, ConnMan, wicd, ...), usually are buggy. You > should use raw commands "iw" and "wpa_supplicant". Hints: > https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/documentation/iw and > wpa_supplicant always running with "-Dnl80211" Okay, I've stripped down the system so ConnMan, udev rules aren't running. On all systems, after plugging in the device, I have to issue: ip link set wlan0 up After this, I try to do a scan: iw dev wlan0 scan On kernel 4.4.6, with firmware 0.36, it works fine (lists APs it finds). On kernel 3.14.x, with firmware 0.29, it works fine. But on kernel 3.14.x, with firmware 0.36, it returns nothing. But then, if I do this: ip link set wlan0 down ip link set wlan0 up iw dev wlan0 scan Then it works fine. So, the question is, why does firmware 0.36 with kernel 3.14.x not work until I've made the interface go up, then down, and then up again? > > Have there been any Linux driver changes needed to support this 0.36 > > firmware? Does anyone have any pointers on where to look to understand > > this behaviour between 0.29 and 0.36 firmware? > > closed source, but old changelogs are available at: > http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/pipermail/users_rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/ > 2013-September/006391.html > > Related to latest firmware releases, ralink/mediatek guys say: > "According to the engineers comment, the firmware didn't change much > these years, just some bbp register update and led stuff." -- Craig McQueen
Re: rt2800usb firmware rt2870.bin 0.36 not scanning
Craig McQueen wrote: > I have a D-Link DWA-140 USB Wi-Fi device which is rt2800 based (5392 > chipset). I'm trying to use it on a BeagleBone Black based system with > 3.14.x kernel built with Yocto. We're using ConnMan 1.30 at the moment. Try it with a _desktop x86_64 distribution_ , with a *recent kernel* as Fedora: (WORK is gnome) https://alt.fedoraproject.org/pub/alt/live-respins/ > We've been finding some instabilities with it periodically disconnecting > from some networks. So we tried upgrading the firmware file rt2870.bin > from version 0.29 to 0.36. That seems to be more stable with the > network. However, we're finding that it initially doesn't connect, until > the Wi-Fi has been disabled and then re-enabled. ' scan wifi' > and 'iwlist scan' don't return anything until Wi-Fi has been disabled > and then re-enabled. Don't use any wrapper(NM, ConnMan, wicd, ...), usually are buggy. You should use raw commands "iw" and "wpa_supplicant". Hints: https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/documentation/iw and wpa_supplicant always running with "-Dnl80211" > Have there been any Linux driver changes needed to support this 0.36 > firmware? Does anyone have any pointers on where to look to understand > this behaviour between 0.29 and 0.36 firmware? closed source, but old changelogs are available at: http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/pipermail/users_rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/2013-September/006391.html Related to latest firmware releases, ralink/mediatek guys say: "According to the engineers comment, the firmware didn't change much these years, just some bbp register update and led stuff." -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-wireless" in the body of a message to majord...@vger.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html
