I have laptop with a built-in realtek 0x8198 usb wireless. Initially I tried it under Fedora 10 x86_64 and Mandriva 2009 x86_64. Due to the following problem I then installed Mandriva 2009 x86. This is based on kernel 2.6.27.7.
The kernel picks up the wireless using the rtl8187 driver. On first install and booting, everything appears fine. Using WPA2 with a pre-shared key, everything comes up and connect correctly. Pinging around the network is no problem. However, after a time (30 minutes maybe) or when a reboot is performed, pinging fails.
iwconfig reports association to the access point
ifconfig shows the correct ip address
route -n shows the wireless as the correct network interface
Yet, it refuses to ping. All packets are reported as lost. Interestingly, a couple of times I have tried this, this has caused the wired ethernet connection to go down too, ie. ethernet connection properly set up on taking down the wireless (module still installed though) yet no pinging around the network.
Can someone advise on how I can debug this further or whether it has been fixed in svn?
Thanks
phantomjinx
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I have the exact same issue, except it doesn't seem to be about timing. Sometimes its five minutes of usage and sometimes its after 24 hours of usage. In gentoo, what I do is /etc/init.d/wlan0 restart to get the device to work again. I've had no luck just restarting wpa_supplicant... so its probably fixed by something in the network scripts in gentoo I guess. I've also never had luck with re-associating to a different AP when this occurs.
Drives me nuts. In fact, this problem actually occurred while I wrote this message.
I'm on kernel 2.6.27.4 compiled for x86_64. I'll try 2.6.29 soon and if it isn't fixed in that kernel I'll start trying to track down the problem.
<pre>
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:8197 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8187B Wireless Adapter
Device Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 1
bcdUSB 2.00
bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level)
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 64
idVendor 0x0bda Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
idProduct 0x8197 RTL8187B Wireless Adapter
bcdDevice 2.00
iManufacturer 1 Manufacturer_Realtek
iProduct 2
iSerial 3 00e04c000001
bNumConfigurations 1
Configuration Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 2
wTotalLength 81
bNumInterfaces 1
bConfigurationValue 1
iConfiguration 4 Wireless Network Card
bmAttributes 0x80
(Bus Powered)
MaxPower 500mA
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 0
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 9
bInterfaceClass 255 Vendor Specific Class
bInterfaceSubClass 255 Vendor Specific Subclass
bInterfaceProtocol 255 Vendor Specific Protocol
iInterface 2
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x83 EP 3 IN
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x04 EP 4 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x05 EP 5 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x06 EP 6 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x07 EP 7 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x89 EP 9 IN
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x0a EP 10 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x0b EP 11 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x0c EP 12 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
</pre>
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Have tried the 2.6.29 kernel and interestingly could not get it to associate the card with the access point :-( Would not say that is definitive as had problems getting the kernel compiled.
phantomjinx
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Sounds like the same problem a lot of us have had with the mac80211 driver and the rtl8187l chipset. I've been wondering if the same thing has been happening with the rtl8187b. I can't offer you a solution but I have dramatically increased my connectivity by switching back to the old ieee80211 driver for my rtl8187l. I can't be sure but maybe I did have better results with the ubuntu 8.04 stock rtl8187l mac80211 driver than the one in 8.10 (whatever version that one was). But like I said, I've now gone back to the ieee80211 driver and I can leave my usb rtl8187l device on for 24/7 connected to an AP that is 1/2 a mile away (with my parabolic) as opposed to drop outs with an AP in the same building.
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i manage to increase the stability of my connection by lowering the txpower to 5 (my default was 20, 2.6.34 kernel9 and by limiting the date to 18M (iwconfig wlan0 rate 18M auto) (tested for my connection, do a ping and watch when pings start to get lost and what speed the card is… kill -3 `pidof ping` will show the stats)
seems to me that too much power makes the card hotter or produces more noise, making the connection unstable… and that the driver is too aggressive to increase the wireless speed, but when data really needs to use the card, the higher speed make it lose the network registration.
the same computer, with windows, show a alot more stable connection, with a low txpower (maybe 1 or 5, cant tell) and less jumpy wireless rate (dont go so high, dont drop to so low levels)
good luck
If you would like to refer to this comment somewhere else in this project, copy and paste the following link:
Hi,
I have laptop with a built-in realtek 0x8198 usb wireless. Initially I tried it under Fedora 10 x86_64 and Mandriva 2009 x86_64. Due to the following problem I then installed Mandriva 2009 x86. This is based on kernel 2.6.27.7.
The kernel picks up the wireless using the rtl8187 driver. On first install and booting, everything appears fine. Using WPA2 with a pre-shared key, everything comes up and connect correctly. Pinging around the network is no problem. However, after a time (30 minutes maybe) or when a reboot is performed, pinging fails.
iwconfig reports association to the access point
ifconfig shows the correct ip address
route -n shows the wireless as the correct network interface
Yet, it refuses to ping. All packets are reported as lost. Interestingly, a couple of times I have tried this, this has caused the wired ethernet connection to go down too, ie. ethernet connection properly set up on taking down the wireless (module still installed though) yet no pinging around the network.
Can someone advise on how I can debug this further or whether it has been fixed in svn?
Thanks
phantomjinx
I have the exact same issue, except it doesn't seem to be about timing. Sometimes its five minutes of usage and sometimes its after 24 hours of usage. In gentoo, what I do is /etc/init.d/wlan0 restart to get the device to work again. I've had no luck just restarting wpa_supplicant... so its probably fixed by something in the network scripts in gentoo I guess. I've also never had luck with re-associating to a different AP when this occurs.
Drives me nuts. In fact, this problem actually occurred while I wrote this message.
I'm on kernel 2.6.27.4 compiled for x86_64. I'll try 2.6.29 soon and if it isn't fixed in that kernel I'll start trying to track down the problem.
<pre>
Bus 001 Device 003: ID 0bda:8197 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. RTL8187B Wireless Adapter
Device Descriptor:
bLength 18
bDescriptorType 1
bcdUSB 2.00
bDeviceClass 0 (Defined at Interface level)
bDeviceSubClass 0
bDeviceProtocol 0
bMaxPacketSize0 64
idVendor 0x0bda Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
idProduct 0x8197 RTL8187B Wireless Adapter
bcdDevice 2.00
iManufacturer 1 Manufacturer_Realtek
iProduct 2
iSerial 3 00e04c000001
bNumConfigurations 1
Configuration Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 2
wTotalLength 81
bNumInterfaces 1
bConfigurationValue 1
iConfiguration 4 Wireless Network Card
bmAttributes 0x80
(Bus Powered)
MaxPower 500mA
Interface Descriptor:
bLength 9
bDescriptorType 4
bInterfaceNumber 0
bAlternateSetting 0
bNumEndpoints 9
bInterfaceClass 255 Vendor Specific Class
bInterfaceSubClass 255 Vendor Specific Subclass
bInterfaceProtocol 255 Vendor Specific Protocol
iInterface 2
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x83 EP 3 IN
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x04 EP 4 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x05 EP 5 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x06 EP 6 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x07 EP 7 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x89 EP 9 IN
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x0a EP 10 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x0b EP 11 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
Endpoint Descriptor:
bLength 7
bDescriptorType 5
bEndpointAddress 0x0c EP 12 OUT
bmAttributes 2
Transfer Type Bulk
Synch Type None
Usage Type Data
wMaxPacketSize 0x0200 1x 512 bytes
bInterval 0
</pre>
Have tried the 2.6.29 kernel and interestingly could not get it to associate the card with the access point :-( Would not say that is definitive as had problems getting the kernel compiled.
phantomjinx
Sounds like the same problem a lot of us have had with the mac80211 driver and the rtl8187l chipset. I've been wondering if the same thing has been happening with the rtl8187b. I can't offer you a solution but I have dramatically increased my connectivity by switching back to the old ieee80211 driver for my rtl8187l. I can't be sure but maybe I did have better results with the ubuntu 8.04 stock rtl8187l mac80211 driver than the one in 8.10 (whatever version that one was). But like I said, I've now gone back to the ieee80211 driver and I can leave my usb rtl8187l device on for 24/7 connected to an AP that is 1/2 a mile away (with my parabolic) as opposed to drop outs with an AP in the same building.
i manage to increase the stability of my connection by lowering the txpower to 5 (my default was 20, 2.6.34 kernel9 and by limiting the date to 18M (iwconfig wlan0 rate 18M auto) (tested for my connection, do a ping and watch when pings start to get lost and what speed the card is… kill -3 `pidof ping` will show the stats)
seems to me that too much power makes the card hotter or produces more noise, making the connection unstable… and that the driver is too aggressive to increase the wireless speed, but when data really needs to use the card, the higher speed make it lose the network registration.
the same computer, with windows, show a alot more stable connection, with a low txpower (maybe 1 or 5, cant tell) and less jumpy wireless rate (dont go so high, dont drop to so low levels)
good luck