Re: [zd1211-devs] experiences with Fiberline WL-430U

[Remco <re...@d-...>]

disclaimer:=20
answers are based on what I remember, they should be fairly accurate.

> of messages.  The last messages were as follows:
>
>  zd1211: Mixed Mode
>  zd1211: AllowedChannel =3D 000007ff
>         zd1211: LinkLEDn =3D 200
>         AllowedChannel =3D 000107ff
>         Region: 48
>  zd1205: (exit) zd1205_config, /usr/src/zd1211-driver-r71/src/zd1205.c
>   line 2597
>  zd1205: (exit) zd1205_config, /usr/src/zd1211-driver-r71/src/zd1205.c
>   line 8555
>
> Is mixed mode okay? =20
>
AFAICT it means the stick can connect to either 802.11B or 802.11G networks.
It should be possible to change it with one of the iwpriv commands.

> Are the last two messages in any way problematic?=20
>
No, they show the 'zd1205_config' function has ended.

> Now I entered iwlist wlan0 scan.  The output was:
>
>  wlan0    Interface doesn't support scanning.
>
> Why this?  Is this because the interface wasn't brought up yet with
> ifconfig wlan0 up?
>
Yes, bringing up the interface also "activates" the hardware. In the down=20
state some configuration may be possible, but the hardware isn't fully=20
functional.

> Now I entered exactly this: ifconfig wlan0 up.  The kernel output this:
>
> ...
>  ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
> ...
> >  zd1211: STA_ASSOCIATED with 00:01:f4:5b:a6:3b=20
>  ADDRCONF(NETDEV_CHANGE): wlan0: link becomes ready
>
> Why is the link not ready first? =20
>
My guess is because there is no association / connection to an AP, so there=
's=20
not any kind of link either.

> Why are there so many =E2=80=9CMixed Mode=E2=80=9D=20
> entries?=20
Don't know, maybe there's one entry for each channel scanned, see below.

> ...
>   Error for wireless request "Set Frequency" (8B04) :=20
>   SET failed on device wlan0 ; Invalid argument.=20
> ...
> Is it normal that the ESSID, frequency and access point settings are made
> automatically?  On http://zd1211.ath.cx/ I'm told that I shall set the
> ESSID manually.
>
> Later I had the situation that iwlist wlan0 scan worked, i.e., showed me
> the correct data about my WLAN.  Surprisingly, I was not able to establish
> a link but the problem of ever-changing frequencies occured.  Is this a b=
ug
> in the driver?  Or a problem with the hardware?
>
In managed mode the stick seems to do some automatic scanning.
It seems to iterate over the available channels till it finds a network tha=
t=20
matches the iwconfig settings (mainly the ESSID is my guess) and tries to=20
connect to that.
Maybe it's not possible to set the channel/frequency in managed mode becaus=
e=20
the driver/hardware tries to find an appropriate channel by itself.