Re: Need advice re: Wistron CM9 and Net 4501

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 10:57:32 -0800 

On Feb 25, 2010, at 4:58 AM, Aaron Mason wrote:
On Thu, Feb 25, 2010 at 7:25 AM, daniel <d...@redmountainfarm.net> wrote: 
I'm running 4.6 (release, I think) on a Soekris Net 4501. See dmesg,
below. I recently got a Wistron CM9 (ath) mini-pci card for it (I've
been running, wired-only, for 4-5 years). I'm getting a couple
different error messages while attempting to use it. I initially thought (hoped) that the problem was an insufficient power supply (12V 1.2A). I 
have since tried two other power supplies (up to 12V 2.5A) and still
have the same problems.

Most of the time the Soekris ends up hanging or otherwise becoming
completely unresponsive until I pull the plug and reboot it. Sometimes 
it takes several minutes to become unresponsive.

I've tried "ifconfig ath0 scan" but it doesn't seem to see anything--
even though I can usually see 10-12 APs from other machines. Before the 
Soekris hangs, I can see it from a laptop.

I'm trying to use it in hostap mode; configuring it as described in
ath(4) like this:
inet 192.168.1.1 255.255.255.0 NONE media autoselect mediaopt hostap 
\
      nwid my_net chan 11

I've tried bringing it up/down with ifconfig to try to reset and
reconfigure it but I can't seem to get anywhere.

At various times, I see:
ath0: ath_reset: unable to reset hardware; hal status 3534594048 
      ar5k_ar5212_nic_wakeup: failed to resume the AR5212 (again)
continuously on the console. ath(4) says the first line should not
happen and I can't find the status code enumerated in the HAL include
file. I couldn't find anything regarding the second line,
ar5k_ar5212_nic_wakeup.

I also see a lot of:
      /bsd: ath0: ath_chan_set: unable to reset channel 11 (2462 MHz)
in /var/log/messages. ath(4) says this also should not happen.


I'd really appreciate some guidance on how to debug this.

Thanks,

Daniel


OpenBSD 4.6 (GENERIC) #58: Thu Jul  9 21:24:42 MDT 2009
dera...@i386.openbsd.org:/usr/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/GENERIC
cpu0: AMD Am486DX4 W/B or Am5x86 W/B 150 ("AuthenticAMD" 486-class)
cpu0: FPU
real mem  = 66678784 (63MB)
avail mem = 54636544 (52MB)
mainbus0 at root
bios0 at mainbus0: AT/286+ BIOS, date 20/80/03, BIOS32 rev. 0 @ 0xf7840 
pcibios0 at bios0: rev 2.0 @ 0xf0000/0x10000
pcibios0: pcibios_get_intr_routing - function not supported
pcibios0: PCI IRQ Routing information unavailable.
pcibios0: PCI bus #0 is the last bus
cpu0 at mainbus0: (uniprocessor)
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0: configuration mode 1 (bios)
elansc0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0 "AMD ElanSC520 PCI" rev 0x00: product 0 
steppin
g 1.1, CPU clock 133MHz, reset 0
gpio0 at elansc0: 32 pins
ath0 at pci0 dev 16 function 0 "Atheros AR5212" rev 0x01: irq 10
ath0: AR5213A 5.9 phy 4.3 rf5112a 3.6, FCC2A*, address 00:0b:6b:de: 1d:a1 sis0 at pci0 dev 18 function 0 "NS DP83815 10/100" rev 0x00, DP83815D: irq 
11, a
ddress 00:00:24:c1:96:70
nsphyter0 at sis0 phy 0: DP83815 10/100 PHY, rev. 1
sis1 at pci0 dev 19 function 0 "NS DP83815 10/100" rev 0x00, DP83815D: irq 
5, ad
dress 00:00:24:c1:96:71
nsphyter1 at sis1 phy 0: DP83815 10/100 PHY, rev. 1
sis2 at pci0 dev 20 function 0 "NS DP83815 10/100" rev 0x00, DP83815D: irq 
9, ad
dress 00:00:24:c1:96:72
nsphyter2 at sis2 phy 0: DP83815 10/100 PHY, rev. 1
isa0 at mainbus0
isadma0 at isa0
com0 at isa0 port 0x3f8/8 irq 4: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo
com0: console
com1 at isa0 port 0x2f8/8 irq 3: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard
wdc0 at isa0 port 0x1f0/8 irq 14
wd0 at wdc0 channel 0 drive 0: <CF1G133>
wd0: 1-sector PIO, LBA, 991MB, 2030112 sectors
wd0(wdc0:0:0): using BIOS timings
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
midi0 at pcppi0: <PC speaker>
spkr0 at pcppi0
npx0 at isa0 port 0xf0/16: reported by CPUID; using exception 16
biomask f1c5 netmask ffe5 ttymask ffff
softraid0 at root
root on wd0a swap on wd0b dump on wd0b
sis2 at pci0 dev 20 function 0 "NS DP83815 10/100" rev 0x00, DP83815D: irq 
9, ad
dress 00:00:24:c1:96:72
nsphyter2 at sis2 phy 0: DP83815 10/100 PHY, rev. 1
isa0 at mainbus0
isadma0 at isa0
com0 at isa0 port 0x3f8/8 irq 4: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo
com0: console
com1 at isa0 port 0x2f8/8 irq 3: ns16550a, 16 byte fifo
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard
wdc0 at isa0 port 0x1f0/8 irq 14
wd0 at wdc0 channel 0 drive 0: <CF1G133>
wd0: 1-sector PIO, LBA, 991MB, 2030112 sectors
wd0(wdc0:0:0): using BIOS timings
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
midi0 at pcppi0: <PC speaker>
spkr0 at pcppi0
npx0 at isa0 port 0xf0/16: reported by CPUID; using exception 16
biomask f1c5 netmask ffe5 ttymask ffff
softraid0 at root
root on wd0a swap on wd0b dump on wd0b
WARNING: / was not properly unmounted # [ because it keeps hanging ] 




I presume this relates to the previous post where you mentioned that
you added a CM9 to a net4501.

Firstly, the scanning issue.  The CM9 is an industrial card designed
for use in wireless links and in IBSS networks.  They don't have the
ability to search for other access points - they're meant to BE an
access point.

Secondly, since you've already used a 12V/2.5A (which is actually
three times over the top for a board which has a 10W limit), it might
be worth considering that maybe the 4501 isn't designed for a wireless
card.  Maybe it's time for an upgrade to a Geode-based net5501 - or
perhaps an ALIX board.  A 4511 or 4521 is a possibility.

Sorry I couldn't give the answer you were hoping for.

--
Aaron Mason - Programmer, open source addict
I've taken my software vows - for beta or for worse



Thanks for the reply.

I assume you are saying that the Net 4501 is inherently not well suited
for the task. As long as you are correct (and I have no reason to assume
that you aren't), you've given me exactly the answer I was hoping for.
I don't want to waste anyone's time (certainly not my own). I don't have
much experience at this level with wifi and I want to learn, but not by
barking up the wrong trees.

I had assumed that it was common for people to use Net 4501s as wireless
APs. Don't take offense if you see me posting a similar question on the
Soekris list to test that assumption.

As you suggested, I'm going to buy a more modern board for my wireless
needs: I used to love whiling away the hours playing with hardware but
nowadays, a couple of hours (already spent) is the equivalent of
purchasing a new board.

Thanks.

Daniel

Reply via email to