The rt2x00 driver does not start beaconing when a Mesh Point interface is brought up. It, however, does start beaconing after a scan is issued. To reproduce this, create and bring up a MP interface, for example: # iw phy phy0 interface add mesh0 type mp mesh_id testing # ifconfig mesh0 up ...and confirm that there are no beacons from the device via a network sniffer. Then issue a scan: # iwlist mesh0 scan ...and confirm that after the scan, the device beacons (and Mesh Point operation is working).
Does it help when instead of scanning you simply switch channel once?
Yes, that works. In fact you can specify channel 1 (the default channel for new mesh point interfaces) to start beaconing: # iw phy phy0 interface add mesh type mp mesh_id mymesh # ifconfig mesh up # iw dev mesh set channel 1 Does this help narrow down the issue?
Ivo, anything more to add here? Is this a driver issue, or a stack issue? (I haven't investigated...)
It is a driver issue. The problem is the initial configuration which requires the channel to be configured. The issue should have been fixed some time again though. I did some patches in this area some time ago, so at least the latest kernel should work correctly.
Are current kernels (i.e. 2.6.34-rc7 or later) working for you?
Closed due to lack of response...