Bug 20922 - AR9285 connection problem
Summary: AR9285 connection problem
Status: RESOLVED CODE_FIX
Alias: None
Product: Drivers
Classification: Unclassified
Component: network-wireless (show other bugs)
Hardware: All Linux
: P1 normal
Assignee: Atheros developers
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2010-10-22 12:52 UTC by Mike Okun
Modified: 2012-08-14 11:20 UTC (History)
8 users (show)

See Also:
Kernel Version: 2.6.35
Subsystem:
Regression: No
Bisected commit-id:


Attachments
hostapd.conf (40.98 KB, application/octet-stream)
2010-10-30 23:04 UTC, Mike Okun
Details
dmesg.log (56.52 KB, application/octet-stream)
2010-10-30 23:05 UTC, Mike Okun
Details
ath debug log (128.24 KB, application/x-gzip)
2010-10-31 00:23 UTC, Mike Okun
Details

Description Mike Okun 2010-10-22 12:52:11 UTC
I am experiencing connection problems using Gentoo 2.6.35-r6 with AR9285 chipset (Zotac NM10 motherboard) in master mode. 
Actually wifi works pretty well in the immediate vicinity of AR9285 antenna, but if the distance is about 2-3m connection is lost, while signal strength reported by notebook is still "excelent" or "very good".
I have tested with Sony Vaio Z51 (Intel 5100ABG) and Goolge Nexus phone. I have tried ath9k from kernel sources, compat-wireless-2.6.35-1 and compat-wireless-2010-10-20.

lscpi:
03:00.0 Network controller: Atheros Communications Inc. AR9285 Wireless Network Adapter (PCI-Express) (rev 01)
        Subsystem: Device 1a3b:1089
        Control: I/O+ Mem+ BusMaster+ SpecCycle- MemWINV- VGASnoop- ParErr- Stepping- SERR- FastB2B- DisINTx-
        Status: Cap+ 66MHz- UDF- FastB2B- ParErr- DEVSEL=fast >TAbort- <TAbort- <MAbort- >SERR- <PERR- INTx-
        Latency: 0, Cache Line Size: 32 bytes
        Interrupt: pin A routed to IRQ 19
        Region 0: Memory at febf0000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]
        Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 3
                Flags: PMEClk- DSI- D1+ D2- AuxCurrent=375mA PME(D0+,D1+,D2-,D3hot+,D3cold+)
                Status: D0 NoSoftRst- PME-Enable- DSel=0 DScale=0 PME-
        Capabilities: [50] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-
                Address: 00000000  Data: 0000
        Capabilities: [60] Express (v2) Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00
                DevCap: MaxPayload 128 bytes, PhantFunc 0, Latency L0s <512ns, L1 <64us
                        ExtTag- AttnBtn- AttnInd- PwrInd- RBE+ FLReset-
                DevCtl: Report errors: Correctable- Non-Fatal- Fatal- Unsupported-
                        RlxdOrd+ ExtTag- PhantFunc- AuxPwr- NoSnoop-
                        MaxPayload 128 bytes, MaxReadReq 512 bytes
                DevSta: CorrErr+ UncorrErr- FatalErr- UnsuppReq+ AuxPwr+ TransPend-
                LnkCap: Port #0, Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, ASPM L0s L1, Latency L0 <512ns, L1 <64us
                        ClockPM- Surprise- LLActRep- BwNot-
                LnkCtl: ASPM Disabled; RCB 64 bytes Disabled- Retrain- CommClk+
                        ExtSynch- ClockPM- AutWidDis- BWInt- AutBWInt-
                LnkSta: Speed 2.5GT/s, Width x1, TrErr- Train- SlotClk+ DLActive- BWMgmt- ABWMgmt-
                DevCap2: Completion Timeout: Not Supported, TimeoutDis+
                DevCtl2: Completion Timeout: 50us to 50ms, TimeoutDis-
                LnkCtl2: Target Link Speed: 2.5GT/s, EnterCompliance- SpeedDis-, Selectable De-emphasis: -6dB
                         Transmit Margin: Normal Operating Range, EnterModifiedCompliance- ComplianceSOS-
                         Compliance De-emphasis: -6dB
                LnkSta2: Current De-emphasis Level: -6dB
        Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting
                UESta:  DLP- SDES- TLP- FCP- CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF- MalfTLP- ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSViol-
                UEMsk:  DLP- SDES- TLP- FCP- CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF- MalfTLP- ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSViol-
                UESvrt: DLP+ SDES+ TLP- FCP+ CmpltTO- CmpltAbrt- UnxCmplt- RxOF+ MalfTLP+ ECRC- UnsupReq- ACSViol-
                CESta:  RxErr- BadTLP- BadDLLP- Rollover- Timeout- NonFatalErr+
                CEMsk:  RxErr- BadTLP- BadDLLP- Rollover- Timeout- NonFatalErr+
                AERCap: First Error Pointer: 00, GenCap+ CGenEn- ChkCap+ ChkEn-
        Capabilities: [140] Virtual Channel <?>
        Capabilities: [160] Device Serial Number 00-15-17-ff-ff-24-14-12
        Capabilities: [170] Power Budgeting <?>
        Kernel driver in use: ath9k
        Kernel modules: ath9k


iwconfig:

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  Mode:Master  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Tx-Power=20 dBm
          Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on

Also I tried to change to Ad=Hoc mode with the same results.

Please let me know what additional information I should provide.
Comment 1 Senthil Balasubramanian 2010-10-26 16:07:21 UTC
We shall try to reproduce the issue here and in the mean time, can you please provide us the hostapd config file and also the verbose logs. Also provide the dmesg log.

does this issue happen in Open/security? Also were you running any traffic when the failure was noticed and if so what type of traffic.
Comment 2 Mike Okun 2010-10-30 23:04:18 UTC
Created attachment 35532 [details]
hostapd.conf
Comment 3 Mike Okun 2010-10-30 23:05:17 UTC
Created attachment 35542 [details]
dmesg.log
Comment 4 Mike Okun 2010-10-30 23:52:59 UTC
I have attached hostapd.conf and dmesg output as you requested. As concerning any special type of traffic I can't select something special, the main reason for disconnect is the distance to AR9285 larger then 0.5-2 m.  I have build kernel and compat-wireless with debug and there is no error, fatal log is empty. I will attach it also, may be it can help.
Comment 5 Mike Okun 2010-10-31 00:23:14 UTC
Created attachment 35562 [details]
ath debug log
Comment 6 njin 2010-12-16 18:26:49 UTC
Bug still present in 2.6.37.7 Natty
Comment 7 shafi 2010-12-18 12:34:21 UTC
(In reply to comment #6)
> Bug still present in 2.6.37.7 Natty

You are using it as an AP and disconnection happens only when the distance is increased ?
Comment 8 Mike Okun 2011-01-01 22:56:21 UTC
Yes, I am using it as AP. Disconnect is happen when the distance is larger then 1.5-2 m. It is also not possible to connect to AP if the distance is larger then this limit.
Comment 9 Morten Juhl Hansen 2011-01-02 22:09:55 UTC
Hi 

I also have a problem with the wireless network connection and i'm also on the AR9285. I have already reported my problem at bugs.launchpad - see this: 
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+bug/668924

In short my problem came with the upgrade from ubuntu 9.10 to 10.04. The problem is still on ubuntu 10.10. The network manager doesn't show the available wireless networks in 10.04 and 10.10.
If I boot up in windows or on a live cd with 9.10 (and when I had the 9.10 working) the networks are visible and available.
I'm on a HP dv6 2050eo.

Regards Morten
Comment 10 Karol Trojanowski 2011-03-03 11:15:36 UTC
Hi

I'm on Linux Mint 10 on ASUS UL20FT. The chip is also AR9285. I'm experiencing extensive packet loss (30-60%) and association problems (direct probe to xx:xx:xx:xx:xx timed out) while 6-9 meters from AP. speedtest.net yields stuttering transfer which peaks at 1 Mb/s, while all other computers get 15 Mb/s. The problem vanishes when in the same room as the router. Also when the router is set to channel 6 or higher, it won't ever associate. The connection rate given by iwconfig is rarely higher than 1Mb/s.

I have tried Ubuntu 10.10 with 2.6.35-27 (same as LM 10), 32 and 64 bit. Same results. The best results were with ndiswrapper and driver 7.7.0.259, but still VERY sensitive to distance from AP. The security is WPA2 Private AES, but WPA and WEP yield the same results.

I tried following combinations of kernel and compat-wireless:
- 2.6.35-27-generic and ath9k from linux-backports-modules-wireless-maverick-generic and following compat-wireless:
    - 2010-01-24
    - 2010-09-12
    - 2010-12-26
    - 2011-01-24
    - 2011-03-01
    - compat-wireless-2.6.35-rc2

- 2.6.38-020638rc6-generic from kernel.ubuntu.com with the following compat-wireless:
    - compat-wireless-2.6.38-rc4-1 (other wouldn't build)

- git trunk of wireless-testing from wireless.kernel.org as of 2011-03-02

All to same results. When FAR FROM AP (~9m, signal ~70%):
dmesg:

	[ 2528.290977] ieee80211 phy0: Atheros AR9285 Rev:2 mem=0xf8420000, irq=17
	[ 2528.327923] ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
	[ 2529.243442] cfg80211: Found new beacon on frequency: 2472 MHz (Ch 13) on phy0
	[ 2535.937169] wlan0: direct probe to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 1/3)
	[ 2536.134409] wlan0: direct probe to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 2/3)
	[ 2536.334147] wlan0: direct probe to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 3/3)
	[ 2536.533921] wlan0: direct probe to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad timed out
	[ 2547.011076] wlan0: direct probe to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 1/3)
	[ 2547.014426] wlan0: direct probe responded
	[ 2547.038557] wlan0: authenticate with 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 1)
	[ 2547.236324] wlan0: authenticate with 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 2)
	[ 2547.436082] wlan0: authenticate with 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 3)
	[ 2547.635830] wlan0: authentication with 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad timed out
	[ 2558.089096] wlan0: direct probe to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 1/3)
	[ 2558.286349] wlan0: direct probe to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 2/3)
	[ 2558.486096] wlan0: direct probe to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 3/3)
	[ 2558.685851] wlan0: direct probe to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad timed out

iw event -t:

	1299147620.563447: wlan0 (phy #0): scan started
	1299147621.612001: wlan0 (phy #0): scan finished: 2412 2417 2422 2427 2432 2437 2442 2447 2452 2457 2462 2467 2472 2484, "linksys"
	1299147622.254610: wlan0 (phy #0): auth: timed out
	1299147622.254685: wlan0 (phy #0): failed to connect to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad, status: 1: Unspecified failure

At this distance a similar setup with Intel wireless on Ubuntu 10:10 works perfectly.

When NEAR AP (<9m, signal ~90%):
dmesg:

	[ 1994.902563] wlan0: authenticate with 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 1)
	[ 1994.904815] wlan0: authenticated
	[ 1994.904913] wlan0: associate with 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (try 1)
	[ 1994.907383] wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad (capab=0x431 status=0 aid=3)
	[ 1994.907390] wlan0: associated

iw event -t:

	1299149713.853438: phy #0: regulatory domain change: set to world roaming by the wireless core upon initialization request
	1299149713.955819: wlan0 (phy #0): scan started
	1299149714.900739: wlan0 (phy #0): scan finished: 2412 2417 2422 2427 2432 2437 2442 2447 2452 2457 2462 2467 2472 2484, ""
	1299149714.926746: wlan0 (phy #0): auth 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad -> 74:f0:6d:97:98:db status: 0: Successful
	1299149714.929376: wlan0: new station 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad
	1299149714.929836: wlan0 (phy #0): assoc 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad -> 74:f0:6d:97:98:db status: 0: Successful
	1299149714.929893: wlan0 (phy #0): connected to 00:1a:70:df:6c:ad

Unless the distance is <6m, there is extensive packet loss and frequent disassociation. This happens for all mentioned kernels and versions of ath9k. The most recent I have is the one from git trunk of wireless-testing as of 2011-03-02.

modinfo:
	filename:       /lib/modules/2.6.38-rc6-wl/kernel/drivers/net/wireless/ath/ath9k/ath9k.ko
	license:        Dual BSD/GPL
	description:    Support for Atheros 802.11n wireless LAN cards.
	author:         Atheros Communications
	srcversion:     F1306F1267D50A98C510E6F
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd00000032sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd00000030sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd0000002Esv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd0000002Dsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd0000002Csv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd0000002Bsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd0000002Asv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd00000029sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd00000027sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd00000024sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	alias:          pci:v0000168Cd00000023sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
	depends:        ath9k_hw,mac80211,cfg80211,ath9k_common,ath
	vermagic:       2.6.38-rc6-wl SMP mod_unload modversions 686 
	parm:           debug:Debugging mask (uint)
	parm:           nohwcrypt:Disable hardware encryption (int)
	parm:           blink:Enable LED blink on activity (int)
	parm:           btcoex_enable:Enable wifi-BT coexistence (int)

iwconfig wlan0 (when associated and ~7m from AP):

	wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"linksys"  
		  Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412 GHz  Access Point: 00:1A:70:DF:6C:AD   
		  Bit Rate=1 Mb/s   Tx-Power=17 dBm   
		  Retry  long limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
		  Encryption key:off
		  Power Management:on
		  Link Quality=64/70  Signal level=-46 dBm  
		  Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
		  Tx excessive retries:1001  Invalid misc:1340   Missed beacon:0

I hope this is in any way helpful. I hope this will be fixed soon. As for now, my wife can't enjoy her brand new laptop :(

Regards,
Karol
Comment 11 a.hortelano 2011-03-15 09:59:40 UTC
I have this issue, and I solved it by manually installing the latest compat-wireless.

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