In message <20051019012935.GA20196@panix.com>, Thor Lancelot Simon writes:
>On Tue, Oct 18, 2005 at 11:11:39PM +0000, Marcin Jessa wrote:
>>
>> When it comes to the ath implementation for NetBSD it seems to be there
>> just for the records. 
>> Sadly it looks like it can't be used for any serious purpose.
>
>That's nonsense.  I use it every day, in NetBSD-current, and it works
>fine.
>
>In fact, I'm typing this through a Soekris with an Atheros wireless
>module in hostap mode right now.
>
Sometimes it works well; other times, it doesn't.  I put in many hours 
on a wireless connection in my house over the last week; except for 
eating my battery alive, it worked flawlessly.  A month ago, I was 
completely unable to acquire carrier at a public hot spot, even though
wlanctl said that I was receiving a strong signal.  

It's not useless, but in congested networks it can be pretty close to 
it.  At the IETF meeting in Paris, I sometimes had to find a wired 
connection, because it either couldn't acquire or couldn't hold 
carrier.  Beyond that, even when it's been working, I see frequent 
instances of carrier drop/carrier restore, with the laptop a meter from 
the access point.  (Oddly enough, I did not see *anything* like that 
over this last week.  Maybe recent changes have helped.  I do note, 
though -- and I'm not the only one -- that my card is running at 36 
Mbps right now (on 802.11g), even though it's in its usual meter-away
position.)

		--Steven M. Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb