Subject: Re: slashdot on 'OpenBSD Activism Shows Drivers Can Be Freed'
To: None <sam@errno.com>
From: List Mail User <track@Plectere.com>
List: tech-net
Date: 11/09/2004 10:21:53
From sam@errno.com Tue Nov  9 09:12:54 2004
From: Sam Leffler <sam@errno.com>
Organization: Errno Consulting
To: List Mail User <track@Plectere.com>
Subject: Re: slashdot on 'OpenBSD Activism Shows Drivers Can Be Freed'
Date: Tue, 9 Nov 2004 09:20:03 -0800
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Cc: dyoung@pobox.com, tech-net@netbsd.org
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On Tue, 9 Nov 2004 09:20:03 Sam Leffler wrote:

>On Tuesday 09 November 2004 04:47 am, List Mail User wrote:
>
>>  I did state that I agree with you on many points.  This is one in
>> particular - If Atheros's own Window's reference drivers can access ANY
>> channel on many shipping cards (e.g. most Netgear US equipment), then I
>> also don't see what the point is either.
>
>The Window's driver is station only and drops into passive scan according to 
>the configured regulatory domain.  If I were to drop ap support I could do 
>likewise.
>
> Sam
>
	Sam,

	I appreciate all the work you've done, and I certainly wouldn't want
AP mode removed (though I don't use it myself).  I'm sure that the behavior
you  describe is the intended behavior and what I am seeing is a bug, but...

	I immediately went downstairs to my sons machine and performed the
following actions:
	Using Atheros driver 3.3.0.156 and creating an ad-hoc profile in the
Atheros Utility leads immediately (in my environment) to the card/driver
choosing channel 46 and beginning to transmit.  NOTE:  The card has regdomain
of zero and I specifically (on purpose) DID NOT ever run the country-code
selection tool during the install of 3.3.0.150 drivers - I hand updated the
driver by renaming the ".sys" file from the latest Netgear 311T driver set
(though the same file is available from the Airlink101 driver set).  Thus
there is no registry setting and the card behaves in a manner probably not
anticipated by its authors (it does have other bugs, like shared authentication
doesn't seem to work for any 3.3.0.x drivers)

	The transmitting on channel 46 is clearly neither intended or proper
even in "station" mode -- It is just a bug.  But it is easy to reproduce, and
in sure Atheros can do so with any card with regdomain of zero and 3.3.0.x
drivers.  I'm also sure that if I created enough signal sources to push the
channel higher, it would transmit in the restricted range of channels 100-140.

	I wonder how I keep finding myself agreeing with peoples' statements,
while providing evidence to the contrary!?

	Paul Shupak
	track@plectere.com