Re: Problem ndis and 11b since May 1

On Thu, 2008-05-08 at 16:09 +0200, Ted Lindgreen wrote:
> Hi,
> 
> Since May 1 my Broadcom BCM43 wlan interface, using the ndis-driver,
> does not associate with my (old) Apple Airport anymore.
> 
> Working out the various changes, I found that a change in if_ndis.c
> from version 1.135 to 1.136 caused the problem. In other words:
> a kernel, generated from an uptodate source as of May 7 does not
> associate, by only reverting if_ndis.c to version 1.135 produces
> a kernel that works fine as ever before.
> 
> Further info: there is NO problem with a few other access-points I
> have access to. One of the differences between the Airport and the
> other access-points is that the old Airport supports only 11b, while
> the others support both 11b and 11g. I'm not sure, of course, but it
> looks like the change between 1.135 and 1.136 forces the ndis-driver
> into 802.11g mode exclusively.
> 
> regards,
> -- ted
> 

Hi Ted,

I've been talking to Andrew Thompson about a similar problem recently.
I'm not sure if it is related, but it did keep me from being able to
associate to anything.

I am attaching a patch that has worked for me. Maybe it will work for
you too. The problem I found is that wpa_supplicant needs to be run
(against wlan0, using ndis driver) after the ndis0 interface has been
upped.

Additionally, if you are trying to manually ifconfig the interface, I
have found that after a boot you'll need to ifconfig down, then ifconfig
up the ndis0 before you attempt to do any associating with the wlan0
interface. Additionally, bringing wlan0 down/up/down/up/..., checking
associated status after each up until it works has helped me in the
manual case.

A good way to discern whether wlan0 will associate (or needs to be
kicked) will be to run "ifconfig wlan0 scan". If it hangs forever, then
it didn't work...

However... you listed your AP as 802.11b, and mine is 802.11g, so YMMV.

Make sure that you're using (in /etc/rc.conf):
wlans_ndis0="wlan0"
ifconfig_wlan0="WPA"

You may want to read /usr/src/UPDATING for a summary of what has changed
and what needs to be done about it, if you haven't already followed
those instructions.

-- 
Coleman Kane