ndis0 does not associate since update to RELENG_6

[Bill Paul]

> > What command do you type to try to get it to associate?
> 
> kldload wlan_wep.ko
> kldload w22n50_sys.ko
> 
> ifconfig ndis0 ssid ec60bfg3b4 wepkey 1:0xhexkey \
> deftxkey 1 wepmode on
> ifconfig ndis0 inet 192.168.0.32 up
>  

[...]
 
> It was my experience that ifconfig on 6.0 will not chose the first
> key by default. I always have to add deftxkey 1.
> 
> I can't use your exact command because I know my wepkey only in
> hexadecimal.
> 
> But if I disable WEP in the access point and use
> ifconfig ndis0 ssid ec60bfg3b4 up
> it fails to associate (or even to set the ssid) as well:
> 
> root at TP51 ~ #ifconfig ndis0                   
> ndis0: flags=8843<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
>         inet6 fe ... 7500%ndis0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x3 
>         ether 00: ... :00
>         media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect
>         status: no carrier
>         ssid "" channel 1
>         authmode OPEN privacy OFF txpowmax 100 protmode CTS
>  
> > You don't state what command you actually use. You should have
> > specified it in your e-mail. Note that usually the WEP key has to be
> > either 5 or 13 characters.
> 
> You're right, sorry.
> 
> I use the hexadecimal notation and my key is correctly recognised as
> 104-bit.
>  
> ifconfig ndis0 ssid ec60bfg3b4 wepkey 1:0xhexkey \
> deftxkey 1 wepmode on
> ifconfig ndis0 inet 192.168.0.32 up 
> 
> The two commands above work for iwi0, wi0 and ath0. 
> 
> I use the same shell script I used on 5.4. The only
> change I made was adding "deftxkey 1" which wasn't
> needed before. 
> 
> > > Is anybody else using this device with FreeBSD 6.0?
> > 
> > I've tested the 2200BG myself with the NDISulator 6.0 and I've been
> > able to get it to associate with 11g networks. I don't know what's
> > wrong in your case.
> 
> Is there a way I can provide more information?

You haven't said yet what manufacturer/model your access point is.

You also haven't said what Windows driver version you're using, but you
need to cheat a bit to figure that out. I usually do:

% strings -e l foo.sys

or

% strings -e l foo_sys.ko

Near the end of the output, there should be a bunch of version information,
including the vendor name of whoever built the driver (in this case Intel).
You might try downloading the latest driver from Intel. (They have a
generic one for their Centrino wireless devices.)

You also haven't said what sort of laptop this is. Wouldn't hurt to know
that either.

Unfortunately, this is the sort of thing that can only be debugged with
the system sitting in front of me. I can't do it by remote control, and
I can't know exactly what information to ask you. I have to experiment,
and I can't do that from here.

You should turn WEP off completely, make sure the AP is set for open
authentication mode, and try getting it to authenticate without WEP first.
It's one less variable to worry about. Try using the following:

# ifconfig ndis0 ssid "" up

# ifconfig ndis0 ssid "yourssid" bssid <BSSID of your AP> up

Don't fiddle with the channel setting. Windows drivers don't let you
set the channel unless you're in ad-hoc mode. (Some drivers erroneously
process channel selectin requests in infrastructure mode too, but
the results can be unpredictable.)

-Bill

--
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-Bill Paul            (510) 749-2329 | Senior Engineer, Master of Unix-Fu
                 wpaul at windriver.com | Wind River Systems
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              <adamw> you're just BEGGING to face the moose
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