git: 2021088c41 - main - Status/2026Q1/lkpi-wireless.adoc: 802.11 wireless update

The branch main has been updated by bz:

URL: https://cgit.FreeBSD.org/doc/commit/?id=2021088c41d765c62450d70a09a3793432c746e9

commit 2021088c41d765c62450d70a09a3793432c746e9
Author:     Bjoern A. Zeeb <bz@FreeBSD.org>
AuthorDate: 2026-04-03 16:10:21 +0000
Commit:     Bjoern A. Zeeb <bz@FreeBSD.org>
CommitDate: 2026-04-10 20:23:19 +0000

    Status/2026Q1/lkpi-wireless.adoc: 802.11 wireless update
    
    Sponsored by:   The FreeBSD Foundation
    Reviewed by:    salvadore
    Differential Revision: https://reviews.freebsd.org/D56241
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+=== LinuxKPI 802.11 and Native Wireless Update
+
+Links: +
+link:https://github.com/FreeBSDFoundation/proj-laptop/issues/66[Support the MediaTek Wireless cards] URL: link:https://github.com/FreeBSDFoundation/proj-laptop/issues/66[] +
+link:https://github.com/FreeBSDFoundation/proj-laptop/issues/99[Support the Realtek Wireless cards] URL: link:https://github.com/FreeBSDFoundation/proj-laptop/issues/99[]
+
+Contact: Bjoern A. Zeeb <bz@FreeBSD.org> +
+Contact: The FreeBSD wireless mailing list <wireless@FreeBSD.org>
+
+This report focuses on the efforts using permissively licensed Linux wireless drivers, mostly unmodified, on FreeBSD, as well as preparing the native net80211 stack for support of newer standards.
+
+==== Driver updates
+
+All LinuxKPI based wireless drivers were updated to Linux v6.19 in main and stable/15.
+
+This includes
+* the shipping drivers Intel man:iwlwifi[4] mvm/mld, Realtek man:rtw88[4] and man:rtw89[4],
+* the Mediatek mt76 driver which is a work in progress,
+* the three Qualcomm Atheros drivers ath10k, ath11k, and ath12k, which are TODO, as well as
+* the Broadcom brcmfmac, which compiles and loads firmware but is lacking the cfg80211 compat shim and some netdev work.
+
+==== Intel iwlwifi support
+
+In order for the man:iwlwifi[4] driver update to be applied a few FreeBSD specific adjustments were made to allow the mld sub-driver to load properly.
+Also multiple bug fixes were worked out.
+
+==== Realtek rtw88 and rtw89 support
+
+After the driver updates it turned out that our chandef emulation needed to be more elaborate.
+In the follow-up further problems were discovered related to the fact that some rtw88 drivers can fail the hardware scan needing a fallback to software scanning.
+Lastly the two rtw88 chipsets 8821c and 8822b seem to often have a 6s delay when we are preparing to authenticate.
+It is unclear why the firmware fails in those cases but in the end I decided to leave this problem alone and try to get the 802.11n and 802.11ac updates in next (before 15.1-R hopefully) and only then go back to these chipsets and see what we can do.
+
+==== Mediatek mt76 support
+
+MT7921/7922 and MT7925 are the primary chipsets to work on currently.
+After the driver update some DMA32 problems along with page_pools got sorted.
+The drm-kmod changes prepared for the switch from native vm_page to Linux struct page were thankfully committed.
+This we allow me to get a testing version out to people more easily.
+MT7925 also revealed an insufficiency in our LinuxKPI IDR implementation, which more or less was documented there from day one.
+This will need a complete rework to avoid problems with accesses to already destroyed entries which can happen in Linux.
+I have also started to rack up further chipsets for testing.
+802.11n and 802.11ac support will mostly come along with the Realtek work.
+
+==== Broadcom brcmfmac
+
+The Broadcom brcmfmac driver is compiling for PCIe and loading firmware (with a minor work around for arm64).
+We are now lacking some cfg80211 and netdev LinuxKPI compat work in order to create the interface and drive wireless.
+
+==== QCA support
+
+While ath10k is mostly sorted for station mode, ath11k and ath12k need more work to compile again and an implementation for the MHI and other bits as needed.
+
+==== LinuxKPI USB support
+
+The LinuxKPI USB implementation has been sitting there for more than a decade.
+I already put out a call for any users last years and again this year without any reply.
+I do have an overhauled version which allows Realtek, Mediatek QCA ath10k, and Broadcom brcmfmac USB chipsets to compile.
+The latter two are mostly irrelevant with old, and little actual USB dongles available.
+Realtek and Mediatek attach and do pass packets but need a bit more work on stability and clean teardown.
+
+There is one blocker on this in that the (old and new) LinuxKPI USB implementation is intermingle our native USB stack leading to conflicts.
+There is work in progress to resolve this and two possible ways have been identified but there is a 15 year old change in the way that first needs to be understood and cleaned up.
+
+==== LinuxKPI SDIO support
+
+The LinuxKPI SDIO support has been sitting in my development tree for a good year and was done mostly for Realtek rtw88.
+Broadcom will need a few more placeholders to be filled, but that should not be too hard.
+Interrupts need to be finalized and speed upgrade support pulled in from someone else's work in progress.
+My plan is to get it into the tree as-is as soon as USB is out of the way for people to help testing and finalizing it.
+
+==== Native net80211
+
+Thanks to the Ports Management Team for running an exp-run (experimental test build).
+I prepared a patch in order to identify all ports using the net80211 ioctl interface.
+This is needed in order to minimize breakage of upcoming ioctl interface changes upfront.
+
+Check link:https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=293016[PR 293016] for details.
+
+==== Other
+
+I have given an update on most of this during the March LDWG (Laptop Desktop Working Group) call.
+See link:https://wiki.freebsd.org/LaptopDesktopWorkingGroup[LDWG Wiki Page] for more information.
+
+Sponsor: The FreeBSD Foundation