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baslinux - [BL] Use wvlan_cs.o not orinoco drivers with kernel 2.2, was Re: 2.4 kernel with loop BL3 read-only

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  • From: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • To: baslinux AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [BL] Use wvlan_cs.o not orinoco drivers with kernel 2.2, was Re: 2.4 kernel with loop BL3 read-only
  • Date: Tue, 6 May 2008 04:46:22 +0000 (UTC)


I cannot get 2.2 to work with five orinoco-based wireless cards, nor could
another list member make his orinoco card work (with any kernel, but it
was worse with 2.2). Do orinoco cards work with 2.2 for anyone? Maybe on
some laptops they are okay? I can't find any mention of this problem
outside the BL archives.

These don't work with 2.2.26:

Linksys WPC11 ver 2.5 and 3
Sohoware
DELL Truemobile
Microsoft MN-520

Quick summary - orinoco won't work with any of my orinoco cards using kernel 2.2, but wvlan_cs will.

I did a variety of web searches on orinoco, and all the hits mentioned kernel 2.4 or later.

A site about wireless tools explained that orinoco driver (hermes, orinoco, orinoco_cs modules, you need three) is recent and works with three groups of cards.

1. One group made by Lucent that used to use wavelan_cs.o and then wvlan_cs.o. These are both found at the BL3 site. They are also in my 2.4.31 pcmcia modules.

2. One group that is prism2 based. (I have one prism wireless card made by Lucent that is not working).

3. One other set of cards based on Intersil.

The orinoco modules are supposed to be better, and they are provided with kernels 2.4 and 2.6, in newer forms than with the pcmcia package itself (which is what I used to compile the pcmcia modules). This implies that they were NOT provided with 2.2 (and they don't work with it for me).

With kernel 2.2 and my Linksys WPC11 ver 2.5 card, which all the recent config files say to use with the three orinoco modules, I just got another screen full of EFLAGS, eax, Process cardmg, Stack, and lots of numbers in [<>] followed by Code:.... and Segmentation fault.

If I add to /etc/pcmcia/config the lines

device "wvlan_cs"
class "network" modules "wvlan_cs"

and change, for my Linksys card,
bind "orinoco_cs"
to
bind "wvlan_cs"

With kernel 2.2.26, using LOOP BL3, the module inserts, complains about not initializing, and things appear to work. I pick up some SSID from some place in the area with iwconfig after using ifconfig to set IP number and I can ping my own number.

The 2.4.31 wvlan_cs.o module works the same. Won't initialize the card. Since I have no signal to pick up I don't know if it is usable, but it does not segfault.

The DELL Truemobile is said to also use wvlan_cs.o. It has the same manfid as the Sohoware, which just also worked with wvlan_cs and both 2.4.31 and 2.2.26 - wvlan says it is a prism2 card. Orinoco with 2.4.31 said it was an Intersil card. I am confused. Maybe wvlan_cs works, with 2.2 and 2.4, with all the cards that orinoco works with using 2.4.

I suggest warning people that the hermes-orinoco-orinoco_cs set of modules is likely not to work with kernel 2.2, whereas wvlan_cs appears to work. Or even removing the three modules from the BL3 site and putting a note to use wvlan_cs.o instead. It has taken me years to figure this out.

There is also something like mwvlan_cs.o which I compiled once, that did not work with anything for me but was supposed to be better (it did more).
Even the orinoco driver does less than the airo driver (which finds access points). Most features of wireless tools don't work with any of these.
The website mentioned that people are working on adding features.

I presume Steven also used a recent pcmcia package to compile the modules, not the 2.2 kernel source code, and that is why he got orinoco.

I hope the owner of the Libretto is reading this and tries wvlan_cs with kernel 2.2.

I still don't know why 2.4.31 kernels are not working with loop BL3, but they are not needed since there is an alternative to the orinoco driver.
I can use loop BL3 with an 'orinoco' wireless card and only need to add a upx-ed Opera and the required libraries for it. A larger loop file would be helpful for cache.

It got late.

Sindi





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