[error] Possible r6300v2 compiled against wrong target in main release?

hey all,

i think there's an error for r6300v2 (netgear) firmware, can someone check, as i think that r6300v2 was compiled against a wrong target.

// link to openwrt firmware selector:
https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/?version=21.02.0&target=bcm53xx%2Fgeneric&id=netgear_r6300-v2

it shows target as BCM53xx.
on mine (r6300v2), the target CPU is BCM4708. check the following comparison:

// scroll to the bottom of page one, (not my page or router):
https://www.smallnetbuilder.com/wireless/wireless-reviews/32511-netgear-r6300-v2-ac1750-smart-wifi-router-reviewed

the switch in r6300v1 is BCM53115, but in both v1 and v2 the CPU is 4706 and 4708 respectively.

// reason im saying all this is:
i wanted to install the non-free Broadcom driver and utility -> [kmod-brcm-wl] and [wl], but
it wasn't available for 53xx target, it didnt make any sense since r6300v2 is 4331 and 4360 with 4708, so the non-free Broadcom drivers were supposed to be in the kmods and packs, but they were not.

i changed the target prepository in opkg from 53xx to 47xx, forced the download, but it wouldn't take, as it was a different target.

so can someone double check this, because r6300v2 on mine, shows as 4708.

thank you all:)

It has been intentionally created in the bcm53xx target in 2014 by @rmilecki
Looks quite intentional, and the DTS file reflects 4708 hardware definitions.
Might be that for the Broadcom devices, the switch type is the defining factor.

Correct @hnyman

Netgear R6300v2 uses BCM4708 SoC. BCM4708 SoC is supported by bcm53xx target.

wl is available for MIPS only, BCM4708 (as all bcm53xx devices) is ARM. It won't work. wl also doesn't support BCM4331 or BCM4360.

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thank you for the quick replies @hnyman and @rmilecki,

is there a a technical reason for that?
i'm asking because im running BCM4360 wl on Debian Buster (non-free) version.

03:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Limited BCM4360 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 03)
Subsystem: Apple Inc. BCM4360 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter
Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 18
Memory at c1200000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=32K]
Memory at c1000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2M]
Capabilities:
Kernel modules: bcma, wl

// link to debian wiki
https://wiki.debian.org/wl

// here's link to Broadcom README_6.30.223.271.txt (opens download)
https://docs.broadcom.com/docs/1211168561592

on lines 67-68 of the README_6.30.223.271.txt, they say it supports:
4331 Dualband 0x14e4 0x4331
4360 Dualband 0x14e4 0x43a0

// main page from BCM4360 support and downloads

i think fedora has support for it as well.

wouldn't it be possible to compile the module for arm7, if we can compile it for Linux?

p.s. @rmilecki
how come you guys chose to move 4708 to 5301? i looked at:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/5925/broadcom-announces-bcm4708x-and-bcm5301x-socs-for-80211ac-routers

they wrote that, BCM5301 was for SMB and BCM4708 for home. was it because you guys didn't want to mix MIPS and arm7 firmware in the same folder, or BCM5301 sounded more "pro"-like. do they have identical instruction sets?

just curious.

ozmoziz I was talking about OpenWrt packaged wl.

Broadcom's provided wl may support BCM4331 / BCM4360 but that version has precompiled objects for x86 and x86_64 only. It also doesn't support AP mode.

If you find Broadcom's wl for ARM with AP support, please let me know.

No idea what are you asking about. We added bcm53xx target to support Northstar devices (e.g. BCM4708).

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