Mesh doesn't start / show up | Linksys WRT1200ac

Hi,

I want to set up mesh networking on a WRT1200AC v2. I have been unsucceslful with 18.06.2, snapshot and the davidc502 image.

I remove wpad (wpad-basic for the davidc502 image) and installed wpad-mesh-openssl.

Whatever I try, I never see the mesh network on one of my devices.

Here's my most recent /etc/config/wireless:

config wifi-device 'radio0'
        option type 'mac80211'
        option hwmode '11a'
        option path 'soc/soc:pcie/pci0000:00/0000:00:01.0/0000:01:00.0'
        option htmode 'VHT80'
        option country 'DE'
        option legacy_rates '1'
        option channel '48'

config wifi-iface 'default_radio0'
        option device 'radio0'
        option network 'lan'
        option mode 'ap'
        option macaddr '62:38:e0:11:f8:0f'
        option ssid 'bts5'
        option encryption 'psk2'
        option key 'mykey'

config wifi-device 'radio1'
        option type 'mac80211'
        option channel '11'
        option hwmode '11g'
        option path 'soc/soc:pcie/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/0000:02:00.0'
        option htmode 'HT20'
        option country 'DE'
        option __toggle 'Enable'
        option legacy_rates '1'

config wifi-iface 'default_radio1'
        option device 'radio1'
        option network 'lan'
        option mode 'ap'
        option macaddr '62:38:e0:11:f8:0e'
        option ssid 'bts2'
        option encryption 'psk2'
        option key 'mykey'

config wifi-iface
        option device 'radio0'
        option disabled '0'
        option mode 'mesh'
        option mesh_id 'mesh'
        option mesh_fwding '1'
        option mesh_rssi_threshold '0'
        option network 'lan'
        option encryption 'sae'
        option key 'mykey'

I am getting the following output in the system log. I think it's not related, because (if I didn't mess it up in the meantime) there is no difference if I am using the wpad or wpad-mesh-openssl package.

Tue Jun 25 22:21:02 2019 kern.debug kernel: [  454.411271] ieee80211 phy1: Mac80211 start BA 28:a0:2b:89:bd:96
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: interface state ENABLED->DISABLED
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: AP-STA-DISCONNECTED 40:83:1d:50:a6:23
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: AP-DISABLED
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: CTRL-EVENT-TERMINATING
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: nl80211: deinit ifname=wlan0 disabled_11b_rates=0
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 kern.info kernel: [  483.762451] device wlan0 left promiscuous mode
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 kern.info kernel: [  483.767049] br-lan: port 3(wlan0) entered disabled state
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 kern.debug kernel: [  483.839532] ieee80211 phy0: change: 0x40
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 kern.debug kernel: [  483.909713] ieee80211 phy0: change: 0x100
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 daemon.notice netifd: Network device 'wlan0' link is down
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 daemon.info avahi-daemon[3784]: Interface wlan0.IPv6 no longer relevant for mDNS.
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 daemon.info avahi-daemon[3784]: Leaving mDNS multicast group on interface wlan0.IPv6 with address fe80::6038:e0ff:fe11:f80f.
Tue Jun 25 22:21:31 2019 daemon.info avahi-daemon[3784]: Withdrawing address record for fe80::6038:e0ff:fe11:f80f on wlan0.
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 user.notice mac80211: Failed command: iw phy phy0 set antenna 0xffffffff 0xffffffff
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 daemon.notice netifd: radio0 (5701): command failed: Not supported (-95)
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 user.notice mac80211: Failed command: iw phy phy0 set distance 0
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 daemon.notice netifd: radio0 (5701): sh: out of range
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 daemon.err hostapd: Configuration file: /var/run/hostapd-phy0.conf
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 kern.debug kernel: [  485.514477] ieee80211 phy0: change: 0xffffffff
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 kern.info kernel: [  485.594558] IPv6: ADDRCONF(NETDEV_UP): wlan0: link is not ready
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 kern.info kernel: [  485.602526] br-lan: port 3(wlan0) entered blocking state
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 kern.info kernel: [  485.607977] br-lan: port 3(wlan0) entered disabled state
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 kern.info kernel: [  485.613580] device wlan0 entered promiscuous mode
Tue Jun 25 22:21:33 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: interface state UNINITIALIZED->COUNTRY_UPDATE
Tue Jun 25 22:21:35 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: handle_probe_req: send failed
Tue Jun 25 22:21:35 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: handle_probe_req: send failed
Tue Jun 25 22:21:35 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: handle_probe_req: send failed
Tue Jun 25 22:21:35 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: handle_probe_req: send failed
Tue Jun 25 22:21:38 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: interface state COUNTRY_UPDATE->HT_SCAN
Tue Jun 25 22:21:38 2019 kern.debug kernel: [  490.627395] ieee80211 phy0: change: 0x100
Tue Jun 25 22:21:38 2019 kern.debug kernel: [  490.640527] ieee80211 phy0: change: 0x60
Tue Jun 25 22:21:38 2019 kern.debug kernel: [  490.820633] ieee80211 phy0: change: 0x40
Tue Jun 25 22:21:38 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: interface state HT_SCAN->DFS
Tue Jun 25 22:21:38 2019 daemon.notice hostapd: wlan0: DFS-CAC-START freq=5500 chan=100 sec_chan=1, width=1, seg0=106, seg1=0, cac_time=60s
Tue Jun 25 22:21:38 2019 kern.debug kernel: [  491.010853] ieee80211 phy0: change: 0x60

I also tried with / without batman-adv, without encryption.

Thanks for your help!

EDIT: iw list gives the following information for 2.4 and 5 GHz:

Wiphy phy0
	max # scan SSIDs: 4
	max scan IEs length: 2247 bytes
	max # sched scan SSIDs: 0
	max # match sets: 0
	max # scan plans: 1
	max scan plan interval: -1
	max scan plan iterations: 0
	Retry short limit: 7
	Retry long limit: 4
	Coverage class: 0 (up to 0m)
	Device supports AP-side u-APSD.
	Device supports T-DLS.
	Available Antennas: TX 0 RX 0
	Supported interface modes:
		 * managed
		 * AP
		 * AP/VLAN
		 * monitor
		 * mesh point

I don’t believe the driver properly supports 802.11s

1 Like

Bunch of info, there is a link to the issue tracker in that thread.

2 Likes

As I am quite new to openWRT, is there a way to replace / update the driver? Can I check the capabilities of this driver somewhere?

List of 802.11s issues with it: https://github.com/kaloz/mwlwifi/issues?utf8=✓&q=is%3Aissue+802.11s+

Then these APs are going to ebay.

Are there any recommendations for chipsets which work fine with mesh?

If you want to buy a new device for mesh, you could ask this question in the Hardware section of this forum.

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