[Solved] 802.11ax worse than 802.11ac with mt76 driver?

Anteus · 2023-02-03T20:10:06.359Z

I think you didn't test the right version, it should be SNAPSHOT r21968-acd8e94d20.

The auc build with the new mt76 driver just got finished early this morning Fri Feb 3 02:25:38 CET 2023. I built mine from sources yesterday.

buildbot.openwrt.org

Buildbot

Buildbot web UI

ex-git · 2023-02-03T20:46:32.821Z

I see. Just download the latest auc build r21968-acd8e94d20 and tested the upload again.
The upload issue in AX mode is fixed! Same spot upload jumped from 4 Mbits/sec to 487 Mbits/sec. Thanks!

Mokuhi · 2023-02-03T21:01:59.540Z

Sorry for the probable stupid question...
Where can I find r21968-acd8e94d20 snapshot for download?

Anteus · 2023-02-03T21:02:49.054Z

auc or https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/?version=SNAPSHOT&target=mediatek%2Fmt7622&id=linksys_e8450-ubi

ex-git · 2023-02-03T21:03:09.812Z

I am using UBI version. If you are not, make sure you type and pick the correct name.
https://firmware-selector.openwrt.org/?version=SNAPSHOT&target=mediatek%2Fmt7622&id=linksys_e8450-ubi

dsouza · 2023-02-03T22:55:22.708Z

As OP I can report that the latest snapshot in fact did improve 802.11ax performance in this case (AX6S with a brick wall between the wifi device and the access point).

So it does prove that in fact there was an issue in the m76 drivers.

However, while 802.11ax download performance is better than 802.11ac, upload performance is still slower in 802.11ax (snapshot) when compared with 802.11.ac (22.03.3) - but at least now not as bad as it was before, to the point that 802.11ax is now usable.

I just tested with an iPhone 13P and a MacBook Air M1 at the "problematic spot". Below are the iperf3 results (more details about the test configuration in the OP):

802.11ac Mac M1: 685/626 Mbps (download/upload) - 22.03.3
802.11ax Mac M1: 806/567 Mbps (download/upload) - Snapshot r21989-5155200f97

802.11ac iPhone 13 Pro: 550/473 Mbps (download/upload) - 22.03.3
802.11ax iPhone 13 Pro: 565/442 Mbps (download/upload) - Snapshot r21989-5155200f97

I do hope 802.11ax performance with mt76 open source drives keep improving, hopefully reaching at least the same performance as 802.11ac in all situations as expected.

patrakov · 2023-02-04T08:46:59.013Z

Well, I am surprised that nobody has pointed out the exact mt76 commit that fixed it (note: I haven't tested anything, and therefore cannot confirm the fix). Is it known?

anon_openwrt · 2023-02-04T10:17:38.726Z

github.com/openwrt/openwrt

mt76: update to the latest version, import WED related mtk_eth_soc patches

committed 10:16AM - 02 Feb 23 UTC

nbd168

+2207 -108

6c256218e59e wifi: mt76: dma: use napi_build_skb 679254c50f27 mt7915: add CONFIG…_MT76_LEDS to cflags 15b9dd6b1b6a wifi: mt76: mt7915: call mt7915_mcu_set_thermal_throttling() only after init_work 8e5c21fe7c5c wifi: mt76: mt7915: rework mt7915_mcu_set_thermal_throttling 87cb74fe42d9 wifi: mt76: mt7915: rework mt7915_thermal_temp_store() c6f24b83eba5 wifi: mt76: mt7915: add error message in mt7915_thermal_set_cur_throttle_state() 99e96b89ee4d wifi: mt76: mt7915: add chip id condition in mt7915_check_eeprom() 833cd420480f wifi: mt76: mt7921: fix channel switch fail in monitor mode f1f8bae6092d wifi: mt76: mt7921: add ack signal support f47087a6dd62 wifi: mt76: mt7996: fix chainmask calculation in mt7996_set_antenna() 2f3b0acc1588 wifi: mt76: mt7996: update register for CFEND_RATE 7e9540dcbd70 wifi: mt76: mt7996: do not hardcode vht beamform cap a37e427d0959 wifi: mt76: connac: fix POWER_CTRL command name typo 98aa346042bd wifi: mt76: mt7915: remove BW160 and BW80+80 support 94fed6a43541 wifi: mt76: mt7921: fix invalid remain_on_channel duration 3c162384d80a wifi: mt76: introduce mt76_queue_is_wed_rx utility routine a409a9454587 wifi: mt76: mt7915: fix memory leak in mt7915_mcu_exit 8b27ecd3a684 wifi: mt76: mt7996: fix memory leak in mt7996_mcu_exit 683760461dd0 wifi: mt76: dma: free rx_head in mt76_dma_rx_cleanup 0c750cf08f85 wifi: mt76: dma: fix memory leak running mt76_dma_tx_cleanup 5de9ae29bea2 wifi: mt76: mt7915: avoid mcu_restart function pointer dad96dd3e62d wifi: mt76: mt7603: avoid mcu_restart function pointer 19d36dd9c8ea wifi: mt76: mt7615: avoid mcu_restart function pointer 6fe2c2383d3d wifi: mt76: mt7921: avoid mcu_restart function pointer 9df89143bf71 wifi: mt76: mt7915: get rid of wed rx_buf_ring page_frag_cache 8d51d11760cb wifi: mt76: fix switch default case in mt7996_reverse_frag0_hdr_trans 0d8057dbd51c wifi: mt76: mt7921u: add support for Comfast CF-952AX ddbf4e933d54 wifi: mt76: mt7915: set sku initial value to zero 06a8904e954e wifi: mt76: mt7915: wed: enable red per-band token drop 724a337caef9 wifi: mt76: mt7915: fix WED TxS reporting 747ca943a5bb wifi: mt76: add flexible polling wait-interval support 133d7859977a wifi: mt76: mt7921: reduce polling time in pmctrl 5fe319a0550e wifi: mt76: add memory barrier to SDIO queue kick 822f060b9d19 wifi: mt76: mt7921: fix rx filter incorrect by drv/fw inconsistent c6794954a723 wifi: mt76: mt7915: fix memory leak in mt7915_mmio_wed_init_rx_buf 9686cd7cc65c wifi: mt76: switch to page_pool allocator 04da4eaa8235 wifi: mt76: enable page_pool stats 1af4a911ebcb wifi: mt76: mt7915: release rxwi in mt7915_wed_release_rx_buf e8c10835cf06 wifi: mt76: fix compile error without CONFIG_PAGE_POOL_STATS 0cf0ede7cc42 net: ethernet: mtk_wed: add reset to rx_ring_setup callback 715b3ed9708a net: ethernet: mtk_wed: add reset to tx_ring_setup callback 9107381d0ff3 wifi: mt76: mt7921: fix error code of return in mt7921_acpi_read 36d2a5bf7802 wifi: mt76: mt7996: rely on mt76_connac2_mac_tx_rate_val c67f57d2cda2 wifi: mt76: dma: add reset to mt76_dma_wed_setup signature 3dace36e2941 wifi: mt76: dma: reset wed queues in mt76_dma_rx_reset 4b229d2da562 wifi: mt76: mt7915: add mt7915 wed reset callbacks f83958376085 wifi: mt76: mt7915: complete wed reset support 321edbb414dc wifi: mt76: mt7996: rely on mt76_connac_txp_common structure bdb7dc38a6d1 wifi: mt76: mt7996: rely on mt76_connac_txp_skb_unmap 8688756305c6 wifi: mt76: mt7996: rely on mt76_connac_tx_complete_skb fbf986dbd4c0 wifi: mt76: mt7996: rely on mt76_connac2_mac_decode_he_radiotap adc556cbce37 wifi: mt76: mt7996: avoid mcu_restart function pointer 5eb4e2303be4 wifi: mt76: remove __mt76_mcu_restart macro e7a61c5f70f5 wifi: mt76: add EHT phy type b375845abc10 wifi: mt76: connac: add CMD_CBW_320MHZ 68b17a243332 wifi: mt76: connac: add helpers for EHT capability 02ec1f61b3a2 wifi: mt76: connac: add cmd id related to EHT support 9209294cd81b wifi: mt76: increase wcid size to 1088 5e85136c9b2f wifi: mt76: add EHT rate stats for ethtool a171f672fdeb wifi: mt76: mt7996: add variants support eda8fd62c105 wifi: mt76: mt7996: add helpers for wtbl and interface limit 4a5a9f4cdc3b wifi: mt76: mt7996: rework capability init 06b73c155680 wifi: mt76: mt7996: add EHT capability init ae71a1b8294f wifi: mt76: mt7996: add support for EHT rate report 65bdfae2991d wifi: mt76: mt7996: enable EHT support in firmware b2360d59747c wifi: mt76: mt7996: add EHT beamforming support Signed-off-by: Felix Fietkau <nbd@nbd.name>

ThiloteE · 2023-02-04T10:24:49.063Z

It's one from this list: mt76: update to the latest version, import WED related mtk_eth_soc patches
They were merged into master snapshots with the same commit, so it's harder to bisect, as you will need to install older version(s) of the mt76 driver separately from OpenWRT.

Edit: anon_openwrt beat me to it xD

msilletti · 2023-02-04T13:22:26.393Z

ex-git:

Just download the latest auc build r21968-acd8e94d20 and tested the upload again.
The upload issue in AX mode is fixed! Same spot upload jumped from 4 Mbits/sec to 487 Mbits/sec. Thanks!

Hi guys. I am running 23.03.3 official release. If I checkout that branch in git and then some how merge the new mt76 driver into it, can I build it and then scp over the mt76 driver without flashing a new image, just giving the mt76 driver/matching kernel?

darksky · 2023-02-04T13:36:48.368Z

I don't think so... openwrt-22.03 uses the 5.10 kernel but the following expects you to be on the 5.15 kernel for RT3200. Maybe someone else with more knowledge can comment.

github.com/openwrt/openwrt

mt76: update to the latest version, import WED related mtk_eth_soc patches

committed 10:16AM - 02 Feb 23 UTC

nbd168

+2207 -108

6c256218e59e wifi: mt76: dma: use napi_build_skb 679254c50f27 mt7915: add CONFIG…_MT76_LEDS to cflags 15b9dd6b1b6a wifi: mt76: mt7915: call mt7915_mcu_set_thermal_throttling() only after init_work 8e5c21fe7c5c wifi: mt76: mt7915: rework mt7915_mcu_set_thermal_throttling 87cb74fe42d9 wifi: mt76: mt7915: rework mt7915_thermal_temp_store() c6f24b83eba5 wifi: mt76: mt7915: add error message in mt7915_thermal_set_cur_throttle_state() 99e96b89ee4d wifi: mt76: mt7915: add chip id condition in mt7915_check_eeprom() 833cd420480f wifi: mt76: mt7921: fix channel switch fail in monitor mode f1f8bae6092d wifi: mt76: mt7921: add ack signal support f47087a6dd62 wifi: mt76: mt7996: fix chainmask calculation in mt7996_set_antenna() 2f3b0acc1588 wifi: mt76: mt7996: update register for CFEND_RATE 7e9540dcbd70 wifi: mt76: mt7996: do not hardcode vht beamform cap a37e427d0959 wifi: mt76: connac: fix POWER_CTRL command name typo 98aa346042bd wifi: mt76: mt7915: remove BW160 and BW80+80 support 94fed6a43541 wifi: mt76: mt7921: fix invalid remain_on_channel duration 3c162384d80a wifi: mt76: introduce mt76_queue_is_wed_rx utility routine a409a9454587 wifi: mt76: mt7915: fix memory leak in mt7915_mcu_exit 8b27ecd3a684 wifi: mt76: mt7996: fix memory leak in mt7996_mcu_exit 683760461dd0 wifi: mt76: dma: free rx_head in mt76_dma_rx_cleanup 0c750cf08f85 wifi: mt76: dma: fix memory leak running mt76_dma_tx_cleanup 5de9ae29bea2 wifi: mt76: mt7915: avoid mcu_restart function pointer dad96dd3e62d wifi: mt76: mt7603: avoid mcu_restart function pointer 19d36dd9c8ea wifi: mt76: mt7615: avoid mcu_restart function pointer 6fe2c2383d3d wifi: mt76: mt7921: avoid mcu_restart function pointer 9df89143bf71 wifi: mt76: mt7915: get rid of wed rx_buf_ring page_frag_cache 8d51d11760cb wifi: mt76: fix switch default case in mt7996_reverse_frag0_hdr_trans 0d8057dbd51c wifi: mt76: mt7921u: add support for Comfast CF-952AX ddbf4e933d54 wifi: mt76: mt7915: set sku initial value to zero 06a8904e954e wifi: mt76: mt7915: wed: enable red per-band token drop 724a337caef9 wifi: mt76: mt7915: fix WED TxS reporting 747ca943a5bb wifi: mt76: add flexible polling wait-interval support 133d7859977a wifi: mt76: mt7921: reduce polling time in pmctrl 5fe319a0550e wifi: mt76: add memory barrier to SDIO queue kick 822f060b9d19 wifi: mt76: mt7921: fix rx filter incorrect by drv/fw inconsistent c6794954a723 wifi: mt76: mt7915: fix memory leak in mt7915_mmio_wed_init_rx_buf 9686cd7cc65c wifi: mt76: switch to page_pool allocator 04da4eaa8235 wifi: mt76: enable page_pool stats 1af4a911ebcb wifi: mt76: mt7915: release rxwi in mt7915_wed_release_rx_buf e8c10835cf06 wifi: mt76: fix compile error without CONFIG_PAGE_POOL_STATS 0cf0ede7cc42 net: ethernet: mtk_wed: add reset to rx_ring_setup callback 715b3ed9708a net: ethernet: mtk_wed: add reset to tx_ring_setup callback 9107381d0ff3 wifi: mt76: mt7921: fix error code of return in mt7921_acpi_read 36d2a5bf7802 wifi: mt76: mt7996: rely on mt76_connac2_mac_tx_rate_val c67f57d2cda2 wifi: mt76: dma: add reset to mt76_dma_wed_setup signature 3dace36e2941 wifi: mt76: dma: reset wed queues in mt76_dma_rx_reset 4b229d2da562 wifi: mt76: mt7915: add mt7915 wed reset callbacks f83958376085 wifi: mt76: mt7915: complete wed reset support 321edbb414dc wifi: mt76: mt7996: rely on mt76_connac_txp_common structure bdb7dc38a6d1 wifi: mt76: mt7996: rely on mt76_connac_txp_skb_unmap 8688756305c6 wifi: mt76: mt7996: rely on mt76_connac_tx_complete_skb fbf986dbd4c0 wifi: mt76: mt7996: rely on mt76_connac2_mac_decode_he_radiotap adc556cbce37 wifi: mt76: mt7996: avoid mcu_restart function pointer 5eb4e2303be4 wifi: mt76: remove __mt76_mcu_restart macro e7a61c5f70f5 wifi: mt76: add EHT phy type b375845abc10 wifi: mt76: connac: add CMD_CBW_320MHZ 68b17a243332 wifi: mt76: connac: add helpers for EHT capability 02ec1f61b3a2 wifi: mt76: connac: add cmd id related to EHT support 9209294cd81b wifi: mt76: increase wcid size to 1088 5e85136c9b2f wifi: mt76: add EHT rate stats for ethtool a171f672fdeb wifi: mt76: mt7996: add variants support eda8fd62c105 wifi: mt76: mt7996: add helpers for wtbl and interface limit 4a5a9f4cdc3b wifi: mt76: mt7996: rework capability init 06b73c155680 wifi: mt76: mt7996: add EHT capability init ae71a1b8294f wifi: mt76: mt7996: add support for EHT rate report 65bdfae2991d wifi: mt76: mt7996: enable EHT support in firmware b2360d59747c wifi: mt76: mt7996: add EHT beamforming support Signed-off-by: Felix Fietkau <nbd@nbd.name>

Borromini · 2023-02-04T13:47:52.503Z

@msilletti You can always try. I regularly backport mt76 bumps to the stable release myself, but @darksky might be right that the more recent mt76 bumps rely on functionality only a newer wireless stack provides e.g. (mac80211 in master is 6.1; on 22.03 it's 5.15).

The kernel itself is of less importance, since the whole wireless subsystem has been split on purpose to allow for easier backporting. That's the whole reason 22.03 can have a 5.10 kernel e.g., but still use the newer 5.15 wireless stack.

It certainly doesn't hurt to try, you'll know soon enough if it works or not - if compilation breaks because of missing functions e.g. You can cherry-pick the mt76 bumps from master into your tree (going back all the way to the version that is now in the 22.03 tree) and give it a shot.

dsouza · 2023-02-04T15:26:14.975Z

I used to do this (update only mt76 driver on the stable branch by editing package/kernel/mt76/Makefile and point it to the most recent version), but @darksky is correct. It stopped working when master branch was upgraded to kernel 5.15, while stable branches are on 5.10 (at least for the devices I use).

@nbd since the latest mt76 drives did improve 802.11ax of mt7915 (on mt7622 devices), please consider backporting it to the current stable branch (22.03).

Borromini · 2023-02-04T15:38:52.199Z

dsouza:

It stopped working when master branch was upgraded to kernel 5.15

That would surprise me, I think you are mistaking coincidence for causality. See my explanations above.

darksky · 2023-02-04T16:06:13.513Z

Borromini:

You can cherry-pick the mt76 bumps from master into your tree (going back all the way to the version that is now in the 22.03 tree) and give it a shot.

% git cherry-pick --strategy=recursive -X theirs acd8e94
Auto-merging package/kernel/mt76/Makefile
[openwrt-22.03 8367c66923] mt76: update PKG_SOURCE_HASH
...

That gave errors relating to libxml. I tried the similar bump to it but still got errors so I gave up

Borromini · 2023-02-04T19:29:55.270Z

Your git fu is definitely superior to mine . I did the same exercise, but manually.

I'm on 22.03 with up till mt76 master commit 3968529285 cherry-picked on top. That turned out to be the most stable for my MT7915 devices.

So I filtered the master commit log until that bump:

$ git log --oneline|grep mt76:|head -14
acd8e94d20 mt76: update PKG_SOURCE_HASH
ff4c872c7c mt76: fix typo in PKG_SOURCE_DATE
521efb62eb mt76: update to the latest version, import WED related mtk_eth_soc patches
9a07895729 mt76: add stand-alone MT7622 firmware package
fc9dd3f083 mt76: add stand-alone MT7915 firmware package
3410f010a2 mt76: remove unnecessary dependency from mt7915e
274dfcb19e mt76: update to the latest version
a75a798162 mt76: update to the latest version
b1b29ba987 mt76: update to version 2022-12-01
6f729163b1 mt76: move the mt7921 firmware to its own package
9179f484bf mt76: update to the latest version
2403428c75 mt76: update to the latest version
94d0cb9d2e mt76: add firmware package for mt7916
3968529285 mt76: update to the latest version

You can skip e.g. 94d0cb9d2e (which cannot be cherry-picked cleanly but is not needed on 22.03), 6f729163b1, 3410f010a2 and the latter's two firmware package friends. But cherry-picking b1b29ba987 will break, because of the ethernet patches it introduces for 5.15. That's probably very difficult to entangle, so yes, you'll need 5.15 because of the dependency on the ethernet patches.

dsouza · 2023-02-04T19:59:33.686Z

Sorry, I might have expressed myself not clearly enough (English is not my native language).

What I was trying to say is this:

OpenWrt build gets the mt76 files directly from https://github.com/openwrt/mt76 (it is on a separate repository from main OpenWrt repository)
File package/kernel/mt76/Makefile points to the exact commit in the mt76 respository to be included in the build
Using branch 22.03, if I point mt76 drivers to the same one used by master (see below), 22.03 build fails due to the fact that current mt76 drivers now depends on kernel 5.15.

Anyway, this is what I used to do and it worked up to the point that snapshot changed kernel to 5.15, when the above process stopped working.

Of course you can clone mt76 repository to the same commit used by 22.03, change your OpenWrt build to point to your custom mt76 respository and cherry pick only the change you want. But this is a different route than what I was doing.

Master/Snapshot current package/kernel/mt76/Makefile

PKG_SOURCE_URL:=https://github.com/openwrt/mt76
PKG_SOURCE_PROTO:=git
PKG_SOURCE_DATE:=2023-02-02
PKG_SOURCE_VERSION:=b2360d59747c6fed2b65bc1c3563c10593c83f3e
PKG_MIRROR_HASH:=f85f00fa8f549de348a115f92c4f0235e413ed924669aece390c7570882526dd

FanOfOpenWRT · 2023-02-05T16:37:41.865Z

since the latest mt76 drives did improve 802.11ax on mt7622 devices

Smallest of nitpicks here... doesn't 802.11ax run off the mt7915 chip, and the mt7622 runs 802.11b/g/n?

dsouza · 2023-02-05T18:11:05.063Z

You're absolutely right, I just updated my post above to make this clearer.

FanOfOpenWRT · 2023-02-05T19:25:51.291Z

Thanks, it's been super confusing trying to understand everything as a newcomer.

The "mt76" driver package (is that what it's called overall?) has code for all sorts of chips, including the mt7622 and mt7915. Is that much correct, at least?