@zorxd - Thank you!
Your note let me zero in on the specific area(s), within the references mentioned in the post starting this thread.
The 5GHz not working turns out to be OK. My new Asus eee 1201n turns out to not have 5GHz on it's 802.11n - I was most disappointed to find that out upon receipt. I expected all 802.11n to be 5GHz (even kept my cordless phones at 2.4GHz in anticipation of not conflicting with 802.11n) - sadly, I have thus found that 802.11n is not 5GHz only. &^$%^%&^%. So, cordless phones just now got replaced to DECT, also as a result of this laptop purchase. <sigh> And, of course, being the purpose of this thread, the Netgear WNDR3700 has also been purchased, for the laptop. For the moment, this router will merely be a 802.11n wi-fi access point within my home - the extra 4-port GB switch helps too. Sadly, it's stock firmware will only set the time via the WAN link (and will not bridge LAN/WAN) - I HATE reading logs across multiple devices with different time stamps. So here I am on the OpenWRT forums! (This router was purchased with an eye towards OpenWRT anyways, I just didn't expect to be doing it this soon.)
By the time I get to needing 5GHz 802.11n, I suspect OpenWRT will be ready for me!
Thank you for the note on jffs2 vs. squashfs. I suspect I'll be OK for a good while - over time, as I explore and become familiar with OpenWRT, when memory becomes an issue, I expect I'll be able to reflash to squashfs, restore my configuration via luci, and get on with my day. I just noticed the FAQ link at the top of each forum page, and the note on squashfs vs. jffs2 within it was most helpful and enlightening - to date the difference I had detected was this ability to write in place, which seemed advantageous. The FAQ answer documents that I needn't have worried. Thus far in my blundering about openwrt.org I have yet to come across a discussion upon the differences and dis/advantages of each. Do you have a good link towards such? And / or a link discussing such a jffs2 backup to squashfs restore process?
One of the daunting things about OpenWRT, as hinted at in the post that starts this thread, is that most 'retail' routers have a configuration backup and restore facility - consisting of a single file. Which doesn't appear to be the case with OpenWRT. Thus, for the moment, the reference to a web / luci based backup / restore facility. In time, since I'm a command-line guy, I'll get there, but since I'm not there yet it is / was important to establish a backup / restore process - for when I inevitably do something deeply stupid.
It seems a little strange to download the ar71xx firmware, and then have to load the kmod-ath9k package, etc.
Poking about the reference docs (msg #1), is #100 (in https://forum.openwrt.org/viewtopic.php?id=22311), #177, and others - searching on mod-ath9k ...
Also poking about the reference docs, when looking for the complete answer to 'install packages such as" in msg #2 above, I see package references to swconfig, ntpclient, crda (debugging only, I'll pass for the moment), kmod-leds-<various>, wpa-supplicant-mini (I ssume taken care of with wpad-mini), luci-admin-core, luci-theme-openwrt, kmod-mac80211 (brought in by mod-ath9k), and kmod-cfg80211 (brought in by kmod-mac80211). I see in luci that swconfig is already installed, as is kmod-leds-gpio, luci-admin-core and luci-theme-openwrt. Also, obviously, by now, so is luci.
ntpclient is not installed - but I note that (luci) system / system has time servers defined. The time is correct, so I'll leave it be and move on for the moment.
Are the kmod-leds-<various> packages mutually exclusive? I'll eventually be doing usb, should I add kmod-leds-wndr3700-usb when I get that far?
So, summarizing this 'add wi-fi' step, having ssh'ed in:
# opkg update
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ackages.gz.
Inflating http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ackages.gz.
Updated list of available packages in /var/opkg-lists/packages.
# opkg install mod-ath9k wpad-mini
Installing wpad-mini (20100309-1) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Installing crda (1.1.0-2) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Installing kmod-mac80211 (2.6.32.10+2010-03-24-5) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Installing kmod-crypto-core (2.6.32.10-1) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Installing kmod-crypto-arc4 (2.6.32.10-1) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Installing kmod-crypto-aes (2.6.32.10-1) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Installing kmod-cfg80211 (2.6.32.10+2010-03-24-5) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Installing wireless-tools (29-4) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Installing iw (0.9.19-1) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Configuring iw.
Configuring kmod-crypto-core.
Configuring kmod-crypto-arc4.
Configuring kmod-crypto-aes.
Configuring wireless-tools.
Configuring kmod-cfg80211.
Configuring kmod-mac80211.
Configuring crda.
Configuring wpad-mini.
Collected errors:
* opkg_install_cmd: Cannot install package mod-ath9k.
# opkg install kmod-ath9k <----- fixing the stupid typo ...
Installing kmod-ath9k (2.6.32.10+2010-03-24-5) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Installing kmod-ath (2.6.32.10+2010-03-24-5) to root...
Downloading http://downloads.openwrt.org/backfire/1 … ar71xx.ipk.
Configuring kmod-ath.
Configuring kmod-ath9k.
# exit (I'll let Luci do a graceful restart.)
Luci: System / Reboot / Perform reboot
And lo, and behold, Luci: Network / Wifi, shows two radios! Thank you zorxd!
***** and /etc/config/wireless is already populated.
/etc/config# cat wireless
config wifi-device radio0
option type mac80211
option channel 5
option macaddr 12:34:56:78:9a:bc
option hwmode 11ng
option htmode HT20
list ht_capab SHORT-GI-40
list ht_capab DSSS_CCK-40
# REMOVE THIS LINE TO ENABLE WIFI:
option disabled 1
config wifi-iface
option device radio0
option network lan
option mode ap
option ssid OpenWrt
option encryption none
config wifi-device radio1
option type mac80211
option channel 36
option macaddr fe:dc:ba:98:76:54
option hwmode 11na
option htmode HT20
list ht_capab SHORT-GI-40
list ht_capab DSSS_CCK-40
# REMOVE THIS LINE TO ENABLE WIFI:
option disabled 1
config wifi-iface
option device radio1
option network lan
option mode ap
option ssid OpenWrt
option encryption none
<<<<<
Just in case:
/etc/config# wifi detect
/etc/config# wifi detect >/etc/config/wireless.tmp
/etc/config# ls -l wireless.tmp
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 0 May 28 21:31 wireless.tmp
/etc/config#
- so I deleted wireless.tmp and left wireless alone.
>>>>>
Edited /etc/config/wireless - enabled radio0, set my channel and ssid's, and added 'option country CA'.
Just for good measure, I also added luci-app-ddns, luci-app-livestats, luci-app-qos, luci-app-statistics.
Memory: 60.52 MB (11% cached, 0% buffered, 62% free)
Sadly, wi-fi isn't working for me from my laptop. Correction, not working for me completely. I suspect it is connecting, but my Win 7 laptop isn't entirely happy - probably for lack of a network setting or gateway or something. I expect this will prove to be a user or config file issue, not an openwrt / package issue - so thank you very much zorxd. Certainly my SSID pops up in the network list, and disappears when I tick off 'Hide ESSID'. So I doubt this is a hardware or openwrt / package problem.
I do notice that I have to keep 'route add default gw 1.2.3.4', so I have an adapter configuration issue here. (Confusion / conflict between wan/lan settings.) And, since the switch is on my local lan, and it's handing out local lan addresses on radio0 (passing dhcp through, as it's turned off in openwrt), I have a confused network. Hopefully I'll sort out the adapter settings issue, and get lan/wlan bridged - but tomorrow.
To summarize the questions posed above:
- is there a link regarding the pros/cons dis/advantages of jffs2 vs squashfs?
- is there a link discussing a jffs2 backup to squashfs restore process?
- the time is correct. Is it appropriate to install rtpclient?
- are the kmod-leds-<various> packages mutually exclusive? kmod-leds-wndr3700-usb and kmod-ledgs-gpio will coexist?
(Last edited by bs27975 on 29 May 2010, 05:36)