Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

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laesyar
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Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:32 pm

Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by laesyar »

Hello,

In our warehouse, we have trucks driving around with terminal screens.
Normally they have Windows installed, but since that is labor sensitive because of Windows Updates, we are looking for different options.
We have tried WTware for a week now and it's looking pretty good.

However, there is one thing that is critical for us, which is Wi-Fi roaming and keeping a connection with the Remote Desktop Services server.
WTware is generally roaming fine, but there are multiple occasions per day that the connection is lost and WTware reports "I'm tired".
You have to imagine that these trucks drive past access points very fast, so I don't think it's strange that WTware gets "tired".

I'd like to know if there is anything I can do or try to make the connection more aggressive.
Maybe we could the suppress "I'm tired" message and just keep trying to (re)connect?
Otherwise things like different drivers or different driver settings could also be something that we can try?

Thanks
akatik
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Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by akatik »

Hello,
We need terminal log to find out what made wtware feel tired: http://wtware.com/logs.html
Send it to supprt@wtware.com
laesyar
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:32 pm

Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by laesyar »

Since last friday we are trying to get the error again.
Of course, the error never appears when you need it :)
So when we get the error I will reply it.

Also, I have been looking for roaming configuration with wpa_supplicant.
That could be set up with a simple argument:

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bgscan="simple:30:-70:3600"
"The above example will cause wpa_supplicant to scan every 30 seconds when the signal is weak (below -70), and every 3600 seconds otherwise. bgscan can be specified either in specific network blocks or globally for all networks." - source: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/wp ... nt#Roaming
I know I can create the wpa_supplicant.conf, but maybe it is cool if this could be configured from WTware Center.
laesyar
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:32 pm

Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by laesyar »

Just after my reply, the error appeared!
I have attached the log (anonymized) to this reply.

I also will try the bgscan argument in wpa_supplicant.conf to see if it works good.
Because now WTware will stay connected until the terminal is too far from the access point, resulting in a very low signal level.

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eth0      IEEE 802.11  ESSID:"mywifissid"  
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:5.18 GHz  Access Point: AA:BB:CC:DD:EE:FF 
          Bit Rate=28.9 Mb/s   Tx-Power=22 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Encryption key:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=23/70  Signal level=-87 dBm  
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:17   Missed beacon:0
Attachments
09-13-58.txt
(239.51 KiB) Downloaded 379 times
laesyar
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:32 pm

Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by laesyar »

We have tried the bgscan argument for a couple of days now and it's looking pretty good.
The "I'm tired" message did not appear anymore, but we will test it more.

This is the wpa_supplicant.conf that we currently use:

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ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
network={
   ssid="myssid"
   scan_ssid=1
   psk=securepsk
   bgscan="simple:15:-70:90"
}
You can calculate the PSK on this website if you don't want it to be plain text.

If I understand correctly, bgscan will trigger scanning for a better Wi-Fi signal when the signal goes below -70 dBm.
When it can't find a stronger signal, it will scan every 15 seconds.
When the signal is good, it will scan every 90 seconds to find an even better signal.

It is noticable in the logs too!

Code: Select all

[           WPA] [ 2920.637855] eth0: CTRL-EVENT-SIGNAL-CHANGE above=1 signal=-67 noise=9999 txrate=6000
[           WPA] [ 2924.119504] eth0: CTRL-EVENT-SIGNAL-CHANGE above=0 signal=-75 noise=9999 txrate=86700
[           WPA] [ 2924.975511] eth0: SME: Trying to authenticate with aa:aa:aa:aa:aa:aa (SSID='myssid' freq=5220 MHz)
[        KERNEL] [ 2924.978211] eth0: disconnect from AP bb:bb:bb:bb:bb:bb for new auth to aa:aa:aa:aa:aa:aa
(...)
[           WPA] [ 2925.020308] eth0: CTRL-EVENT-SIGNAL-CHANGE above=0 signal=-57 noise=9999 txrate=6000
[           WPA] [ 2925.050901] eth0: CTRL-EVENT-SIGNAL-CHANGE above=1 signal=-54 noise=9999 txrate=6000
[           WPA] [ 2976.046336] eth0: CTRL-EVENT-SIGNAL-CHANGE above=0 signal=-73 noise=9999 txrate=86700
[           WPA] [ 2979.760017] eth0: SME: Trying to authenticate with bb:bb:bb:bb:bb:bb (SSID='myssid' freq=5200 MHz)
[        KERNEL] [ 2979.762756] eth0: disconnect from AP aa:aa:aa:aa:aa:aa for new auth to bb:bb:bb:bb:bb:bb
Keep in mind that your log will be a lot bigger if you roam with the device all day.
laesyar
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:32 pm

Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by laesyar »

We have multiple models of terminal touch screen.

The log in my previous reply is from a model with an Intel Wi-Fi chipset.

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C 02:80 8086:24fd Network controller Network controller Intel Corporation Wireless 8265 / 8275
We have another model with a Broadcom BCM4322 Wi-Fi chipset.

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C 02:80 14e4:432b Network controller Network controller Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries BCM4322 802.11a/b/g/n Wireless LAN Controller
It seems that bgscan does not work correctly with the Broadcom Wi-Fi chipset, as you can see in this line from the log.

Code: Select all

[           WPA] [17151.212379] bgscan simple: Failed to enable signal strength monitoring
@akatik do you know if the latest Broadcom driver is in WTware?
Is it possible to test the latest driver?

Edit on 23-9-2020: There are at least two options:
  • The latest b43 driver will work good (firmware-b43-installer)
    Debian package
Attachments
README_6.30.223.271.txt
Broadcom STA driver readme
(16.81 KiB) Downloaded 353 times
Last edited by laesyar on Wed Sep 23, 2020 10:21 am, edited 2 times in total.
laesyar
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:32 pm

Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by laesyar »

I tried wpa_supplicant on debian on the same terminal model with the Broadcom BCM4322 chipset and the latest Broadcom b43 driver.
wpa_supplicant is there able to monitor the signal strength successfully.

In the attached log you can see the wpa_supplicant log from the debian installation.
So I think if the latest Broadcom STA drivers were added in WTware, that would solve the roaming problem for this model.
Attachments
wpa_supplicant-debian.txt
(1.26 KiB) Downloaded 415 times
akatik
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Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by akatik »

Please, give me wtware log. With wtware log I'll tell which driver is running.

Under UEFI the latest (5+ years old...) Broadcom STA with debian patches should run, from this link: https://salsa.debian.org/broadcom-sta-t ... adcom-sta/

Under Legacy BIOS there are different variants.

Did you use the same wpa_supplicant.conf for both debian and wtware?

Do you know command line flags passed to wpa_supplicant in Debian?
laesyar
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:32 pm

Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by laesyar »

Thanks, I attached
log.txt
(80.06 KiB) Downloaded 366 times
to this reply.

The unit does not support UEFI, so I can't install the WTware UEFI.

I think this is the command I used on debian (nothing special):

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sudo wpa_supplicant -B -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -i wlan0
The b43 driver (firmware-b43-installer) was the driver I used on debian.
Edit: I used the same wpa_supplicant.conf
aka
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Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by aka »

laesyar wrote: Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:07 pm Thanks, I attached the log to this reply.
modprobe wl
It's Broadcom STA with debian patches: https://salsa.debian.org/broadcom-sta-t ... adcom-sta/
laesyar wrote: Tue Oct 13, 2020 5:07 pm The b43 driver (firmware-b43-installer) was the driver I used on debian.
firmware-b43-installer download non-free firmwares for b43 driver. Please run in debian:

Code: Select all

lsmod
to find driver really used. lsmod should write b43 or wl.
laesyar
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:32 pm

Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by laesyar »

Ah yes you are correct.
I needed to install debian again for lsmod output and it says that the b43 driver uses a non-free firmware.

Attached you can find the lsmod output.
Attachments
lsmod.txt
(3.56 KiB) Downloaded 359 times
aka
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Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by aka »

Please try this build: http://wtware.com/testing/202010141414.zip

It should use b43 for 14e4:432b.
laesyar
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:32 pm

Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by laesyar »

Yes! It works!

Broadcom is detected and B43 is loaded:

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[        initrd] [   11.163418] [WiFi] Do not load wl for 14e4:432b.
[        initrd] [   11.194666] Found broadcom chip.
[        initrd] [   11.194777] modprobe b43.
[        KERNEL] [   11.228370] ssb: Found chip with id 0x4322, rev 0x01 and package 0x0A
[        KERNEL] [   11.341015] b43-pci-bridge 0000:04:00.0: Sonics Silicon Backplane found on PCI device 0000:04:00.0
[        KERNEL] [   11.353798] cfg80211: Loading compiled-in X.509 certificates for regulatory database
[        KERNEL] [   11.365358] cfg80211: Loaded X.509 cert 'sforshee: 00b28ddf47aef9cea7'
[        KERNEL] [   11.378902] b43-phy0: Broadcom 4322 WLAN found (core revision 16)
[        KERNEL] [   11.420327] b43-phy0: Found PHY: Analog 8, Type 4 (N), Revision 4
[        KERNEL] [   11.420366] b43-phy0: Found Radio: Manuf 0x17F, ID 0x2056, Revision 3, Version 0
[        KERNEL] [   11.436583] Broadcom 43xx driver loaded [ Features: PNL ]
[        KERNEL] [   11.438857] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'minstrel_ht'
[        initrd] [   11.438313] modprobe brcmsmac.
[        KERNEL] [   11.462547] b43 ssb0:0 eth0: renamed from wlan0
[        initrd] [   11.478561] Failed to disable Wi-Fi Power Management.
It monitors signal strength correctly now:

Code: Select all

[           WPA] [   23.227948] eth0: CTRL-EVENT-SIGNAL-CHANGE above=1 signal=-42 noise=0 txrate=18000
I will have someone test this WTware version with the B43 driver to confirm if it works stable for a couple of days and I will let you know the results.
laesyar
Posts: 25
Joined: Mon Aug 17, 2020 4:32 pm

Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by laesyar »

After some testing, it seems that the Wi-Fi connection disconnects every minute or so.
The following happens in the log:

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[           WPA] [  263.881133] l2_packet_send - sendto: No buffer space available
[        KERNEL] [  263.884444] eth0: deauthenticating from bb:bb:bb:bb:bb:bb by local choice (Reason: 1=UNSPECIFIED)
[           WPA] [  263.921913] eth0: CTRL-EVENT-DISCONNECTED bssid=bb:bb:bb:bb:bb:bb reason=1 locally_generated=1
[           WPA] [  263.922015] eth0: WPA: 4-Way Handshake failed - pre-shared key may be incorrect
[           WPA] [  263.922146] eth0: CTRL-EVENT-SSID-TEMP-DISABLED id=0 ssid="myssid" auth_failures=1 duration=10 reason=WRONG_KEY
[           WPA] [  263.922385] nl80211: Failed to open /proc/sys/net/ipv6/conf/eth0/drop_unicast_in_l2_multicast: No such file or directory
[           WPA] [  263.922581] nl80211: Failed to set IPv6 unicast in multicast filter
The PSK is correct, after a couple of seconds it automatically reconnects, after a minute it disconnects again.

Full log is attached to this reply.
Attachments
log-202010151438.txt
(104.25 KiB) Downloaded 384 times
aka
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Re: Wi-Fi roaming (I'm tired)

Post by aka »

Look ad Debian command output:

Code: Select all

dmesg | grep firmware
It there such line ?
b43-phy0: Loading firmware version 666.2 (2011-02-23 01:15:07)
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