Need help with PCI aironet 340 card under linux & bsd...

Hi, I have a system I'd to use as a router and fileserver, and want to use a Cisco aironet 340 pci card as a wireless access point.

The card works fine as a client (although under linux and bsd it reports errors constantly), but fails to work in Master or access point mode.

I've seen many messages, after much reading on the net, that state this is because the firmware version installed on the card is incompatible with the aironet drivers used by *BSD and Linux ( not the same driver, but the drivers use the same api, which has changed...)

What I haven't been able to locate is two things;

  1. an answer to the question "What is the right firmware version for enabling access point mode on an aironet 340 card under Linux/*BSD?"

  1. Access to the correct firmware version, or to the series of available firmware to discover the answer via trial and error.

I tried Cisco directly, and they told me the best they could do was to RMA the card for something newer, rather than give me access to available firmware for the card due to recent policy change.

Can anyone help? I have a gmail invite for info that helps me get this card working properly. The card is actually an AIR-PCM 342 in a PCI adapter.

Thanks in advance,

-Vince

Thanks in advn

Reply to
itsvincer
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snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com schrieb:

Cisco EOLed the 340 series quite a while ago.

The final supported FW was 5.30.17, but the newer 5.41 or 5.60 works in

340 radios too. Don't ask Cisco for support, downgrade before asking.

The Cisco Linux driver v2.1 works with every released fw. With FW newer than 5.20.17 you can configure the the card for LEAP and CCKM with FastSecure Roaming will work. I usually prefer FW 5.41.

Older GPL'ed Linux drivers only takes fw up to 4.25.30

The Cisco driver works rockstable as Station and is straighforward to compile.

You'll need

- the sources from the running kernel incl. Wireless Extensions

- the kernel headers in /usr/include/linux/ should exactly match the kernel.

I never have tried to configure it to master mode. Perhaps this isn't possible. FW capable of Master mode is included in the updates for the AIR-350 Access Points.

Reply to
Uli Link

In article , snipped-for-privacy@usenet.arcornews.de (Uli Link) writes: | snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com schrieb:

| The Cisco Linux driver v2.1 works with every released fw. | With FW newer than 5.20.17 you can configure the the card for LEAP and | CCKM with FastSecure Roaming will work. I usually prefer FW 5.41. | | Older GPL'ed Linux drivers only takes fw up to 4.25.30

The Cisco DOS drivers don't work with the newer firmware either. Is there any documentation that describes whatever change made the firmware fail to be backwards-compatible?

Dan Lanciani ddl@danlan.*com

Reply to
Dan Lanciani

Hi Dan,

What problems do you have when using FW 5.41 or 5.30.17 with MS-DOS packet driver 2.04 or ODI driver 2.05 with 340 or 350 cards? They don't work with 4500 or 4800 cards.

The wepdos.exe or awcleap.exe only works with FW 4.25.xx, but you can upgrade the FW *after* setting LEAP credentials or the WEP keys. And even with DOS FastSecure Roaming works with LEAP/CKIP.

I regularly still use Aironet cards with MS-DOS and Novell TCP/IP or FTP Software's PC/TCP w/o problems.

Reply to
Uli Link

In article , snipped-for-privacy@usenet.arcornews.de (Uli Link) writes: | Dan Lanciani wrote: | > | > The Cisco DOS drivers don't work with the newer firmware either. Is there | > any documentation that describes whatever change made the firmware fail to | > be backwards-compatible? | | | Hi Dan, | | What problems do you have when using FW 5.41 or 5.30.17 with MS-DOS | packet driver 2.04 or ODI driver 2.05 with 340 or 350 cards?

With 5.41 on a 350 card the 2.04 packet driver said "Radio Configuration Failed"; however, see below...

| They don't work with 4500 or 4800 cards.

Nothing since around 3.85 has really worked right on the 4500 or original

4800. (Up through ~4.13 sort of worked but at least the initial packet of a WEP-encrypted session was corrupt.) I'd expect the 4800A might be ok, though.

| The wepdos.exe or awcleap.exe only works with FW 4.25.xx, but you can | upgrade the FW *after* setting LEAP credentials or the WEP keys. And | even with DOS FastSecure Roaming works with LEAP/CKIP.

So probably what happened was an earlier wepdos command failed and I didn't notice. I seem to remember that the packet driver gives that same error if you have WEP enabled and no keys loaded.

I have to see if my direct eeprom reader/writer works with 5.41. If it does I can add a WEP mode. (It currently decodes WEP keys for display but doesn't provide a convenient way to enter them.) Setting LEAP might be more difficult.

| I regularly still use Aironet cards with MS-DOS and Novell TCP/IP or FTP | Software's PC/TCP w/o problems.

I use them with my own DOS tcp/ip stack as well...

Dan Lanciani ddl@danlan.*com

Reply to
Dan Lanciani

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