Status of Atheros Wifi Hardware
| Driver | HAL | Supported Hardware | 802.11n support | Debugging |
Supported NICs
Generally speaking, all 802.11abgn NICs are supported, save the AR5513 MIMO 802.11abg NIC.
Anything listed on http://wikidevi.com/wiki/Atheros should be supported.
However:
- The AR5513 is not supported
- The AR5523 USB NIC is supported by uath(4)
- The AR7010 and AR9271 NICs are not yet supported - the USB glue needs writing for ath(4).
- The 802.11ac devices will be supported by an alternate driver (not yet written.)
Supported Chipsets
This is a list of chipsets which the ath(4) and ath_hal(4) code supports.
Chipset |
Bus |
MAC |
Radio |
Description |
Antennas |
802.11n Spatial Streams |
Notes |
AR5210 |
PCI |
AR5210 |
AR5210 |
802.11a only, first generation |
2 |
N/A |
|
AR5211 |
PCI |
AR5211 |
AR5211 |
802.11a / 802.11b / "pure-G" (no 11bg) |
2 |
N/A |
|
AR5212 |
PCI |
AR5212 |
Various |
802.11bg/802.11a chipsets |
2 |
N/A |
|
AR2413 |
PCI/PCIe |
|
Integrated |
|
|
|
|
AR5413 |
PCI/PCIe |
|
|
|
|
|
|
AR5424 |
PCIe |
|
|
|
|
|
|
AR2417 |
PCI |
|
|
|
|
|
|
AR5213 |
? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
AR5416 |
PCI |
AR5416 |
AR2133 (2ghz) / AR5133 (2/5ghz) |
802.11bg(a)n |
3 |
2x2 |
|
AR5418 |
PCIe |
AR5416 |
|
|
|
|
|
AR9130 |
PCI |
AR9130 |
AR2133 (2ghz) |
802.11bgn |
3 |
2x2 |
Embedded; part of the AR913x CPU SoC |
AR9160 |
PCI |
AR9160 |
AR9103 (2ghz) / AR9106 (2/5ghz) |
802.11bg(a)n |
3 |
2x2 |
|
AR9220 |
PCI |
AR9280 |
various |
802.11bg(a)n |
2 |
2x2 |
|
AR9280 |
PCIe |
AR9280 |
integrated |
802.11bg(a)n |
2 |
2x2 |
|
AR9281 |
PCIe |
AR9280 |
integrated |
802.11bgn |
2 |
1 TX, 2 RX |
This requires an up to date -HEAD for the TX/RX chain configuration to be successfully read from EEPROM |
AR9283 |
PCIe |
AR9280 |
integrated |
802.11bgn |
2 |
2x2 |
|
AR9285 |
PCIe |
AR9285 |
integrated |
802.11bgn |
2 |
1x1 |
|
AR2427 |
PCIe |
AR9285 |
integrated |
802.11bg |
2 |
N/A |
This is an AR9285 but without the 11n functionality |
AR9287 |
PCIe |
AR9287 |
integrated |
802.11bgn |
2 |
2x2 |
Supports Short-GI in HT/20 mode |
AR9227 |
PCI |
AR9287 |
|||||
AR9380 |
PCIe |
AR9380 |
integrated |
802.11abgn |
3 |
3x3 |
|
AR9390 |
PCIe |
AR9380 |
integrated |
802.11abgn |
3 |
3x3 |
|
AR9485 |
PCIe |
AR9485 |
integrated |
802.11abg |
2 |
1x1 |
|
AR9462 |
PCIe |
AR9462 |
integrated |
802.11abgn |
2 |
2x2 |
|
AR955x |
PCIe |
AR9550 |
integrated |
802.11abgn |
2 |
2x2 |
Known chipset issues/limitations/bugs
AR5416 / AR5418
- interrupt read-and-clear bug
- PHY register read corruption bug
- 8K max aggregate size if RTS protected, otherwise 64K max size
- radar detection limited to primary channel only
- can't do 4-addr frames with aggregation; thus it can't participate in WDS without local (Atheros) extensions
- block-ack issues with multi-ssid mode (?); thus aggregation is only supported on the first (lowest?) mac address. Or, just don't create more than one virtual 11n-enabled interface.
- per-packet TPC can't set a TX Power value of 0dBm, the lowest valid value is 0.5dBm.
AR9130
- interrupt read-and-clear bug
- PHY register read corruption bug
- interrupt mitigation isn't supported? (XXX this should be verified!)
- block-ack issues with multi-ssid mode - fixed in revision 1.4.
AR9160
- interrupt read-and-clear bug
- PHY register read corruption bug
- radar detection hang?
- mac hangs? (check capabilities in HAL)
- baseband hangs? (check capabilities in HAL)
AR9220/AR9280
- interrupt read-and-clear bug
- baseband hangs?
AR9285
- interrupt read-and-clear bug
- software-driven receive antenna diversity is implemented but not enabled (and only currently will be useful for station mode.) This isn't a hardware bug; it's a driver issue.
AR9227/AR9287
- interrupt read-and-clear bug
Chipsets which I'll be working on
I'll be working on these chipsets once bugs/issues in the above are sorted out.
AR93xx, AR94xx, AR95xx, AR96xx - the descriptor handling and data path modifications are in -HEAD; the HAL is now open source. See dev/ath_hal(4)/AR9300 for more information.
Chipsets I won't be working on
- USB chipsets, in particular the AR7010+AR9280, AR9271 or the AR9170 chipset
- although if someone would like to work on these, I'll be happy to help them with it
Vendor Sources
- In the past, Ubquiti Networks (www.ubnt.com) shipped Atheros based boards and NICs. Any/all NICs from Ubiquiti work - however now they've moved to integrated units that include the wireless hardware onboard.
- These NICs are known to work: SR2, SR5, XR2, XR5, SR71-A, SR71-12, SR71-15, PCIe SR71
- Unex (www.unex.com.tw) ship a variety of Atheros NICs.
Their Mini-PCI NICs (http://www.unex.com.tw/wi-fi/mini-pci) should work - in particular, the AR9160 based NICs are known to work extremely well.
Their Mini-PCIe NICs (http://www.unex.com.tw/wi-fi/pcie-mini-card) all work with the AR9380 HAL - except their new 802.11ac NIC. That requires a new driver.
Hardware Matrix
The following is a list of hardware I've used/tested on FreeBSD-HEAD.
Note that "Max TX power" normally refers to TX power at low rates (<24mbit.)
Hardware I own |
|||||||||
Card |
MAC |
PHY |
Revision Info |
Bus |
Modes |
Max TX Power |
Support |
Problems |
Last known good SVN revision |
Ubiquiti SR71A |
AR9160-AC1E |
AR9106-AL1A |
ath0: AR9160 mac 64.0 RF5133 phy 11.0 |
Mini-PCI |
abgn |
16dBm per radio; 3x TX radios |
Works Well |
Hostap in 11bg and 11a works well; Station mode works well |
HEAD |
Ubiquiti SR-2 |
AR5213A-001 |
|
|
MiniPCI |
bg |
26dBm |
Works Well |
WPA in hostapd mode is broken until the first group rekey |
HEAD |
Ubiquiti SR71A-12 |
AR9220 |
|
|
MiniPCI |
bgn |
26dBm |
Broken |
Currently broken and causes a PCI bus panic; need to investigate why |
HEAD |
Ubiquiti SR71A-15 |
AR9220 |
|
ath0: AR9280 mac 128.2 RF5133 phy 13.0 |
MiniPCI |
an |
26dBm |
Works Well |
STA and HostAP modes work well at full TX power mode |
HEAD |
Ubiquiti SR71E |
AR9280 |
|
MiniPCIe |
abgn |
26dBm |
Works well |
Works well in all operating modes, STA/Hostap, legacy and 802.11n |
HEAD |
|
? |
AR9283 |
|
ath0: AR9280 mac 128.2 RF5133 phy 13.0 |
Mini-PCIe |
bgn |
?? |
Works Well |
Station mode is stable; hostap mode has not been tested; this is an open-loop TX power control board |
HEAD r217921 |
? |
AR2427 (AR9285 w/ 11n disabled) |
|
ath0: AR9285 mac 192.2 RF5133 phy 14.0 |
Mini-PCIe |
bg |
?? |
Stable |
11bg STA is stable |
|
AR5BMB |
AR5416-AC1A |
? |
ath1: AR5416 mac 13.10 RF5133 phy 8.1 |
MiniPCI |
abgn |
? |
Stable |
11bg STA is stable |
-HEAD |
? |
AR9285 |
? |
ath0: AR9285 mac 192.2 RF5133 phy 14.0 |
Mini-PCIe |
bgn |
? |
Stable |
11bg STA is stable |
-HEAD |
Unex DNMA-83 |
AR9160-BC1A |
? |
ath0: AR9160 mac 64.1 RF5133 phy 11.0 |
Mini-PCI |
abgn |
? |
Stable |
Stable in 11bg/11a; STA/hostap |
-HEAD |
AR9287 |
AR9287-BL1A |
integrated |
ath0: AR9287 mac 384.2 RF5133 phy 15.15 |
Mini-PCIe |
bgn |
? |
Stable |
Stable in 11bg/11gn; STA/hostap |
-HEAD |
MB97 |
AR9227 |
integrated |
|
Mini-PCI |
bgn |
? |
Stable |
Sable in 11bg/11gn; STA/Hostap; this is a Kite rev 1.1 reference design |
-HEAD |
DBii F52N-PRO |
AR9220-AC1A |
integrated |
|
Mini-PCI |
abgn |
?? |
Partially stable |
4.9 and 5ghz stable; the NIC has issues w/ 2.4ghz channels |
-HEAD |
MB51 |
AR2413 |
RF2413 (integrated) |
ath1: AR2413 mac 7.8 RF2413 phy 4.5 |
Mini-PCI |
bg |
? |
Stable |
This is an AR2413 reference design |
|
MB55 |
AR2417 |
AR5424 (integrated) |
AR2417 mac 15.0 RF5424 phy 7.0 |
Mini-PCI |
bg |
? |
Stable |
Stable in 11bg STA/Hostap; this is an AR2417 reference design |
|
Reports from other users |
|||||||||
AR5B95 |
AR9285 |
? |
ath0: AR9285 mac 192.2 RF5133 phy 14.0 |
Mini-PCIe |
bgn |
? |
Stable |
Stable in station mode |
-HEAD |
3Com 3CRWE154A72 |
AR5212 |
|
ath0: AR5212 mac 5.6 RF5112 phy 4.1 |
PCMCIA |
abg |
? |
Stable |
Hostap untested |
HEAD r221669 |