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hß · HardwareCurated

Kernel-Log: ath9k driver for Atheros Wi-Fi chips in 2.6.27; reading material and videos for Linux experts

Summary

Only three weeks after its presentation in 2008, the kernel developers accepted the ath9k driver for Atheros draft-N Wi-Fi chips into the main branch for Linux 2.6.27. Initially it only supported client mode; mesh, AP and monitor modes were planned. The Kernel-Log also pointed to reading material such as the OLS 2008 talks and an ACM special issue on the CFS scheduler, readahead and virtio.

Ideas

  • An open driver developed by the manufacturer itself got into the kernel very quickly.
  • New drivers often start in client mode and learn AP and mesh operation later.
  • virtio was to become a common standard for virtual devices across different hypervisors.

Insights

  • Manufacturer participation in open drivers considerably shortens the path into the kernel.
  • Standardised virtual devices simplify virtualisation across platform boundaries.

Facts

  • ath9k was presented by Atheros developer Luis Rodriguez.
  • Supported chips included the AR9160, AR9280 and AR9281.

References

Critique

  • The report combines driver news and a reading list without checking the practical state of the drivers.

Remarks

  • ath9k became the most important open 802.11n driver and was for a long time the basis of many OpenWrt routers and access points.

Recommendations

  • For Wi-Fi hardware for Linux and OpenWrt, prefer chips with a maintained mainline driver.
  • Use virtio devices in virtual machines for better performance than emulated hardware.

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