[Gta04-owner] libertas_tf versus libertas/wifi hotspot

[Andreas Kemnade]

Hi,

On Thu, 31 Oct 2013 06:52:34 +0100
"Dr. H. Nikolaus Schaller" <hns at goldelico.com> wrote:

> Hi,
> 
> Am 30.10.2013 um 21:54 schrieb Andreas Kemnade:
> 
> > Hi,
> > 
> > some weeks ago I have used my gta04 as a wifi hotspot with umts uplink.
> > I had to switch to an older kernel I had on my system with libertas_tf
> > driver which provides access point support since less is done in
> > firmware.
> > 
> > I am wondering if there are plans to switch over to that driver. In
> > recent kernels the sdio interface seems not to be available.
> 
> What do you mean with "sdio interface not available"? 3.12 supports SDIO.
> 
The libertas and libertas_tf drivers both are split into a common part
and an interface-specific part. The interface-specific part for SDIO is
missing for the libertas_tf driver in the kernel. I know I had patched
the 3.2.10 kernel and also the 2.6.32 kernel somehow to achieve that
and I have talked about that on the list but I cannot find it now.

> > Has anyone this driver working with recent kernels?
> 
> I have not tested because I do not understand what the differences and
> benefits are. Maybe you can explain?

The difference is the split between firmware and kernel code. tf means
thin firmware, so more things are done in the kernel. A different
firmware is needed then. The advantage is that we have more control and
can for example do accesspoint mode. The disadvantage is that proper
sdio interrupt handling is more important in that mode, so the speed is
more affected by kernel problems in that area.

Greetings
Andreas Kemnade
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