4 ms·

OpenBSD's WiFi support is still the deal breaker keeping me from trying it out. Per iwm's documentation [0], 802.11n only partially works (no 40MHz channels, an

by ac29 9y ago

OpenBSD's WiFi support is still the deal breaker keeping me from trying it out. Per iwm's documentation [0], 802.11n only partially works (no 40MHz channels, and limited to 1x1), and 802.11ac doesnt work at all. That means a max link rate of 72Mbps, and a real world speed of maybe half that. [0] https://man.openbsd.org/iwm https://man.openbsd.org/iwm

mrmondo 9y ago
Yes likewise, I’d be annoyed if AC1300 / 80Mhz didn’t work so lack of 40Mhz is a big no no for me.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
tjoff 9y ago
That is plenty fast, for practical use the only parameters worth discussing when it comes to wifi is connection stability and range.
- pedrocr 9y ago
  I can saturate my 100Mb/s internet connection on Wifi so you'd be missing out on 2/3 of the speed there. It's useful for backups to be able to do even more than that as the local network is even faster. But you can probably get away with just ~30Mbps for most uses.
  - floatboth 9y ago
    Yeah, I have FreeBSD on my laptop with iwm(4) also. 11a speeds are enough for the usual web surfing and stuff. When I need the speed (system upgrades mostly) I just plug in the cable. I have link aggregation set up with wifi and ethernet so the handover is seamless.
    - knorker 9y ago
      I'm very happy with my decision to not provide wired network all over my house after I moved. Good Wifi is really nice in that it decouples speed from location. Even with 802.11ad (that I don't have) there's a huge difference between having to plug in when you reach a "fast area" and not having to.
      - zdw 9y ago
        I'm very happy with my decision to replace every multi-lane highway around my house with a congested single lane dirt road with half the speed limit.
        knorker 9y ago
        Your analogy seems far fetched to me. Going wired->wifi is like going desktop->laptop. I'll admit to being slow to go to both laptop and wifi years ago, but at least to me they're clearly superior.
    - pedrocr 9y ago
      That used to be my solution in the b/g times. These days it has gotten to the point that unless I'm doing something extremely heavy like transfer TBs between machines the added advantage of not having to bother with a fixed location for the laptop and extra wiring compensates for the slower speed. And that's with simple wifi setups with a single good AP. I'm sure the line is even further pushed out if you've designed a multiple AP setup with good coverage and low interference.
      - reitanqild 9y ago
        I have what was supposed to be a very good ap/router. Still I think it is awful. I hear it is because the spectrum is jammed but I almost cannot believe it: I have a big garden and so have my neighbours. What do you guys do to get fast, stable wireless?
        9y ago
- 4ad 9y ago
  That's like, your opinion man. With 802.11ac on 5GHz, on a mac laptop, I consistently get about 800-1100Mbps. That is gigabit speed. And it's everywhere in the house and yard because I have the appropriate number of APs configured with the right signal power and antenna gain. I have no need for cables anymore on my laptops in any situation where I need speed, and there are many such situations. All my files at home are on a network share. No problem, wifi is fast. I feel people have only used badly configured crappy consumer APs on crappy laptops (without MIMO) and don't understand that wifi doesn't have to be slow and unreliable.
  - tjoff 9y ago
    I feel that you are sugar coating it a tad bit much... "A deep dive into why Wi-Fi kind of sucks": https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/03/802-eleventy-what-a-deep-dive-into-why-wi-fi-kind-of-sucks/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/03/802-e...
    - devwastaken 9y ago
      72 MB, which isn't the real world speed, as stated, isn't a lot. Thats only 9 actual megabytes a second. Now download any sizable source code project, or, upload many small changes. Or, even just a movie from itunes or something. Good routers can go over 100Mbps, easily, and I would never think that 'less' speed is 'okay' in a world where increased speeds are just a requirement of technology over time, and usage, of said technology.
  - sgt 9y ago
    When I can, I use a cable (and an adapter so I can use Ethernet with my MBP). I've achieved up to 100Mbps on Wi-Fi at home but the problem has always been variable latency. Any kind of interfere from the dozens of other Wi-Fi networks in the area seems to have an effect, so I always plug in if I can.
    - 4ad 9y ago
      > I've achieved up to 100Mbps on Wi-Fi at home Note that I said 800-1100Mbps. > but the problem has always been variable latency Symptom of crappy consumer equipment. > Any kind of interfere from the dozens of other Wi-Fi networks in the area seems to have an effect Well yeah, that is why I use 5GHz which doesn't penetrate walls very well so I don't get any interference.
brynet 9y ago
802.11n/802.11ac is a lot more complex then previous standards, and unlike Linux, OpenBSD has a single-digit number of developers working on drivers. If you've followed the past year or so, Intel wireless support is materializing.. we gained iwm(4), 802.11n in 6.0, MIMO (MCS 0-15) in 6.1. All in addition to new hardware support, fixes for quirky firmware bugs. https://www.openbsd.org/60.html https://www.openbsd.org/60.html https://www.openbsd.org/61.html https://www.openbsd.org/61.html Not every project has engineers from Intel with internal datasheets, this came up before with USB 3.0 xHCI, which had Linux drivers long before the specs were public. There weren't even devices on the market! OpenBSD is developed by volunteers.
- h1d 9y ago
  I understand but an excuse is not what OP is looking for.
  - rosser 9y ago
    Explanations ≠ excuses.

by ac29 9y ago

mrmondo 9y ago

Yes likewise, I’d be annoyed if AC1300 / 80Mhz didn’t work so lack of 40Mhz is a big no no for me.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

tjoff 9y ago

That is plenty fast, for practical use the only parameters worth discussing when it comes to wifi is connection stability and range.

pedrocr 9y ago
I can saturate my 100Mb/s internet connection on Wifi so you'd be missing out on 2/3 of the speed there. It's useful for backups to be able to do even more than that as the local network is even faster. But you can probably get away with just ~30Mbps for most uses.
- floatboth 9y ago
  Yeah, I have FreeBSD on my laptop with iwm(4) also. 11a speeds are enough for the usual web surfing and stuff. When I need the speed (system upgrades mostly) I just plug in the cable. I have link aggregation set up with wifi and ethernet so the handover is seamless.
  - knorker 9y ago
    I'm very happy with my decision to not provide wired network all over my house after I moved. Good Wifi is really nice in that it decouples speed from location. Even with 802.11ad (that I don't have) there's a huge difference between having to plug in when you reach a "fast area" and not having to.
    - zdw 9y ago
      I'm very happy with my decision to replace every multi-lane highway around my house with a congested single lane dirt road with half the speed limit.
      - knorker 9y ago
        Your analogy seems far fetched to me. Going wired->wifi is like going desktop->laptop. I'll admit to being slow to go to both laptop and wifi years ago, but at least to me they're clearly superior.
  - pedrocr 9y ago
    That used to be my solution in the b/g times. These days it has gotten to the point that unless I'm doing something extremely heavy like transfer TBs between machines the added advantage of not having to bother with a fixed location for the laptop and extra wiring compensates for the slower speed. And that's with simple wifi setups with a single good AP. I'm sure the line is even further pushed out if you've designed a multiple AP setup with good coverage and low interference.
    - reitanqild 9y ago
      I have what was supposed to be a very good ap/router. Still I think it is awful. I hear it is because the spectrum is jammed but I almost cannot believe it: I have a big garden and so have my neighbours. What do you guys do to get fast, stable wireless?
      - 9y ago
4ad 9y ago
That's like, your opinion man. With 802.11ac on 5GHz, on a mac laptop, I consistently get about 800-1100Mbps. That is gigabit speed. And it's everywhere in the house and yard because I have the appropriate number of APs configured with the right signal power and antenna gain. I have no need for cables anymore on my laptops in any situation where I need speed, and there are many such situations. All my files at home are on a network share. No problem, wifi is fast. I feel people have only used badly configured crappy consumer APs on crappy laptops (without MIMO) and don't understand that wifi doesn't have to be slow and unreliable.
- tjoff 9y ago
  I feel that you are sugar coating it a tad bit much... "A deep dive into why Wi-Fi kind of sucks": https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/03/802-eleventy-what-a-deep-dive-into-why-wi-fi-kind-of-sucks/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2017/03/802-e...
  - devwastaken 9y ago
    72 MB, which isn't the real world speed, as stated, isn't a lot. Thats only 9 actual megabytes a second. Now download any sizable source code project, or, upload many small changes. Or, even just a movie from itunes or something. Good routers can go over 100Mbps, easily, and I would never think that 'less' speed is 'okay' in a world where increased speeds are just a requirement of technology over time, and usage, of said technology.
- sgt 9y ago
  When I can, I use a cable (and an adapter so I can use Ethernet with my MBP). I've achieved up to 100Mbps on Wi-Fi at home but the problem has always been variable latency. Any kind of interfere from the dozens of other Wi-Fi networks in the area seems to have an effect, so I always plug in if I can.
  - 4ad 9y ago
    > I've achieved up to 100Mbps on Wi-Fi at home Note that I said 800-1100Mbps. > but the problem has always been variable latency Symptom of crappy consumer equipment. > Any kind of interfere from the dozens of other Wi-Fi networks in the area seems to have an effect Well yeah, that is why I use 5GHz which doesn't penetrate walls very well so I don't get any interference.

brynet 9y ago

802.11n/802.11ac is a lot more complex then previous standards, and unlike Linux, OpenBSD has a single-digit number of developers working on drivers. If you've followed the past year or so, Intel wireless support is materializing.. we gained iwm(4), 802.11n in 6.0, MIMO (MCS 0-15) in 6.1. All in addition to new hardware support, fixes for quirky firmware bugs. https://www.openbsd.org/60.html https://www.openbsd.org/60.html https://www.openbsd.org/61.html https://www.openbsd.org/61.html Not every project has engineers from Intel with internal datasheets, this came up before with USB 3.0 xHCI, which had Linux drivers long before the specs were public. There weren't even devices on the market! OpenBSD is developed by volunteers.

h1d 9y ago
I understand but an excuse is not what OP is looking for.
- rosser 9y ago
  Explanations ≠ excuses.