board-2.bin

Mon May 20 11:53:49 PDT 2024

Hi,

We have sourced modules from Qualcomm direct  "Hamilton" cards

I also have 2x2 Hamilton equivalents and Waikiki from Codico, these are 8devcies or compex modules

They sell sample quantities easily online

https://www.codico.com/en/manufacturers/8devices?pim_brand=8devices#samples

I have 3 setups running, 2 AMD (1 Hamilton 1 WKK) and Intel with Hamilton

We are comparing with Intel BE200 as another option

David

> -----Original Message-----
> From: ath12k <ath12k-bounces at lists.infradead.org> On Behalf Of
> pgupta at hindutool.com
> Sent: Monday, May 20, 2024 5:59 PM
> To: kvalo at kernel.org; ath12k at lists.infradead.org
> Subject: Re: board-2.bin
> 
> Mr. Valo,
> 
> 
> Thank you for responding to my email.
> 
> I purchased a wifi 7 2.4Ghz, 5Ghz, and 6Ghz directly from compex:
> 
> https://shop.compex.com.sg/products
> 
> 
> Pair of 6Ghz Wifi 7 (they are only sold as a pair)
> 
> https://shop.compex.com.sg/product-page/wlw7000e6
> 
> 
> Pair of 2.4Ghz AND 5Ghz Wifi 7:
> 
> https://shop.compex.com.sg/product-page/wlw7000e5
> 
> 
> These are M.2 E-Key and 4x4 MIMO antenna modules, I am building 2 routers
> using Dell R730xd machines. Because I have two 6GHz modules, one will go in
> each machine.  I have some old Compex wifi 5 modules that I will put in one
> of the servers, while the other server will house NEW 2.4, 5, and 6 Ghz Wifi 7
> modules.
> 
> There is no M.2 E-Key connectors on these machines (as it is generic older
> generation hardware), so I am using an M.2 E-Key to PCIe riser cable from
> ADT link to convert the M.2 E-Key to PCIe:
> 
> https://www.adt.link/product/R15V4.html  (I will need three of these, one for
> each module)
> 
> 
> This will allow connection of the wifi module to the PCIe bus.  I specifically
> chose this machine because it has 3 x16 PCIe 3.0, and 3 x8 Pcie 3.0
> 
> To maximize throughput, these modules need to be connected to a PCIe 3.0
> bus per Compex
> 
> Because these modules only need a x1 connection to the PCIe bus, all three
> x8 slots will be used for each of the 3 wifi modules.
> 
> You can purchase a premade board and wifi module bundle from Compex for
> around $1200, but used my own server hardware because I wanted to
> customize my WAN and LAN interfaces, and use all three modules in ONE
> machine (no pre-made board can do this from what I have researched), so I
> only purchased the modules only instead of a pre-made board and modules.
> 
> I have pictures of this evolving setup and there are specific reasons for
> choosing this machine.  Keep in mind these modules require an external 5V
> power supply which will be supplied by 5V SATA power connectors - I am still
> trying to figure this out, but these WiFi 7 modules do come with power
> connectors soldered onto the board unlike the previous generation where you
> had to solder on power contacts yourself.
> 
> If you are interested, I can take pictures for you so that you can see first hand
> how the setup looks.  I can guarantee the cables work since I am able to
> detect the wireless modules via lspci and lshw commands as it successfully
> connects to.. and is powered by... the PCIe bus.  I just cannot get the firmware
> (board-2.bin) to load.
> 
> Interestingly, I had brief success with the firmware loading on Ubuntu 23.10,
> during some trials, but it was one time and I have been unable to recreate
> this.  I'm not sure what I did to get it to work.
> 
> One final note, this router is using a server platform as it will house 3 wifi
> modules (2.4/5/6 wifi 7), a 2x 100GBe ethernet LAN, 4x 10GB LAN (for a
> separate subnet), 2x 10GB WAN inputs, and 100GB Inifinband connectivity to
> an Inifiniband switch.  It will also house VMs for reverse proxy and VPN so it
> had 2x Xeon E5-26790 V4 and 128GB DDR4 ECC RAM.  This unit is completely
> modular and any part can be upgraded at any time. This is why I went with
> this setup.  All of this is contained in one machine, no separate access point -
> the wifi is built into the router just like a residential router.  The antennas will
> be connected directly to the server via u.fl to SMA connectors for each card
> (each card having 4 antennas for a total of 12 antennas connected to the
> machine).
> 
> 
> 
> A few more points, the .zst files appear to be some sort of new compression
> technology that the stock Ubuntu 24.04 ships with.  The files are in this format
> by default in the WCN directory under /lib/firmware/ath12k.  There are NO
> .bin files.
> 
> Also Interestingly, the ath12k driver is also in this format "ath12k.ko.zst" in the
> modules section and decompressing it to the .ko extension seems to disable
> the driver. This is confirmed using "modinfo ath12k"
> 
> Again, sorry for the long winded description.  I work as an Emergency room
> physician by trade, so I am not always near my machines and can only work
> on this project in my free time.  This wireless module is the last hurdle.
> 
> All of this is very confusing compared to the ath10k which seemed so much
> more straightforward.
> 
> All the best, and thank you so much for your reply.  I can forward the contacts
> from compex that I spoke with if you so desire.
> 
> I wanted to respond to your email as I am grateful you have taken time out of
> your schedule to reply to my message. I do have some questions regarding
> the specifics of rebuilding the kernel, but will address that in  a separate email
> so that noobs like me won't have to go through this.
> 
> I have been following your github every since ath10k a few years back, and
> your firmware was instrumental in helping me get my home wired/wifi router
> project off the ground.  My current wifi router is actually a desktop using
> mini-pcie wifi modules attached directly to the desktop PCIe bus.
> 
> Prashant Gupta MD/MPH
> 
> 
> On Mon, 20 May 2024 12:54:18 +0300, Kalle Valo <kvalo at kernel.org> wrote:
> 
> >> "pgupta at hindutool.com" writes:
> >>
> >> > I have been reading through the various posts, and while I found
> >> > someone who reported the exact same problem, I was unable to find a
> >> > response from anyone who could present a solution
> >> >
> >> > I have a Compex WLW7000E6
> >>
> >> Any recommendations from where it would be easiest to order such
> board?
> >> I'm based in Europe and would like to get one.
> >>
> >> Is the board otherwise plug&play to an M.2 E-key slot or does it need
> >> something special?
> >>
> >> > and am using the latest kernel version 6.8.0-31-generic (ubuntu
> >> > 24.04
> >> > LTS)
> >>
> >> BTW in general we don't support distro kernels:
> >>
> >> https://linux-regtracking.leemhuis.info/post/frequent-reasons-why-lin
> >> ux-kernel-bug-reports-are-ignored/#your-kernel-was-apparently-built-b
> >> y-a-linux-distributor-or-hardware-vendor
> 
> >>
> >> > Despite having the requisite files in
> /lib/firmware/ath12k/QCN9274/hw2.0:
> >> >
> >> > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 8241152 May 19 23:47 amss.bin
> >> > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 2821564 May 20 00:03 amss.bin.zst
> >> > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 382856 May 20 00:03 board-2.bin
> >> > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root   21517 May 20 00:03 board-2.bin.zst
> >> > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root  421888 May 19 23:47 m3.bin
> >> > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root  139662 May 20 00:03 m3.bin.zst
> >> > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root   10699 May 20 00:03 Notice.txt.zst
> >> > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root   24310 May 19 23:47 regdb.bin
> >> > -rw-r--r-- 1 root root    3187 May 19 23:47 regdb.bin.zst
> >> >
> >> > I continue to receive the following errors:
> >> >
> >> > [    5.885930] ath12k_pci 0000:83:00.0: BAR 0 [mem
> >> > 0xc8000000-0xc81fffff 64bit]: assigned [    5.886287] ath12k_pci
> >> > 0000:83:00.0: MSI vectors: 16 [    5.886294] ath12k_pci
> >> > 0000:83:00.0: Hardware name: qcn9274 hw2.0 [    6.745247]
> >> > ath12k_pci 0000:83:00.0: memory type 10 not supported [
> >> > 6.750101] ath12k_pci 0000:83:00.0: chip_id 0x0 chip_family 0xb
> >> > board_id 0xff soc_id 0x401a2200 [    6.750110] ath12k_pci
> >> > 0000:83:00.0: fw_version 0x10098b57 fw_build_timestamp 2022-09-19
> >> > 18:18 fw_build_id
> >> > QC_IMAGE_VERSION_STRING=WLAN.WBE.1.0-02903-
> QCAHKSWPL_SILICONZ-1
> >> > [    6.761065] ath12k_pci 0000:83:00.0: failed to fetch board data
> >> > for
> >> > bus=pci,qmi-chip-id=0,qmi-board-id=255 from
> >> > ath12k/QCN9274/hw2.0/board-2.bin [    6.761212] ath12k_pci
> >> > 0000:83:00.0: failed to fetch board-2.bin or board.bin from
> >> > QCN9274/hw2.0 [    6.761247] ath12k_pci 0000:83:00.0: qmi failed to
> >> > load bdf:
> >> > [    6.761250] ath12k_pci 0000:83:00.0: qmi failed to load board
> >> > data file:-2
> >>
> >> This means that board-2.bin is missing the board file for your device.
> >> For AP devices like QCN9274 board files handling is difficult,
> >> usually Device Tree is the only way to get automatic board file loading
> working.
> >>
> >> Did you get any software with your the board? Do you know if the
> >> board is calibrated or not?
> >>
> >> Can you run:
> >>
> >> find /lib/firmware/ath12k/ -type f | xargs md5sum
> >>
> >> Also read:
> >>
> >> https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/drivers/ath12k/bugreport
> 
> >>
> >> > but he zst files were copied over from the WCN7850 directory.
> >>
> >> I do not know what these zst files are. And don't copy anything from
> >> WCN7850 directory, the files are not compatible. The best is to run
> >> 'make install' within ath12k-firmware.git repository, manually fixing
> >> files will end up into problems.
> >>
> >> --
> >> https://patchwork.kernel.org/project/linux-wireless/list/
> 
> >>
> >> https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/developers/documentation/submitti
> >> ngpatches