[wplug] wireless networking stability

[Michael Skowvron]

Rick Reynolds wrote:
> Anyone with any other ideas for something to try?

1. Continue to look for other processes that might be interfering and 
disable them.
    - Look for any KDE or Gnome applet that might interact with 
networking in any way.
    - Check all the /etc/cron* files for any process that run 
coincident with the network drop.

2. If you are using WEP, disable it and test.
    At this point it is not clear if the access point is disconnecting 
the station (adapter), or the if the station is choosing to dis-associate.
    The access point would disconnect the station if:
      a. The wrong encryption key was presented
      b. The signal was too weak
      c. Too many bad/corrupted frames were received from the station
    The adapter may choose to disconnect for the same reasons.

    Disable WEP to eliminate (a).

    Can you elminiate (b) for obvious reasons such as it disconnecting 
even when you are in the same room as the AP or it failing to 
re-associate when you move closer to the AP?

    Bad or corrupted frames can be caused by external interference or 
by a kernel/driver bug. Microwave ovens and cordless phones frequently 
cause disconnects, so make sure that there are _no_ devices operating 
in 2.4Ghz before ruling this out. If you live close to your neighbor 
as in a townhouse, their phone could cause the problem; as could a 
baby monitor or wireless video link.

    As strange as it may sound, the computer itself could be causing 
the problem. While I have never heard of it happening on a Dell 
Latitude, I know of somone who purchased an HP with an AMD chip. The 
laptop generated so much trash in the 2.4GHz band that it was 
impossible to use wireless. Even placing the laptop next to mine would 
cause mine to disconnect from the AP.

3. When your adapter has disconnected from the access point and moving 
closer fails to reassociate it; does a simple 'iwconfig eth1 essid foo 
key 0123456789' command reconnect it?

    If yes, then it could be a driver bug, a flakey card, or a bug in 
the access point.

    If it requires a reboot to get reconnected, then there is 
definitely a kernel/driver bug. If you get to this point, expect to 
start building your own kernels and rolling in various drivers and 
patches.

4. Is ACPI or APM active in your kernel? However, I think it would be 
unlikely for either of these to cause the problem.

Good luck,

Michael