Urtw driver compatibility question

[Alex_Dc]

So I 've been using Linux for a while, and I really wanted to check out OpenBSD, if nothing else than for the fact that the documentation seems SO much better than any linux distribution I've yet encountered. However, at this point it seems my Realtek wireless card (unquestionably necessary) isn't quite compatible with urtw driver, but I just wanted to make sure that I was doing something stupid (not unlikely), before I gave up on this venture.

I have a fresh install, using all the default settings. I did not configure any network settings on the install save for setting my hostname. From what I have read of the documentation, and feel free to correct me on this, I should only need to create a "hostname.urtw0" if I my network to set up on boot (which I don't), and dhclient should work without me having to configure dhclient.conf (or whatever it is called). So, if I read everything correctly, to connect to my access point all I should have to do is issue the following set of commands during run-time:

ifconfig urtw0 up
ifconfig urtw0 nwid [my ssid] nwkey [wep key]
dhclient urtw0

However, this always results in, after issuing the dhclient command, an output of something like:
DHCLIENT probing on port 67 interval [number]
No DHCPOFFERS available

Not the exact message, but the port 67 portion is correct (I will gladly post the exact message if needed, but I'm working from memory right now, running a LiveCD on my system to make this post). The first portion of the message repeats several times before finally timing out, then the second part appears.

Finally, with only having a basic understanding of my card, the driver, OpenBSD, etc., some oddities and information that may be helpful (things that make me suspicious of a compatibility issue):

The driver will only allow me to use 11b mode, despite the fact that I have an 11b/g card
I can only seem to use IPv6, and get an error about 'inet' (again, I will post the exact message, if needed) when I try to issue the command 'ifconfig urtw0 -inet6 inet'
Despite all of this, I can still pick up surround networks using 'ifconfig urtw0 scan' (which makes me question my assumption of this being a compatibility issue)

Hopefully, I'm just missing something blatantly obvious in in my reading, and can get this working . Any help is appreciated!

[Pjoter]

I am not sure but maybe firmware is required to run this card. Here is manual: http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/man.c...urtw&sektion=4

[ocicat]

Originally Posted by Alex_Dc

However, at this point it seems my Realtek wireless card (unquestionably necessary) isn't quite compatible with urtw driver...

Post the entire output of dmesg(8). The first step is determine what the kernel has identified.

[Alex_Dc]

First thanks for the responses.

Originally Posted by Pjoter

I am not sure but maybe firmware is required to run this card.

If you know any more, could you please elaborate on that? I'm not quite sure what you mean.

Originally Posted by ocicat

Post the entire output of dmesg(8). The first step is determine what the kernel has identified.

I wish I could post the entire output, but unfortunately without wireless, I have no internet access. I googled a bit, and tried mounting the partition through my Fedora and Ubuntu LiveCDs with no success. If you have any advice on how to do this, I will gladly listen.

However, I did copy down the information that looked relevant to my issue:

mainbus0 at root
bios0 at mainbus0: AT/286+ BIOS, date 09/23/09, SMBIOS rev. 2.4 @ 0xe8130 C35 entries
bios0: vendor INSYDE version "2.10" date 09/23/09
bios0: TOSHIBA Satellite L305

#####

cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor)
cpu0: apic clock running at 199MHz

#####

pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0: configuration made 1 (bios)

#####

ehci1 at pci0 dev 29 function 7 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 23 (irq 11)
ehci1: timed out waiting for BIOS
usb1 at ehci1: USB revision 2.0
uhub1 at usb1 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 1

#####

urtw0 at uhub1 port 6 "Realtek RTL8187B rev 2.00/2.00 addr 2
urtw0: RTL8187B rev E, address 00:24:d2:dd:e6:0d


Most of it is gobbly-gook to me, but from what I can tell it looks like I have an integrated usb wireless card, which I, again, wish I could confirm, but Toshiba's documentation is rather lacking. And the wireless driver for Windows is something completely different (for an 8173 card or something weird like that, I just remember that I couldn't even find the card that corresponded to Toshiba's Windows driver on the Realtek site).

In addition, the Linux kernel also auto detects the card as the 'rtl8187', and that driver works fine in every circumstance. So unless I'm inputting the wrong commands, or you can think of something else, I'm guessing I have some strange proprietary card that was developed specifically for my machine, and that just happens to be compatible with the Linux driver, but not the BSD driver.

[ocicat]

Originally Posted by Alex_Dc

If you know any more, could you please elaborate on that? I'm not quite sure what you mean.

I suspect he didn't read the manpage which in this case does not mention any reliance upon additional firmware. Other wireless chipsets do require additional firmware (like one I use...).

If you have any advice on how to do this, I will gladly listen.

If you have a MS-DOS formatted USB drive, you can mount it & copy dmesg(8) output saved to a file to it. Information on how to mount a MS-DOS formatted device can be seen in examples in the mount(8) manpage & Section 14.17 of the FAQ.

Most of it is gobbly-gook to me...

One of the collateral things a complete dmesg(8) would have provided is what version of OpenBSD was installed. This seems relevant at the moment for two reasons:

• mainbus0 at root
  bios0 at mainbus0: AT/286+ BIOS, date 09/23/09, SMBIOS rev. 2.4 @ 0xe8130 C35 entries
  bios0: vendor INSYDE version "2.10" date 09/23/09
  bios0: TOSHIBA Satellite L305

  ...which indicates that this laptop was new last fall.

• urtw0 at uhub1 port 6 "Realtek RTL8187B rev 2.00/2.00 addr 2
  urtw0: RTL8187B rev E, address 00:24:d2:dd:e6:0d

  The commit history for urtw(4) can be found at the following:
  
  http://marc.info/?l=openbsd-cvs&w=2&r=1&s=urtw&q=b
  
  It is not entirely clear that revision E is supported.
  
  I can only assume that this is OpenBSD 4.6-release installed. If this indeed is the case, there are a few commits which have been made since the 4.6-release branch was tagged. Perhaps installing a snapshot of the latest development version might help, but this is only a remote chance. Discussion on OpenBSD's versions can be found in Section 5.1 of the FAQ.

...dhclient should work without me having to configure dhclient.conf...

Additional questions:

• What is being used as the AP?
• Have you tried configuring with smaller incremental steps? What happens if you assign a fixed IP address?
• Can you provide the output of ifconfig(8)?

[Alex_Dc]

Originally Posted by ocicat

If you have a MS-DOS formatted USB drive, you can mount it & copy dmesg output saved to a file to it. Information on how to mount a MS-DOS formatted device can be seen in examples in the mount(8) manpage & Section 14.17 of the FAQ.

Wow. And with three usb sticks sitting two feet from my laptop. If I may be allowed to quote myself on this one:

Originally Posted by Alex_Dc

I just wanted to make sure that I wasn't doing something stupid (not unlikely)

Anyway, you were pretty spot on the nose, except for the fact that I am running 4.6-stable. But, I digress. For your reading pleasure,

dmesg:

OpenBSD 4.6 (GENERIC) #58: Thu Jul  9 21:24:42 MDT 2009
    deraadt@i386.openbsd.org:/usr/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/GENERIC
cpu0: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 900 @ 2.20GHz ("GenuineIntel" 686-class) 2.20 GHz
cpu0: FPU,V86,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,TM,SBF,SSE3,MWAIT,DS-CPL,TM2,CX16,xTPR
real mem  = 2008043520 (1915MB)
avail mem = 1932615680 (1843MB)
mainbus0 at root
bios0 at mainbus0: AT/286+ BIOS, date 09/23/09, SMBIOS rev. 2.4 @ 0xe8130 (35 entries)
bios0: vendor INSYDE version "2.10" date 09/23/2009
bios0: TOSHIBA Satellite L305
acpi0 at bios0: rev 2
acpi0: tables DSDT FACP HPET APIC MCFG ASF! SLIC BOOT SSDT SSDT
acpi0: wakeup devices LID0(S4) P32_(S0) UHC1(S3) UHC2(S3) ECHI(S3) EXP1(S4) EXP2(S0) EXP3(S4) EXP4(S4) EXP5(S4) EXP6(S4) AZAL(S4)
acpitimer0 at acpi0: 3579545 Hz, 24 bits
acpihpet0 at acpi0: 14318179 Hz
acpimadt0 at acpi0 addr 0xfee00000: PC-AT compat
cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor)
cpu0: apic clock running at 199MHz
ioapic0 at mainbus0: apid 4 pa 0xfec00000, version 20, 24 pins
ioapic0: misconfigured as apic 0, remapped to apid 4
acpiprt0 at acpi0: bus 0 (PCI0)
acpiprt1 at acpi0: bus 3 (P32_)
acpiprt2 at acpi0: bus 2 (EXP1)
acpiprt3 at acpi0: bus -1 (EXP2)
acpiprt4 at acpi0: bus -1 (EXP3)
acpiprt5 at acpi0: bus -1 (EXP4)
acpiprt6 at acpi0: bus 6 (EXP5)
acpiprt7 at acpi0: bus -1 (EXP6)
acpiprt8 at acpi0: bus -1 (PEGP)
acpiec0 at acpi0
acpicpu0 at acpi0: C2, C1
acpipwrres0 at acpi0: FN00
acpitz0 at acpi0: critical temperature 114 degC
acpibtn0 at acpi0: PWRB
acpibtn1 at acpi0: LID0
acpiac0 at acpi0: AC unit online
acpibat0 at acpi0: BAT0 not present
acpivideo0 at acpi0: OVGA
acpivideo1 at acpi0: VGA_
acpivout0 at acpivideo1: CRT_
acpivout1 at acpivideo1: LCD_
acpivout2 at acpivideo1: TV__
bios0: ROM list: 0xc0000/0xfa00! 0xd0000/0x1000 0xd1000/0x2c00!
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0: configuration mode 1 (bios)
pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0 "Intel GM45 Host" rev 0x07
vga1 at pci0 dev 2 function 0 "Intel GM45 Video" rev 0x07
wsdisplay0 at vga1 mux 1: console (80x25, vt100 emulation)
wsdisplay0: screen 1-5 added (80x25, vt100 emulation)
intagp0 at vga1
agp0 at intagp0: aperture at 0x80000000, size 0x10000000
inteldrm0 at vga1: apic 4 int 16 (irq 11)
drm0 at inteldrm0
"Intel GM45 Video" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 2 function 1 not configured
uhci0 at pci0 dev 26 function 0 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 16 (irq 11)
uhci1 at pci0 dev 26 function 1 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 21 (irq 10)
ehci0 at pci0 dev 26 function 7 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 19 (irq 11)
ehci0: timed out waiting for BIOS
usb0 at ehci0: USB revision 2.0
uhub0 at usb0 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 1
azalia0 at pci0 dev 27 function 0 "Intel 82801I HD Audio" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 22 (irq 11)
azalia0: codecs: Realtek ALC268
audio0 at azalia0
ppb0 at pci0 dev 28 function 0 "Intel 82801I PCIE" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 17 (irq 5)
pci1 at ppb0 bus 2
re0 at pci1 dev 0 function 0 "Realtek 8101E" rev 0x02: RTL8102E (0x3480), apic 4 int 16 (irq 5), address 00:1e:33:dc:ee:42
rlphy0 at re0 phy 7: RTL8201L 10/100 PHY, rev. 1
ppb1 at pci0 dev 28 function 4 "Intel 82801I PCIE" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 17 (irq 11)
pci2 at ppb1 bus 6
uhci2 at pci0 dev 29 function 0 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 23 (irq 11)
uhci3 at pci0 dev 29 function 1 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 19 (irq 11)
uhci4 at pci0 dev 29 function 2 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 16 (irq 11)
uhci5 at pci0 dev 29 function 3 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 18 (irq 11)
ehci1 at pci0 dev 29 function 7 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 23 (irq 11)
ehci1: timed out waiting for BIOS
usb1 at ehci1: USB revision 2.0
uhub1 at usb1 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 1
ppb2 at pci0 dev 30 function 0 "Intel 82801BAM Hub-to-PCI" rev 0x93
pci3 at ppb2 bus 3
pcib0 at pci0 dev 31 function 0 "Intel 82801IBM LPC" rev 0x03
ahci0 at pci0 dev 31 function 2 "Intel 82801I AHCI" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 19 (irq 11), AHCI 1.2
ahci0: PHY offline on port 1
ahci0: PHY offline on port 4
scsibus0 at ahci0: 32 targets
sd0 at scsibus0 targ 0 lun 0: <ATA, ST9160310AS, SD58> SCSI3 0/direct fixed
sd0: 152627MB, 512 bytes/sec, 312581808 sec total
cd0 at scsibus0 targ 5 lun 0: <TSSTcorp, CDDVDW TS-L633A, TO03> ATAPI 5/cdrom removable
ichiic0 at pci0 dev 31 function 3 "Intel 82801I SMBus" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 18 (irq 11)
iic0 at ichiic0
spdmem0 at iic0 addr 0x50: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM non-parity PC2-6400CL5 SO-DIMM
spdmem1 at iic0 addr 0x52: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM non-parity PC2-6400CL5 SO-DIMM
usb2 at uhci0: USB revision 1.0
uhub2 at usb2 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb3 at uhci1: USB revision 1.0
uhub3 at usb3 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb4 at uhci2: USB revision 1.0
uhub4 at usb4 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb5 at uhci3: USB revision 1.0
uhub5 at usb5 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb6 at uhci4: USB revision 1.0
uhub6 at usb6 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb7 at uhci5: USB revision 1.0
uhub7 at usb7 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
isa0 at pcib0
isadma0 at isa0
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard, using wsdisplay0
pms0 at pckbc0 (aux slot)
pckbc0: using irq 12 for aux slot
wsmouse0 at pms0 mux 0
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
midi0 at pcppi0: <PC speaker>
spkr0 at pcppi0
npx0 at isa0 port 0xf0/16: reported by CPUID; using exception 16
mtrr: Pentium Pro MTRR support
urtw0 at uhub1 port 6 "Realtek RTL8187B" rev 2.00/2.00 addr 2
urtw0: RTL8187B rev E, address 00:24:d2:dd:e6:0d
uhidev0 at uhub4 port 2 configuration 1 interface 0 "Logitech USB Optical Mouse" rev 2.00/43.01 addr 2
uhidev0: iclass 3/1
ums0 at uhidev0: 3 buttons, Z dir
wsmouse1 at ums0 mux 0
uhidev1 at uhub5 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "Logitech Logitech USB Keyboard" rev 1.10/28.00 addr 2
uhidev1: iclass 3/1
ukbd0 at uhidev1: 8 modifier keys, 6 key codes
wskbd1 at ukbd0 mux 1
wskbd1: connecting to wsdisplay0
softraid0 at root
root on sd0a swap on sd0b dump on sd0b
umass0 at uhub1 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "PNY USB 2.0 FD" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 3
umass0: using SCSI over Bulk-Only
scsibus1 at umass0: 2 targets, initiator 0
umass0: BBB reset failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB bulk-in clear stall failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB bulk-out clear stall failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB reset failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB bulk-in clear stall failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB bulk-out clear stall failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB reset failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB bulk-in clear stall failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB bulk-out clear stall failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB reset failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB bulk-in clear stall failed, IOERROR
umass0: BBB bulk-out clear stall failed, IOERROR
scsibus1 detached
umass0 detached
umass0 at uhub1 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "PNY USB 2.0 FD" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 3
umass0: using SCSI over Bulk-Only
scsibus1 at umass0: 2 targets, initiator 0
sd1 at scsibus1 targ 1 lun 0: <PNY, USB 2.0 FD, PMAP> SCSI0 0/direct removable
sd1: 492MB, 512 bytes/sec, 1007616 sec total
sd1 detached
scsibus1 detached
umass0 detached
umass0 at uhub1 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "PNY USB 2.0 FD" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 3
umass0: using SCSI over Bulk-Only
scsibus1 at umass0: 2 targets, initiator 0
sd1 at scsibus1 targ 1 lun 0: <PNY, USB 2.0 FD, PMAP> SCSI0 0/direct removable
sd1: 492MB, 512 bytes/sec, 1007616 sec total
sd1 detached
scsibus1 detached
umass0 detached
umass0 at uhub1 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "PNY USB 2.0 FD" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 3
umass0: using SCSI over Bulk-Only
scsibus1 at umass0: 2 targets, initiator 0
sd1 at scsibus1 targ 1 lun 0: <PNY, USB 2.0 FD, PMAP> SCSI0 0/direct removable
sd1: 492MB, 512 bytes/sec, 1007616 sec total

ifconfig:

lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 33200
	priority: 0
	groups: lo
	inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000
	inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128
	inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x3
re0: flags=8802<BROADCAST,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	lladdr 00:1e:33:dc:ee:42
	priority: 0
	media: Ethernet autoselect (none)
	status: no carrier
enc0: flags=0<> mtu 1536
	priority: 0
urtw0: flags=8802<BROADCAST,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	lladdr 00:24:d2:dd:e6:0d
	priority: 4
	groups: wlan
	media: IEEE802.11 autoselect
	status: no network
	ieee80211: nwid "" 100dBm
pflog0: flags=141<UP,RUNNING,PROMISC> mtu 33200
	priority: 0
	groups: pflog

ifconfig with device up:

lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 33200
	priority: 0
	groups: lo
	inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000
	inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128
	inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x3
re0: flags=8802<BROADCAST,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	lladdr 00:1e:33:dc:ee:42
	priority: 0
	media: Ethernet autoselect (none)
	status: no carrier
enc0: flags=0<> mtu 1536
	priority: 0
urtw0: flags=8a43<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,ALLMULTI,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	lladdr 00:24:d2:dd:e6:0d
	priority: 4
	groups: wlan
	media: IEEE802.11 autoselect (DS1 mode 11b)
	status: no network
	ieee80211: nwid "" 100dBm
	inet6 fe80::224:d2ff:fedd:e60d%urtw0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x4
pflog0: flags=141<UP,RUNNING,PROMISC> mtu 33200
	priority: 0
	groups: pflog

ifconfig with the device up and configure (static IP in this instance, obvious stufff commented out):

lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 33200
	priority: 0
	groups: lo
	inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000
	inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128
	inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x3
re0: flags=8802<BROADCAST,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	lladdr 00:1e:33:dc:ee:42
	priority: 0
	media: Ethernet autoselect (none)
	status: no carrier
enc0: flags=0<> mtu 1536
	priority: 0
urtw0: flags=8a43<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,ALLMULTI,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	lladdr 00:24:d2:dd:e6:0d
	priority: 4
	groups: wlan
	media: IEEE802.11 autoselect (DS1 mode 11g)
	status: active
	ieee80211: nwid [correct ssid] chan [correct chan] bssid [correct bssid] 143dB nwkey [correct key] 100dBm
	inet 192.168.1.100 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
pflog0: flags=141<UP,RUNNING,PROMISC> mtu 33200
	priority: 0
	groups: pflog

Originally Posted by ocicat

[*] Have you tried configuring with smaller incremental steps? What happens if you assign a fixed IP address?

I have, and as you already saw, I posted the example. Obviously, the device status shows 'active', but I can't ping the AP.

As far as the dhclient.conf, I haven't even tried setting it at all. The man page indicated that it should work by default, but if you think there may be some specific settings I need to include, I will go ahead and try configuring it.

Originally Posted by ocicat

[*] What is being used as the AP?

An old Linksys WRT54G. I'll have to get back to you with the exact version as I don't have physical access to it at the moment, but suffice it to say that, apparently, I haven't update the firmware since Feb. 2006 (oops!).

[jggimi]

...except for the fact that I am running 4.6-stable.

I disagree. What you posted was the 4.6-release kernel dmesg, so you are not running -stable. Theo built your kernel, you didn't:

OpenBSD 4.6 (GENERIC) #58: Thu Jul  9 21:24:42 MDT 2009
    deraadt@i386.openbsd.org:/usr/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/GENERIC

Nor are your running -release + errata, as patches 002,003, and 005 are kernel patches. You may want to reread FAQ 5.1 to more clearly understand the flavors of the OS. And if you've built a -stable kernel, you didn't boot it, so you may want to reread FAQ 5.3.4 and note the install step you would have skipped.

Since -stable adds no new functionality, by its very nature, it is a moot point. Note the date of the -release kernel build: July 9, 2009. This kernel, and its drivers, were developed and built before your laptop's BIOS was.

I agree with Ocicat; try a -current snapshot, which will be very close to but not exactly what 4.7-release will be this spring. (4.7 is close to being put to bed, but as of last night, 4.7-release had not yet been tagged, so 4.7-release will still be "ahead" of a recent -current snapshot.)

[ocicat]

jggimi is right. You are running a 4.6-release kernel.

Running the command:

$ sysctl kern.version

...displays the same top few lines as dmesg(8). It will specifically state 4.6-stable if you have manually built the -stable branch, or display 4.7-current if you have installed a recent snapshot. The fact that nothing hyphenated is displayed in the output above means that you are running 4.6-release.

Given the information you have provided thus far, installing a -current snapshot appears to be your best bet.

[Alex_Dc]

Ah, my mix-up.

All right, I will go ahead and try the -current and see how that works.

[Alex_Dc]

On second thought, I think I will wait for 4.7-release. The upgrade process seems a little complicated without the aid of CVS.

Thank you both for your help. If interested, I will report back the results when I have tried 4.7.

[ocicat]

Originally Posted by Alex_Dc

On second thought, I think I will wait for 4.7-release.

I can only assume that you already have other things installed warranting your hesitation. Otherwise if this is a throw-away installation, simply do a fresh install of a snapshot.

The upgrade process seems a little complicated without the aid of CVS.

Actually, it is quite painless. Instead of choosing "install" at the initial menu, choose "upgrade". It will install new filesets, then it will either copy whatever changes are needed to /etc to a different location, or you can edit in place. CVS is not required to upgrade to -current which might be your interpretation of the table shown in Section 5.3.2. Many people simply install the snapshot & stop there. Downloading source & manually building is not required.

[Alex_Dc]

Originally Posted by ocicat

I can only assume that you already have other
things installed warranting your hesitation. Otherwise if this is a
throw-away installation, simply do a fresh install of a snapshot.

Actually, it is quite painless. Instead of choosing "install"
at the initial menu, choose "upgrade". It will install new
filesets, then it will either copy whatever changes are needed to
/etc to a different location, or you can edit in place.
CVS is not required to upgrade to -current
which might be your interpretation of the table shown in
Section 5.3.2.
Many people simply install the snapshot & stop there. Downloading
source & manually building is not required.

Ah, I read through to 5.3.4, but only skimmed through the rest. From
that, I just assumed that upgrading from source was necessary, which
seemed like it might be a headache without being able to use CVS fetch
the source code.

As far as my hesitation, it is a fresh, I was just tired, and
completely overlooked the the install47.iso in the /snapshot
directory, and assumed that I would have to build my own install cd if
I wanted the snapshot. That didn't seem like a fun venture either.

Anyway, I installed the snapshot, but no dice. Same issues as before,
and I tried the same "troubleshooting" methods I did before. The only
difference I noticed was that the device now seems switch randomly
between 11b and 11g modes, and won't respond to me try to force it into one mode or another. I only examined this behaviour briefly, but
there didn't seem to be any pattern in this behaviour.

If it can be of any help, here is my dmesg:

OpenBSD 4.7-beta (GENERIC) #525: Wed Feb 10 07:14:43 MST 2010
    todd@i386.openbsd.org:/usr/src/sys/arch/i386/compile/GENERIC
cpu0: Intel(R) Celeron(R) CPU 900 @ 2.20GHz ("GenuineIntel" 686-class) 2.20 GHz
cpu0: FPU,V86,DE,PSE,TSC,MSR,PAE,MCE,CX8,APIC,SEP,MTRR,PGE,MCA,CMOV,PAT,PSE36,CFLUSH,DS,ACPI,MMX,FXSR,SSE,SSE2,SS,TM,SBF,SSE3,MWAIT,DS-CPL,TM2,CX16,xTPR
real mem  = 2008043520 (1915MB)
avail mem = 1936957440 (1847MB)
mainbus0 at root
bios0 at mainbus0: AT/286+ BIOS, date 09/23/09, SMBIOS rev. 2.4 @ 0xe8130 (35 entries)
bios0: vendor INSYDE version "2.10" date 09/23/2009
bios0: TOSHIBA Satellite L305
acpi0 at bios0: rev 2
acpi0: tables DSDT FACP HPET APIC MCFG ASF! SLIC BOOT SSDT SSDT
acpi0: wakeup devices LID0(S4) P32_(S0) UHC1(S3) UHC2(S3) ECHI(S3) EXP1(S4) EXP2(S0) EXP3(S4) EXP4(S4) EXP5(S4) EXP6(S4) AZAL(S4)
acpitimer0 at acpi0: 3579545 Hz, 24 bits
acpihpet0 at acpi0: 14318179 Hz
acpimadt0 at acpi0 addr 0xfee00000: PC-AT compat
cpu0 at mainbus0: apid 0 (boot processor)
cpu0: apic clock running at 199MHz
ioapic0 at mainbus0: apid 4 pa 0xfec00000, version 20, 24 pins
ioapic0: misconfigured as apic 0, remapped to apid 4
acpiprt0 at acpi0: bus 0 (PCI0)
acpiprt1 at acpi0: bus 3 (P32_)
acpiprt2 at acpi0: bus 2 (EXP1)
acpiprt3 at acpi0: bus -1 (EXP2)
acpiprt4 at acpi0: bus -1 (EXP3)
acpiprt5 at acpi0: bus -1 (EXP4)
acpiprt6 at acpi0: bus 6 (EXP5)
acpiprt7 at acpi0: bus -1 (EXP6)
acpiprt8 at acpi0: bus -1 (PEGP)
acpiec0 at acpi0
acpicpu0 at acpi0: C2, C1
acpipwrres0 at acpi0: FN00
acpitz0 at acpi0: critical temperature 114 degC
acpibtn0 at acpi0: PWRB
acpibtn1 at acpi0: LID0
acpiac0 at acpi0: AC unit online
acpibat0 at acpi0: BAT0 not present
acpivideo0 at acpi0: OVGA
acpivideo1 at acpi0: VGA_
acpivout0 at acpivideo1: CRT_
acpivout1 at acpivideo1: LCD_
acpivout2 at acpivideo1: TV__
bios0: ROM list: 0xc0000/0xfa00! 0xd0000/0x1000 0xd1000/0x2c00!
pci0 at mainbus0 bus 0: configuration mode 1 (bios)
pchb0 at pci0 dev 0 function 0 "Intel GM45 Host" rev 0x07
vga1 at pci0 dev 2 function 0 "Intel GM45 Video" rev 0x07
wsdisplay0 at vga1 mux 1: console (80x25, vt100 emulation)
wsdisplay0: screen 1-5 added (80x25, vt100 emulation)
intagp0 at vga1
agp0 at intagp0: aperture at 0x80000000, size 0x10000000
inteldrm0 at vga1: apic 4 int 16 (irq 11)
drm0 at inteldrm0
"Intel GM45 Video" rev 0x07 at pci0 dev 2 function 1 not configured
uhci0 at pci0 dev 26 function 0 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 16 (irq 11)
uhci1 at pci0 dev 26 function 1 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 21 (irq 10)
ehci0 at pci0 dev 26 function 7 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 19 (irq 11)
ehci0: timed out waiting for BIOS
usb0 at ehci0: USB revision 2.0
uhub0 at usb0 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 1
azalia0 at pci0 dev 27 function 0 "Intel 82801I HD Audio" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 22 (irq 11)
azalia0: codecs: Realtek ALC268
audio0 at azalia0
ppb0 at pci0 dev 28 function 0 "Intel 82801I PCIE" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 17 (irq 5)
pci1 at ppb0 bus 2
re0 at pci1 dev 0 function 0 "Realtek 8101E" rev 0x02: RTL8102E (0x3480), apic 4 int 16 (irq 5), address 00:1e:33:dc:ee:42
rlphy0 at re0 phy 7: RTL8201L 10/100 PHY, rev. 1
ppb1 at pci0 dev 28 function 4 "Intel 82801I PCIE" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 17 (irq 11)
pci2 at ppb1 bus 6
uhci2 at pci0 dev 29 function 0 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 23 (irq 11)
uhci3 at pci0 dev 29 function 1 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 19 (irq 11)
uhci4 at pci0 dev 29 function 2 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 16 (irq 11)
uhci5 at pci0 dev 29 function 3 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 18 (irq 11)
ehci1 at pci0 dev 29 function 7 "Intel 82801I USB" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 23 (irq 11)
ehci1: timed out waiting for BIOS
usb1 at ehci1: USB revision 2.0
uhub1 at usb1 "Intel EHCI root hub" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 1
ppb2 at pci0 dev 30 function 0 "Intel 82801BAM Hub-to-PCI" rev 0x93
pci3 at ppb2 bus 3
pcib0 at pci0 dev 31 function 0 "Intel 82801IBM LPC" rev 0x03
ahci0 at pci0 dev 31 function 2 "Intel 82801I AHCI" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 19 (irq 11), AHCI 1.2
ahci0: PHY offline on port 1
ahci0: PHY offline on port 4
scsibus0 at ahci0: 32 targets
sd0 at scsibus0 targ 0 lun 0: <ATA, ST9160310AS, SD58> SCSI3 0/direct fixed
sd0: 152627MB, 512 bytes/sec, 312581808 sec total
cd0 at scsibus0 targ 5 lun 0: <TSSTcorp, CDDVDW TS-L633A, TO03> ATAPI 5/cdrom removable
ichiic0 at pci0 dev 31 function 3 "Intel 82801I SMBus" rev 0x03: apic 4 int 18 (irq 11)
iic0 at ichiic0
spdmem0 at iic0 addr 0x50: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM non-parity PC2-6400CL5 SO-DIMM
spdmem1 at iic0 addr 0x52: 1GB DDR2 SDRAM non-parity PC2-6400CL5 SO-DIMM
usb2 at uhci0: USB revision 1.0
uhub2 at usb2 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb3 at uhci1: USB revision 1.0
uhub3 at usb3 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb4 at uhci2: USB revision 1.0
uhub4 at usb4 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb5 at uhci3: USB revision 1.0
uhub5 at usb5 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb6 at uhci4: USB revision 1.0
uhub6 at usb6 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
usb7 at uhci5: USB revision 1.0
uhub7 at usb7 "Intel UHCI root hub" rev 1.00/1.00 addr 1
isa0 at pcib0
isadma0 at isa0
pckbc0 at isa0 port 0x60/5
pckbd0 at pckbc0 (kbd slot)
pckbc0: using irq 1 for kbd slot
wskbd0 at pckbd0: console keyboard, using wsdisplay0
pms0 at pckbc0 (aux slot)
pckbc0: using irq 12 for aux slot
wsmouse0 at pms0 mux 0
pcppi0 at isa0 port 0x61
midi0 at pcppi0: <PC speaker>
spkr0 at pcppi0
npx0 at isa0 port 0xf0/16: reported by CPUID; using exception 16
mtrr: Pentium Pro MTRR support
umass0 at uhub1 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "PNY USB 2.0 FD" rev 2.00/1.00 addr 2
umass0: using SCSI over Bulk-Only
scsibus1 at umass0: 2 targets, initiator 0
sd1 at scsibus1 targ 1 lun 0: <PNY, USB 2.0 FD, PMAP> SCSI0 0/direct removable
sd1: 492MB, 512 bytes/sec, 1007616 sec total
urtw0 at uhub1 port 6 "Realtek RTL8187B" rev 2.00/2.00 addr 3
urtw0: RTL8187B rev E, address 00:24:d2:dd:e6:0d
uhidev0 at uhub5 port 1 configuration 1 interface 0 "Logitech Logitech USB Keyboard" rev 1.10/28.00 addr 2
uhidev0: iclass 3/1
ukbd0 at uhidev0: 8 modifier keys, 6 key codes
wskbd1 at ukbd0 mux 1
wskbd1: connecting to wsdisplay0
vscsi0 at root
scsibus2 at vscsi0: 256 targets
softraid0 at root
root on sd0a swap on sd0b dump on sd0b

and ifconfig:

lo0: flags=8049<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING,MULTICAST> mtu 33200
	priority: 0
	groups: lo
	inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000
	inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128
	inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x3
re0: flags=8802<BROADCAST,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	lladdr 00:1e:33:dc:ee:42
	priority: 0
	media: Ethernet autoselect (none)
	status: no carrier
enc0: flags=0<> mtu 1536
	priority: 0
urtw0: flags=8a43<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,ALLMULTI,SIMPLEX,MULTICAST> mtu 1500
	lladdr 00:24:d2:dd:e6:0d
	priority: 4
	groups: wlan egress
	media: IEEE802.11 autoselect (DS1 mode 11b)
	status: active
	ieee80211: nwid Melanie_Wifi chan 6 bssid 00:16:b6:cd:bb:ea 143dB nwkey 0x38344133334546384441000000 100dBm
	inet 192.168.1.100 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.1.255
pflog0: flags=141<UP,RUNNING,PROMISC> mtu 33200
	priority: 0
	groups: pflog

In this instance, obviously, the device is up and configured with a static IP. Something that also might be of note, at this point the status of the device is 'active'. However, even after configuring the device, sometimes if would show a status of 'not connected'. I'm not sure if this was happening before, but again, there doesn't seem to be any logical pattern to this behaviour. I have tried connecting to the AP both when the status displayed as 'active', and as 'not connected', however this did not make any difference.

Finally, I tried a few different installs this time, both configuring and not configuring the network on setup, just for the hell of it. That didn't seem to make any difference either.

Anywhere we can go from here?

[tetrodozombie]

The wi-fi device is not supported. Realtek makes two versions of that device. See I got this usb wireless device from the flea market, an RTL 8187B chipset. The one OpenBSD supports is RTL 8187L. I assume because I could never get mine to work and I've tried all the same things Alex did.

I have the linux driver for the device. I also have the mac driver for the device, but I don't know enough C programming yet to really fiddle with the device driver and get RTL 8187B to work. Perhaps, I'm looking in the wrong place and I should look at the OpenBSD driver for RTL 8187L source code and see if I can find a way to get the B version to work.

Also, make sure you configure the hostname.if properly or DHCLIENT won't work. I've plugged the USB wi-fi device into my Mac and it does work and a light comes on to indicate that it's working. On my OpenBSD box, no light ever comes on.

Alex, you might try ifconfig scan, to get the channels before doing a dhclient. Perhaps your device will work better than mine.

I'm going to look into this some more, but I'm planning on getting a compatible wi-fi usb device whenever I can and chuck this one down the pipes.

Hope I've been of some help.

[BSDfan666]

OpenBSD's urwt(4) driver is relatively new, it was introduced in 4.5.. originally developed for FreeBSD by Weongyo Jeong in 2009.

The original driver only supported the RTL8187L, but if you read the CVS commit history.. support for the RTL8187B was introduced just before the release of 4.6.

martynas@ is the current maintainer of the urtw(4) for OpenBSD, he also did the original port from FreeBSD.

Contacting him directly may be the best way to diagnose issues with your device, alternatively you may try submitting a bug report via sendbug(1).

[Alex_Dc]

I'll go ahead and contact him then. Thanks for your help, everyone!