[Gnewsense-dev] Re: 2.6.32-libre-lemote vs NetworkManager (race condition?)

[Daniel Clark]

>>>> Sorry I have no specific help to offer for this at this time, but I am
>>>> starting to think that the WPA not working under 2.6.31.6 is also a
>>>> timing problem - see https://savannah.nongnu.org/bugs/?28289 "gNewSense
>>>> GNU/Linux - Bugs: WPA doesn't work on yeeloong under 2.6.31.6-libre1 linux"
>>>>
>>>> Has anyone had WPA work under 2.6.31.6 or later on the yeeloong?
>>>>
>>>> Any workarounds you had to employ (other than dealing with the rfkill
>>>> stuff)?
>>>>
>>> Hi, Just tested the WPA under 2.6.32 with a TP-Links router, works well.
>>> It's time to use 2.6.32?
>>>
>>> Best Regards,
>>>     Wu Zhangjin
>> Good to know. I will try 2.6.32 as soon as possible. If you could put
>> your 2.6.32 source tree / binaries somewhere it would be good to have as
>> a reference "known good" sanity check. I can give you server space
>> somewhere if you don't have some easily available.
> 
> Here is the binary I have tried:
> 
> http://dev.lemote.com/files/upload/temp/20091215/linux-2.6.32.1-lemote2f.tar.gz
> 
> Install it:
> 
> $ tar zxf linux-2.6.32.1-lemote2f.tar.gz -C /
> 
> And please add a new entry into /boot/boot.cfg for it.
> 
> I have cross compiled it under an x86 system with gcc 4.4.1 and binutils
> 2.20(with the related patch from Lemote).
> 
> please try it, the source tree is:
> 
> git://dev.lemote.com/rt4ls.git linux-loongson/2.6.32/stable

So your binary of 2.6.32 works very well - better even than the 2.6.27
series.

Since you have said this was also the case for you under 2.6.31, I'm
thinking the problem several people are seeing in gNewSense is most
likely due to be one of the following (please add to list if you can
think of more):

(a) A toolchain difference. gNewSense is compiling natively (on a
yeeloong), with:

* gcc (Debian 4.3.2-1.1) 4.3.2
  (from gcc 4:4.3.2-2 package)

* as GNU assembler (GNU Binutils for Debian) 2.18.0.20080103
  (from binutils 2.18.1~cvs20080103-7.2 package)

Both of these are older than the cross chain you compiled with (from
another thread), which I believe were:

[I cross compiled the kernel with gcc 4.4.1 and binutils 2.20(with the
related patch from Lemote,
http://sourceware.org/ml/binutils/2009-11/msg00387.html).

(b) Unlikely I think, but gNewSense is compiling with a somewhat
different .config, and some options or lack of options could be causing
the problem.

(c) Unlikely, but some change introduced with the deblobbing could
conceivably be causing a problem.

I think that (a) is the most likely, and would like to test that - Wu,
could you make your cross compiling environment, and the exact commands
you use to build, available? (I'm thinking big tarball.)

I will then try to build exactly your 2.6.32, test, then a deblobbed
version of that, test, then a version with the gNewSense .config instead
of yours; that should help us narrow down the problem.

gNewSense metad peeps - If all of the above tests work well with wifi,
would you prefer we backport more recent gcc and binutils to metad and
try building natively, or just use a cross-compiled linux from an amd64
metad install + Wu's toolchain for the time being?

Thanks for all your help,
-- 
Daniel JB Clark   | Sys Admin, Free Software Foundation
pobox.com/~dclark | http://www.fsf.org/about/staff#danny

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