I seem to be unable to execute the wl command at all from either SSH or Telnet, it will always just return that the command is not found rather than any kind of error message I would expect to encounter. I'm sure this problem is very basic and I'm missing something simple but as it's so peculiar I will give you the basic information and hope you feel free to request more.
Joined: 05 Jan 2010 Posts: 571 Location: Orlando, FL
Posted: Sun Jul 25, 2010 16:06 Post subject:
No, I think this is the appropriate forum. The only Atheros based router I have is a D-Link DIR-615C1 and FWIW it doesn't seem to have the wl command either. _________________ Linksys 610Nv2 DD-WRT v24-sp2 (03/24/10) mega - build 14144
Actually, the OP did get his answer: no silly error on his part as he suspected, just the way things seem to be with Atheros HW. _________________ Linksys 610Nv2 DD-WRT v24-sp2 (03/24/10) mega - build 14144
Joined: 18 Jul 2010 Posts: 16 Location: Madison, WI, USA
Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 0:43 Post subject:
Fair enough; the question was answered in the context that the command doesn't exist with Atheros-based hw.
I'm still left wondering why the functionality has been removed (or, at least, has evolved separately from the Broadcom-based devices). The wiki makes no mention of these differences.
It would be helpful if we could find the equivalent command for Atheros dd-wrt. The closest to 'wl' I can find is 'iwconfig', but I find no documentation to suggest that this is the route I should take.
For instance, 'wl status' returns some similar information to 'iwconfig ath0', but I can't draw a one-to-one relationship between the parameters. And I'm really not knowledgeable enough (or have the time) to dig through the source code to see what happens on all the "Apply" buttons in the GUI. The GUI is effective and streamlined, but one of the main reasons I switched to DD-WRT was the ability to access all functionality via telnet/ssh.
Joined: 05 Jan 2010 Posts: 571 Location: Orlando, FL
Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 0:58 Post subject:
Boki wrote:
Fair enough; the question was answered in the context that the command doesn't exist with Atheros-based hw.
I'm still left wondering why the functionality has been removed (or, at least, has evolved separately from the Broadcom-based devices). The wiki makes no mention of these differences.
It would be helpful if we could find the equivalent command for Atheros dd-wrt. The closest to 'wl' I can find is 'iwconfig', but I find no documentation to suggest that this is the route I should take.
For instance, 'wl status' returns some similar information to 'iwconfig ath0', but I can't draw a one-to-one relationship between the parameters. And I'm really not knowledgeable enough (or have the time) to dig through the source code to see what happens on all the "Apply" buttons in the GUI. The GUI is effective and streamlined, but one of the main reasons I switched to DD-WRT was the ability to access all functionality via telnet/ssh.
Any suggestions would be appreciated...
\b
I have found that a number of commands seem to exist only in the Broadcom builds. Why? I don't know but can only guess that it is to conserve space so the FW will fit into 4 megs. If this is true then 8 meg builds such as WNDR3700 should have these commands (wl, sort, tee) - can anybody with one of these units confirm or deny?
I think you have about 90% answered your own question as to iwconfig, you don't have to go looking through the source or experimenting, just read the man page! http://linux.die.net/man/8/iwconfig
here is an excerpt:
txpower
For cards supporting multiple transmit powers, sets the transmit power in dBm. If W is the power in Watt, the power in dBm is P = 30 + 10.log(W). If the value is postfixed by mW, it will be automatically converted to dBm.
In addition, on and off enable and disable the radio, and auto and fixed enable and disable power control (if those features are available).
Examples :
iwconfig eth0 txpower 15
iwconfig eth0 txpower 30mW
iwconfig eth0 txpower auto
iwconfig eth0 txpower off
so it looks like this is indeed what you are looking for! _________________ Linksys 610Nv2 DD-WRT v24-sp2 (03/24/10) mega - build 14144
Joined: 18 Jul 2010 Posts: 16 Location: Madison, WI, USA
Posted: Mon Jul 26, 2010 2:39 Post subject:
steveg1701, thanks for the help. Now at least I know I'm on the right track.
I had started to investigate the syntax of 'iwconfig' (i.e. "iwconfig --help" and going from there).
I thought I could get the equivalent of "wl radio off" with: "iwconfig ath0 txpower off", but no such luck. The command did not turn off the radio, and variations of the command for different powers did not produce expected results. parameter 'auto' doesn't seem to do anything, and the power level can only be set between 3 and 14 dBm.
It's possible this is firmware related, so I may try a different build to see what happens. It appears the Atheros dd-wrt firmware is less evolved than the Broadcom versions (documentation as well). Perhaps that is something to consider when purchasing a router to run with DD-WRT...
I posted this in http://www.dd-wrt.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=76196, but I'll post it here too, because it's the same thing.
Regarding wl command, I think you guys are missing something. I'm not sure you noticed, but when it comes to Atheros, we have wl_atheros command, which works in pretty much same way as the original wl command and therefore can be used instead of wl in scripts etc.
... when it comes to Atheros, we have wl_atheros command, which works in pretty much same way as the original wl command and therefore can be used instead of wl in scripts etc.
To be brief (so as to not duplicate threads), I found that 'wl_atheros' does not work well as as substitute for 'wl'.
\b _________________ Linksys WRT350N (BCM4785) v24-sp2 (01/29/09) vpn - build 11514
Buffalo WZR-HP-G300NH (AR9132) v24-sp2 (07/16/10) std - build 14815
Broadcom | Atheros
wl assoclist | wl_atheros assoclist (wlanconfig ath0 list sta)
wl radio up | ifconfig ath0 up
wl radio down | ifconfig ath0 down
wl txpwr1 -d n | iwconfig ath0 txpower n
This is a bit off topic and probably a stupid question, but is there any way to install the WL command? I'm currently in Backtrack 4 and it doesn't have the WL command.
Why would it not have it? I'm guessing wl is an internal command so you can't install it? Too bad its not like an external DOS command which you can just download from somewhere. You can install the make command though. Is that the Linux equivalent of an external DOS command?
I suppose I could just use another distro that has the WL command. Could someone suggest one so I don't have to go distro hopping? Which dstro does DD-WRT use? Debian?
I want to increase the Tx power for my NIC. Apparently the WL command is one of the very few ways to do it that can bypass the restrictions. I mostly use Windows but I want to try it in Linux to see if its worth it. There's probably no way to do it in Windows (yet), but at least if it isn't worth it I don't go on wondering. On the other hand, if it is worth it, I'll be in agony not being able to increase it in windows.
