# bcm4318 ... ping ... DUP! [SOLVED]

## serial_penguin

After several weeks I've finally been able to get the wireless interface to function on my hp, turion laptop with Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02). I'm using 2.6.17-gentoo-r4 sources, so bcm43xx is provided in the kernel. When I ping Yahoo I get

PING yahoo.com (216.109.112.135) 56(84) bytes of data.

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=1 ttl=51 time=83.7 ms

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=1 ttl=51 time=83.9 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=2 ttl=51 time=85.3 ms

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=2 ttl=51 time=86.2 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=2 ttl=51 time=87.0 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=3 ttl=51 time=82.4 ms

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=3 ttl=51 time=83.2 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=3 ttl=51 time=83.8 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=4 ttl=51 time=83.5 ms

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=5 ttl=51 time=85.9 ms

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=6 ttl=51 time=84.7 ms

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=6 ttl=51 time=86.1 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=7 ttl=51 time=82.8 ms

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=7 ttl=51 time=83.6 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=7 ttl=51 time=83.8 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=7 ttl=51 time=85.0 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=8 ttl=51 time=83.5 ms

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=8 ttl=51 time=83.6 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=9 ttl=51 time=82.3 ms

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=10 ttl=51 time=82.3 ms

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=10 ttl=51 time=83.2 ms (DUP!)

64 bytes from yahoo.com (216.109.112.135): icmp_seq=10 ttl=51 time=83.9 ms (DUP!)

--- yahoo.com ping statistics ---

10 packets transmitted, 10 received, +12 duplicates, 0% packet loss, time 8997ms

rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 82.331/84.121/87.018/1.299 ms

As one can see more than 50% of the packets are duplicates and using a browser is tediously slow. The laptop is dual boot so I can perform the ping from windows using the same interface with no duplicates. I therefore assume the problem is with the bcm43xx module, or perhaps with the firmware that bcm43xx loads. Does anyone have experience with this sort of problem? Would using ndiswrapper instead of the bcm43xx module improve performance?Last edited by serial_penguin on Thu Aug 31, 2006 5:55 pm; edited 1 time in total

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## Esel Theo

I'm seeing the same thing with the bcm43xx kernel driver (Dell D800 here). I haven't seen this when using ndiswrapper.

Besides that, however, the new kernel driver seems to run perfectly fine here. I haven't observed any performance penalty over using ndiswrapper. I'm only on a 2MBit DSL line, though, so I cannot speak for highspeed WLAN.

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## serial_penguin

This is a continuation of the original post under this thread even though the subject is now somewhat misleading. I'm looking for any insight as to how to troubleshoot a "flaky" wireless interface. The duplicates mentioned under the original post are eliminated if ndiswrapper is used instead of the bcm43xx kernel  module. Originally I had thought the duplicates were the reason for the poor browsing performance I was having;  however, the performance is just as poor with ndiswrapper as with bcm43xx. I can only describe what happens. With wireless up and running I can ping successfully wherever. When I point my browser at a site, sometimes it loads immediately, sometimes it sits for up to 5 min. and then loads, sometimes I get a connection error and most often, the connection simply doesn't complete. Things are not consistent. One site which loads quickly may not load at all a few minutes later. I have no firewall running. This behavior persists even if the laptop is located adjacent to the access point (a dsl modem). The laptop is dual-boot and using the same wireless interface I can browse anywhere from windows. The wired interface seems to work flawlessly which is attached to the same dsl modem through a home router. It is almost as if, from the linux side, that the wireless interface can't "push" packets to the access point even though there is a connection. Again, any insight would be appreciated. As it is the wireless interface isn't useable from linux.

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## Suicidal

I gave up and got a atheros card which works very well with the wadwifi driver. ndiswrapper and bcm43xx and the in kernel driver are just too unreliable.

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## serial_penguin

OK, since I started this thread and since the real problem wasn't wireless module related, I thought I should post this as [SOLVED]; at least partly - I have benefited from posts on this forum. The browsing problem was with the 

/etc/resolv.conf file that was written by the resolver when the wireless interface was brought up through dhcpcd. The /etc/resolv.conf file, as written, prevented ip nameserver resolution. The following post help  me

https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-378990-highlight-domain+actdsltmp.html

I'm using ndiswrapper and wireless works just fine after /etc/conf.d/net was modified so that /etc/resolv.conf was appropriate. It's still not clear to me why the originally written /etc/resolv.conf file was not appropriate since that file is identical to the one written when my home router boots and nameserver resolution there is fine. I must be missing something.

The info (that works is):

Portage 2.1-r2 (default-linux/amd64/2005.1, gcc-3.4.6, glibc-2.3.6-r4, 2.6.17-gentoo-r4 x86_64)

=================================================================

System uname: 2.6.17-gentoo-r4 x86_64 AMD Turion(tm) 64 Mobile Technology ML-37

Gentoo Base System version 1.12.4

```

dmesg | grep ndiswrapper

ndiswrapper version 1.17 loaded (preempt=no,smp=no)

ndiswrapper (load_pe_images:573): fixing KI_USER_SHARED_DATA address in the driver

ndiswrapper: driver bcmwl5 (Broadcom,02/11/2005, 3.100.64.0) loaded

ndiswrapper: using irq 50

wlan0: ndiswrapper ethernet device 00:14:a5:2f:b9:40 using driver bcmwl5, 14E4:4318.5.conf

```

```

/usr/sbin/lspci | grep -i broadcom

06:02.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4318 [AirForce One 54g] 802.11g Wireless LAN Controller (rev 02)

```

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