#5144 HIGH Update.: [firmware] Marvell firmware should default to mesh off, and have controls for turning mesh on and off

[Zarro Boogs per Child]

#5144: [firmware] Marvell firmware should default to mesh off, and have controls
for turning mesh on and off
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  Reporter:  jg        |       Owner:  rchokshi          
      Type:  defect    |      Status:  new               
  Priority:  high      |   Milestone:  Update.2          
 Component:  wireless  |     Version:                    
Resolution:            |    Keywords:  jcardona, mbletsas
  Verified:  0         |    Blocking:                    
 Blockedby:            |  
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Changes (by gnu):

 * cc: cjb, marco (added)


Comment:

 Is anyone working on the user interface for this?

 It should clearly be possible for end users (e.g. G1G1) to easily turn off
 the mesh and leave it off permanently.  This would not only avoid
 scrambling the brains of nearby buggy access points and/or other !WiFi
 devices.  It would also allow the entire wireless chip to be powered down
 during lid-close or power-button suspends (the sort that are not
 interrupted by incoming packets).  This would probably *double* the
 battery life when the laptop is closed.

 Having the mesh off would also significantly reduce the amount of
 transmitting that the laptop does, which would somewhat lengthen battery
 life during operation.  This is good both for schools that use ordinary
 access points, and for G1G1 users.

 Marvell doesn't support "powersave mode" when the mesh is on.  I think
 this 802.11 mode coordinates between the access point and the wifi chip so
 that transmissions to the wifi chip occur in a pre-negotiated time slot
 when the wifi chip has committed to be listening; the rest of the time the
 wifi chip burns less power.  See
 http://dev.laptop.org/ticket/5418#comment:7 .

 Once we are using this control to disable the mesh, we can also measure
 the Libertas power consumption under more controlled circumstances, and
 seek firmware improvements that reduce its power consumption.  Excessive
 transmission was one of the suspected causes for the chip's higher-than-
 expected power consumption, discovered in the Tinderbox.

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://dev.laptop.org/ticket/5144#comment:9>
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