Wireless test results (Was: Announcing the first 8.2.1 release candidate)

[Gary C Martin]

On 10 Feb 2009, at 23:53, Chris Ball wrote:

> Some particular areas we'd like to see testing of:
>
> * Connecting to encrypted wireless access points.  We believe there  
> are
>  regressions here that we're trying to understand.  The test procedure
>  is:
>  - connect to a WEP/WPA AP
>  - suspend/resume using the power button, see what happens
>  - reboot, see what happens
>
>  Some hypotheses we're trying to investigate are:
>  - WEP always works
>  - WPA works with some percentage chance of success
>
>  You can read more about the wireless testing that's been done  
> already:
>    http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/devel/2009-February/023096.html
>    http://lists.laptop.org/pipermail/devel/2009-February/022993.html

Here's my wireless results for 8.2.1 candidate-800. Tested 6 times in  
a row for open access, WEP, and WPA,  and some misc. comparative runs  
with an XO running 8.2. Access point is a D-Link DSL-G604T (Wireless  
ADSL router).

Summary: 8.2.1 has regressed relative to 8.2 for WPA access points.  
You now have to enter the security string; it will fail to associate  
and prompt you for the security string again; you have to cancel this  
dialogue; it will start trawling for a mesh; you have to click the AP  
again; it will now connect.

Open access
==========

First connection: 4 successful auto associations, 2 times a 2nd click  
on the AP was required before it would associate.

After OS reboot: 5 successful auto associations, 1 failed to re- 
associate and required clicking the AP.

After restart of Sugar UI: 6 successful auto associations.

After sleep: 5 successful auto associations, 1 failed to re-associate  
and required clicking the AP.


WEP security
==========

First connection: 6 successful WEP dialogue followed by association.

After OS reboot: 6 successful auto associations.

After restart of Sugar UI: 6 successful auto associations.

After sleep: 5 successful auto associations, 1 failed to re-associate  
and required entering WEP key again.


WPA security
==========

First connection: Prompts for the security string and then fails every  
time, until you subsequently click a dialogue cancel button, then  
clicking the AP again will associate (8.2 connects without a hitch).

After OS reboot: A 6 attempts failed to re-associate and shows the  
security string dialogue, clicking cancel and then clicking the AP  
again will re-associate (8.2 connects without a hitch).

After restart of Sugar UI: 6 successful auto associations.

After sleep: All 6 times dropped back to mesh, 3 of those times  
manually clicking the AP auto re-associated, the other 3 times  
prompted for the security string which you had to cancel then click  
the AP again (8.2 did not automatically re-associate, but clicking the  
AP connected immediately with no dialogues).


Hope this helps,
--Gary

P.S. Interestingly we had what seems to be the same behaviour, but  
with WEP, for a while early last year in the (long) run up to 8.2.