piCore 6.0 Beta100

[bmarkus]

Team Tiny Core is pleased to announce that piCore 6.0 Beta100 is available for public testing:

http://repo.tinycorelinux.net/6.x/armv6/release_candidates/

This is a beta level cut. If you decide to help test, then please test carefully. We don't want anyone to lose data.

Since this is an beta cut, although the team has worked through several preview cuts, we ask that only experienced users test. This cut is not for production use. The features in any beta may change before a public release candidate is available.

Note that the fltk library has been updated to 1.3.3 to enable unicode. fltk-1.1 and 1.3 can be installed at the same time, and old apps using 1.1 will continue to work.

We appreciate testing and feedback.

Changelog for 6.0 Beta100:

* kernel updated to 3.18.0


Changelog for 6.0 Beta2:

* kernel updated to 3.17.4
* RPi firmware updated to December 3 release
* serial terminal now started by default
* preinstalled components updated


Changelog for 6.0 Beta1:

* kernel updated to 3.17.3
* glibc updated to 2.20
* gcc updated to 4.9.2
* e2fsprogs base libs/apps updated to 1.42.12
* util-linux base libs/apps updated to 2.25.2

[meo]

Hi bmarkus!

Just tried the X version out and installed compile-essentials and everything looks fine. The network is up as soon as X (or maybe before; can't tell). I like the idea of using kernel 3.18. Thanks a lot for a very good work!

Enjoy making TC for RPi progress,
meo

[jgrulich]

Hi bmarkus!

I've tested the last distro and seems that it works much better with the wifi. Even there are error messages in the dmesg that there is no firmware found, because is not installed, wifi dongle works, connection is fine and the ping immediately after IP is obtained. The only remaining issue is with the quality and speed of the connection. See the ping reports.

dmesg:

Code: (bash) [Select]

[   38.346425] cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
[   40.314624] rtl8192cu: Chip version 0x10
[   40.513626] rtl8192cu: MAC address: 00:e0:4c:0b:6f:67
[   40.513681] rtl8192cu: Board Type 0
[   40.513952] rtl_usb: rx_max_size 15360, rx_urb_num 8, in_ep 1
[   40.514136] rtl8192cu: Loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw_TMSC.bin
[   40.514353] usb 1-1.3.1: Direct firmware load for rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw_TMSC.bin failed with error -2
[   40.514458] usb 1-1.3.1: Direct firmware load for rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw.bin failed with error -2
[   40.514480] rtlwifi: Loading alternative firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw.bin
[   40.514492] rtlwifi: Firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw_TMSC.bin not available
[   40.516816] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'rtl_rc'
[   40.530567] usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8192cu
[   41.419671] smsc95xx 1-1.1:1.0 eth0: hardware isn't capable of remote wakeup
[  101.191185] rtl8192cu: MAC auto ON okay!
[  101.242205] rtl8192cu: Tx queue select: 0x05
[  101.780984] rtl8192c_common:_rtl92c_fw_free_to_go():<0-0> Polling FW ready fail!! REG_MCUFWDL:0x00000006 .
[  101.781014] rtl8192c_common:rtl92c_download_fw():<0-0> Firmware is not ready to run!
[  107.569886] wlan0: authenticate with 74:ea:3a:c3:46:a6
[  107.603857] wlan0: send auth to 74:ea:3a:c3:46:a6 (try 1/3)
[  107.605815] wlan0: authenticated
[  107.606628] wlan0: associate with 74:ea:3a:c3:46:a6 (try 1/3)
[  107.623716] wlan0: RX AssocResp from 74:ea:3a:c3:46:a6 (capab=0x431 status=0 aid=6)
[  107.624111] rtl8192cu:rtl92cu_set_hw_reg():<0-0> switch case not processed
[  107.624619] rtl8192c_common:rtl92c_fill_h2c_cmd(): return H2C cmd because of Fw download fail!!!
[  107.627061] rtl8192c_common:rtl92c_fill_h2c_cmd(): return H2C cmd because of Fw download fail!!!
[  107.627270] rtl8192c_common:rtl92c_fill_h2c_cmd(): return H2C cmd because of Fw download fail!!!
[  107.628091] wlan0: associated

ifconfig:

Code: (bash) [Select]

wlan0     Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:E0:4C:0B:6F:67 
          inet addr:192.168.1.108  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:18 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:6 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:3308 (3.2 KiB)  TX bytes:1529 (1.4 KiB)

iwconfig:

Code: (bash) [Select]

wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:"DomaciLAN" 
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.422 GHz  Access Point: 74:EA:3A:C3:46:A6   
          Bit Rate=150 Mb/s   Tx-Power=20 dBm   
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:off
          Link Quality=40/70  Signal level=-70 dBm 
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0

ping 56 data:

Code: (bash) [Select]

PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): 56 data bytes
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=0 ttl=64 time=6.153 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=1 ttl=64 time=43.594 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=3 ttl=64 time=47.377 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=4 ttl=64 time=5.773 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=6 ttl=64 time=47.336 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=7 ttl=64 time=2.612 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=8 ttl=64 time=4.083 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=9 ttl=64 time=7.367 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=10 ttl=64 time=5.070 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=11 ttl=64 time=4.616 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=12 ttl=64 time=4.397 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=13 ttl=64 time=6.126 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=14 ttl=64 time=5.989 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=15 ttl=64 time=5.834 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=16 ttl=64 time=5.600 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=17 ttl=64 time=7.003 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=18 ttl=64 time=7.095 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=19 ttl=64 time=5.374 ms

--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
20 packets transmitted, 18 packets received, 10% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 2.612/12.299/47.377 ms

ping 1024 data:

Code: (bash) [Select]

PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): 1024 data bytes
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=1 ttl=64 time=44.064 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=3 ttl=64 time=45.013 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=4 ttl=64 time=6.134 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=5 ttl=64 time=4.162 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=6 ttl=64 time=8.493 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=7 ttl=64 time=4.564 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=8 ttl=64 time=2.339 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=9 ttl=64 time=5.260 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=10 ttl=64 time=9.466 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=11 ttl=64 time=4.394 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=12 ttl=64 time=1.600 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=13 ttl=64 time=1.603 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=14 ttl=64 time=67.211 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=15 ttl=64 time=9.419 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=17 ttl=64 time=44.923 ms
1032 bytes from 192.168.1.1: seq=18 ttl=64 time=5.815 ms

--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
20 packets transmitted, 16 packets received, 20% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 1.600/16.528/67.211 ms

ping 10240 data:

Code: (bash) [Select]

PING 192.168.1.1 (192.168.1.1): 10240 data bytes

--- 192.168.1.1 ping statistics ---
21 packets transmitted, 0 packets received, 100% packet loss


[bmarkus]

Jan

thanks for testing. Yes, 3.18.0 in general looks better than the 3.17.y line of kernels. In my case WiFi is stable, ping time is 2.9.ms with just a small variation while the RPi is fully loaded compiling programs.

According to your dmesg no firmware loaded, so we have to find a proper firmware. File names are in dmesg what system is lookin for, just Google for them. Most likely it will help.

[bmarkus]

BTW, is firmware-rtlwifi.tcz package installed?

[jgrulich]

The firmware-rtlwifi does nothing in my case. Only difference is that dmesg doesn't report the firmware error.
I don't need to find the firmware on the Google. The dongle is supported by the core itself. In the 3.14 (5.3 distro) kernel is working well without any firmware installation. In the 3.17 kernel (6.0 Beta 1 and 2) is mandatory to load the firmware-rtlwifi and in the 3.18 kernel (6.0 Beta 100) it works again without need of firmware, dmesg only reports the firmware error. Even seems that when the firmware is loaded correctly, the connection is less stable and is disconnected sometimes.

[bmarkus]

There was always a problem with rtl8192cu driver in the kernel. In piCore 5.x we disabled powersaving patching the driver source to fix the issue. Unfortunately in kernel 3.17.x/3.18.x the dedicated rtl8192cu driver removed, so no way to fix it. Maybe the other firware what driver is looking for instead of current behaves better do not know, I do not have such hw. It would be good to check this other firmware.

Possible options:

1) stay with 3.14.y kernel and use patched driver
2) backport driver to 3.18.x
3) use a 3rd-party driver (there are few), maybe they work, maybe not
4) replace WIFi stick with another one which is upported; they are cheap, only few bucks

I vote for option 4)

[jgrulich]

I'm using only the RTL8188CUS dongles because this is best working dongle in terms of signal quality, extra small size and that it doesn't need any additional firmware to be loaded.
BTW, I've tested the RT3070 dongle which needs the Ralink firmware installation and the result is exactly the same.
Please test the ping on the AP with the parameter -s 65500 which gives the largest packet size.
My result is 67% packet loss for 100 packet transmitted. The 5.3.1 distro gives 0% loss.

[jgrulich]

How to simply backport the 3.14 driver to the 3.18? I'd like to try it before additional steps.

[sbp]

Hi Belá

I'm also having trouble with the wifi in this beta. Somehow there are some realtek firmware included in the kernel base as my Edimax wifi dongle is found and piCore thinks that it can be used. However, when trying the dongle by "sudo wifi.sh" finds the available networks but it is unable to connect.

dmesg output before firmware-rltwifi.tcz is installed:

Code: [Select]

[   29.816310] rtl8192cu: Chip version 0x10
[   30.189692] rtl8192cu: MAC address: 80:1f:02:d3:53:1a
[   30.189744] rtl8192cu: Board Type 0
[   30.189980] rtl_usb: rx_max_size 15360, rx_urb_num 8, in_ep 1
[   30.190156] rtl8192cu: Loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw_TMSC.bin
[   30.190376] usb 1-1.4: Direct firmware load for rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw_TMSC.bin failed with error -2
[   30.190485] usb 1-1.4: Direct firmware load for rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw.bin failed with error -2
[   30.190504] rtlwifi: Loading alternative firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw.bin
[   30.190517] rtlwifi: Firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw_TMSC.bin not available
[   30.192065] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'rtl_rc'
[   30.197117] usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8192cu

However lsmod shows that some driver for the wifi dongle is loaded:

Code: [Select]

tc@box:~$ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by    Not tainted
rtl8192cu              93939  0
rtl8192c_common        63420  1 rtl8192cu
rtl_usb                13144  1 rtl8192cu
rtlwifi                86632  3 rtl8192cu,rtl8192c_common,rtl_usb
mac80211              356047  3 rtl8192cu,rtl_usb,rtlwifi
cfg80211              216968  2 rtlwifi,mac80211
rfkill                 18713  1 cfg80211
spi_bcm2708             5430  0
i2c_bcm2708             5284  0
tc@box:~$

and iwconfig shows that I have wifi:

Code: [Select]

tc@box:~$ iwconfig
wlan0     IEEE 802.11bgn  ESSID:off/any
          Mode:Managed  Access Point: Not-Associated   Tx-Power=0 dBm
          Retry short limit:7   RTS thr=2347 B   Fragment thr:off
          Power Management:on

dummy0    no wireless extensions.

lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

tunl0     no wireless extensions.

tc@box:~$






After downloading the "firmware-rtlwifi.tcz" the dmesg looks better:

Code: [Select]

[   29.803331] rtl8192cu: Chip version 0x10
[   30.117837] rtl8192cu: MAC address: 80:1f:02:d3:53:1a
[   30.117888] rtl8192cu: Board Type 0
[   30.118157] rtl_usb: rx_max_size 15360, rx_urb_num 8, in_ep 1
[   30.118328] rtl8192cu: Loading firmware rtlwifi/rtl8192cufw_TMSC.bin
[   30.123219] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'rtl_rc'
[   30.143076] usbcore: registered new interface driver rtl8192cu

the lsmod is now:

Code: [Select]

tc@box:~$ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by    Not tainted
rtl8192cu              93939  0
rtl8192c_common        63420  1 rtl8192cu
rtl_usb                13144  1 rtl8192cu
rtlwifi                86632  3 rtl8192cu,rtl8192c_common,rtl_usb
mac80211              356047  3 rtl8192cu,rtl_usb,rtlwifi
cfg80211              216968  2 rtlwifi,mac80211
rfkill                 18713  1 cfg80211
spi_bcm2708             5430  0
i2c_bcm2708             5284  0
tc@box:~$

And it still can scan the network and find the available networks, however, it also can't connect (so it is not better after using the rtl-firmware package):

Code: [Select]

Select Wifi Network

    ESSID                         Enc   Qual    Channel Type
 1. linksys                        on    70      11     WPA
 2. Steens 2.4GHz                  on    26       6     WPA

Enter selection ( 1 - 2 ) or (q)uit: 2
Enter password for Steens 2.4GHz (8 to 63 characters): smiley12
Sending credentials to requested access point Steens 2.4GHz..
udhcpc (v1.22.1) started
Sending discover...
Sending discover...
Sending discover...
No lease, failing
Failed to connect.
tc@box:~$


So unfortunately I can't get this very popular wifi dongle to function with this kernel.

I will report on my ralink wifi in a moment.

Steen

[sbp]

Ralink 5390 wifi chipset

When starting without any firmware.tcz installed:
dmesg shows:

Code: [Select]

[   29.987989] ieee80211 phy0: rt2x00_set_rt: Info - RT chipset 5390, rev 0502 detected
[   30.087724] ieee80211 phy0: rt2x00_set_rf: Info - RF chipset 5370 detected
[   30.089580] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'minstrel_ht'
[   30.095733] usbcore: registered new interface driver rt2800usb

lsmod:

Code: [Select]

tc@box:~$ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by    Not tainted
rt2800usb              17842  0
rt2x00usb              10044  1 rt2800usb
rt2800lib              76563  1 rt2800usb
rt2x00lib              40785  3 rt2800usb,rt2x00usb,rt2800lib
mac80211              356047  3 rt2x00usb,rt2800lib,rt2x00lib
cfg80211              216968  2 rt2x00lib,mac80211
rfkill                 18713  1 cfg80211
spi_bcm2708             5430  0
i2c_bcm2708             5284  0
tc@box:~$

and the wifi.sh resulted in:

Code: [Select]

tc@box:~$ sudo wifi.sh
Found wifi device wlan0
Standby for scan of available networks...
wlan0     Interface doesn't support scanning : Network is down

Set to try a few times to obtain a lease.
Failed to connect.
tc@box:~$

After downloading the firmware-ralinkwifi.tcz

dmesg:

Code: [Select]

[   30.417908] ieee80211 phy0: rt2x00_set_rt: Info - RT chipset 5390, rev 0502 detected
[   30.518009] ieee80211 phy0: rt2x00_set_rf: Info - RF chipset 5370 detected
[   30.529029] ieee80211 phy0: Selected rate control algorithm 'minstrel_ht'
[   30.566900] usbcore: registered new interface driver rt2800usb

lsmod:

Code: [Select]

tc@box:~$ lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by    Not tainted
rt2800usb              17842  0
rt2x00usb              10044  1 rt2800usb
rt2800lib              76563  1 rt2800usb
rt2x00lib              40785  3 rt2800usb,rt2x00usb,rt2800lib
mac80211              356047  3 rt2x00usb,rt2800lib,rt2x00lib
cfg80211              216968  2 rt2x00lib,mac80211
rfkill                 18713  1 cfg80211
spi_bcm2708             5430  0
i2c_bcm2708             5284  0
tc@box:~$

But now it can connect:

Code: [Select]

Select Wifi Network

    ESSID                         Enc   Qual    Channel Type
 1. linksys                        on    70      11     WPA
 2. Steens 2.4GHz                  on    19       6     WPA

Enter selection ( 1 - 2 ) or (q)uit: 2
Enter password for Steens 2.4GHz (8 to 63 characters): smiley12
Sending credentials to requested access point Steens 2.4GHz..
udhcpc (v1.22.1) started
Sending discover...
Sending discover...
Sending select for 192.168.1.12...
Lease of 192.168.1.12 obtained, lease time 604800
deleting routers
adding dns 193.162.153.164
adding dns 194.239.134.83
tc@box:~$

So there is something strange going on.
I really can't see much difference between the lsmod output from before and after loading the ralink-firmware - however it needs the firmware in order to connect. Also I think the previous versions of piCore would not allow the wifi adaptors to try to scan if the firmware was not loaded.

[sbp]

Hi Bela

Just remembered that a guy from the squeezebox forum (where the piCorePlayer is discussed and used) stated something about two patches for the realtek driver in newer kernels:  http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?97803-piCoPlayer-Squeezelite-on-Microcore-linux-An-embedded-OS-in-RAM-with-Squeezelite&p=795764&viewfull=1#post795764


Steen

[bmarkus]

Hi Steen

thanks for the link. I will make a new beta with these applied.

Béla

[bmarkus]

My statistics using 65,500 bytes long packets and beta100:

Code: [Select]

--- 192.168.0.1 ping statistics ---
13073 packets transmitted, 13003 packets received, 0% packet loss
round-trip min/avg/max = 24.608/37.586/633.908 ms
tc@box:~$
Atheros AR9271 chip.

Same test on ASUS laptop and 6.0rc1 gives 2% packet loss and cca. 80% longer ping time to the same AP, so RPI offers better performance, at least in this test.

[bmarkus]

Hi Steen

thanks for the link. I will make a new beta with these applied.

Béla

wireless-3.18.0-piCore+.tcz uploaded to repo with patches applied. Update your installation and try.