Hi, It's a firmware limitation with the ar9271. You could modify the open source firmware to get more than 2 vif's, but as memory is constrained you would hit another brick wall pretty soon...
From: ath9k-devel-boun...@lists.ath9k.org [mailto:ath9k-devel-boun...@lists.ath9k.org] On Behalf Of Jack Fallington Sent: 08 November, 2016 3:02 PM To: ath9k-devel@lists.ath9k.org Subject: [ath9k-devel] Bringing up More Than Two Station Mode Virtual Interfaces I've been having a problem using the ath9k_htc driver and was hoping someone here might have some advice. I'm trying to connect (on a single channel) to a single AP multiple times simultaneously using one physical wireless adapter. I haven't been able to bring up more than two virtual interfaces so far. Here's my setup. Linux Distribution: Kali Linux 2016.2 Kernel Version: 4.6.0 Wireless Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN722N Adapter Chipset: Atheros AR9271 Driver: ath9k_htc Firmware version: 1.4.0 Here's what I've tried: Disable network-manager. root@kali:~# /etc/init.d/network-manager stop [ ok ] Stopping network-manager (via systemctl): network-manager.service. Disable hardware encryption, because I've read this adapter won't support virtual interfaces with hardware encryption enabled. root@kali:~# echo "options ath9k_htc nohwcrypt=1" >/etc/modprobe.d/ath9k_htc.conf root@kali:~# modprobe ath9k_htc root@kali:~# cat /sys/module/ath9k_htc/parameters/nohwcrypt 1 Create three virtual interfaces with unique MAC addresses. root@kali:~# iw dev wlan0 interface add wlan1 type station root@kali:~# iw dev wlan0 interface add wlan2 type station root@kali:~# iw dev wlan0 interface add wlan3 type station root@kali:~# macchanger -r wlan1 Current MAC: [redacted] (unknown) Permanent MAC: [redacted] (unknown) New MAC: ea:4c:bc:e0:8b:36 (unknown) root@kali:~# macchanger -r wlan2 Current MAC: [redacted] (unknown) Permanent MAC: [redacted] (unknown) New MAC: 52:3a:02:22:4d:4a (unknown) root@kali:~# macchanger -r wlan3 Current MAC: [redacted] (unknown) Permanent MAC: [redacted] (unknown) New MAC: da:05:ce:1e:d0:41 (unknown) Attempt to bring the new virtual interfaces up. root@kali:~# ifconfig wlan1 up root@kali:~# ifconfig wlan2 up root@kali:~# ifconfig wlan3 up SIOCSIFFLAGS: Device or resource busy The third interface fails to come up. On this page, they say, "We have successfully tested more than 200 stations and up to 4 APs per radio/NIC using ath9k and our code trees." They don't mention ath9k_htc, but I was hoping it also would also allow more than two station mode virtual interfaces. Or perhaps it's a firmware or hardware limitation causing my problem. Is there anything else I can try? If not, is there another chipset and driver combination that would allow me to use at least 20 simultaneous station interfaces? _______________________________________________ ath9k-devel mailing list ath9k-devel@lists.ath9k.org https://lists.ath9k.org/mailman/listinfo/ath9k-devel
