On Wed, 2016-12-14 at 21:28 +0000, Stéphane Boucher wrote:
> It looks like NetworkManager purposely filters out remote access
> points while the local device is used as an access point?
> 
> “nmcli d wifi” only displays the local access point, even though “Iw
> dev wlan0 scan” does show remote access points.
> 
> I have a use case where I need to switch WIFI from AP to
> Client.   But that does not seem possible with NetworkManager.
> 
> Or is there a way to force NetworkManager to not filter out access
> points?

Asking a AP-mode WiFi interface to scan will disconnect any associated
clients because during the scan, the AP can't beacon.  The AP will also
lose any traffic the client sends to the AP while it's on other
channels.  A scan can sometimes be forced, but the only two mac80211
drivers in the 4.9 and earlier kernels that advertise this are the TI
WiLink ones (in some embedded devices the Nokia N900/N9/N950 phones)
and ath10k ones.  Of non-mac80211 drivers some "support" it (ath6kl,
brcmfmac, mwifiex) while others don't (wil6210, rndis). But you'll
still drop traffic for any connected clients.

NM could theoretically request/allow scans if it could figure out how
many connected clients there were while in AP mode.  That would be a
nice enhancement.

If you want to switch the device from AP to Client mode, you would
create two WiFi profiles (what NM calls "connections").  One for client
mode, one for AP mode.  You can then switch between them:

nmcli con up "My AP" --wait 20
nmcli con up "My Client" --wait 20
nmcli dev wifi list  (the switch to client will have already scanned)

Or, if all you care about is scanning, you can just disconnect:

nmcli con up "My AP" --wait 20
nmcli dev disconnect wlan0
nmcli dev wifi
rescan
nmcli dev wifi list
nmcli con up "My AP" --wait 20

Dan

> Thanks
> 
> STÉPHANE BOUCHER
> Consultant software
> 
> D-BOX Technologies Inc. | A. 2172 de la Province, Longueuil, QC J4G
> 1R7 CANADA | T. 450-442-3003 | W. d-box.com<http://www.d-box.com>
> 
> 
> AVIS : Ce courriel contient des renseignements confidentiels. Si vous
> n'êtes pas le véritable destinataire, la diffusion ou l'usage de ce
> courriel, des renseignements qu'il contient ou des documents qui lui
> sont joints pourrait être illégal. Il est donc strictement interdit
> de les diffuser ou de les utiliser. Si vous avez reçu ce courriel par
> erreur, nous vous saurions gré d’en aviser l'expéditeur immédiatement
> et de le supprimer sans le lire, l'imprimer, le sauvegarder ou le
> diffuser. Nous vous remercions de votre aimable collaboration.
> 
> NOTICE: This e-mail contains confidential information. If you are not
> the intended recipient, any disclosure or other use of this e-mail or
> the information contained herein or attached hereto may be unlawful
> and is strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in
> error, please notify the sender immediately and delete this e-mail
> without reading, printing, copying or forwarding it to anyone. Thank
> you for your kind cooperation.
> _______________________________________________
> networkmanager-list mailing list
> [email protected]
> https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/networkmanager-list
_______________________________________________
networkmanager-list mailing list
[email protected]
https://mail.gnome.org/mailman/listinfo/networkmanager-list

Reply via email to