If regulatory database compiled into kernel (CONFIG_CFG80211_INTERNAL_REGDB=y) packages net-wireless/crda and net-wireless/wireless-regdb isn't required anymore but not for net-wireless/wpa_supplicant. It maybe wrong since wpa_supplicant can work without crda. Although I not test well - just recompile, run and scan.
Static regulatory domains in the kernel are out of date and AT BEST suggested for use with embedded systems only. crda should be on all systems that expect wifi to work legally.
(In reply to comment #1) I disagree. > Static regulatory domains in the kernel are out of date and AT BEST > suggested for use with embedded systems only. What means static is this -- net-wireless/wireless-regdb: 20090115 20110428-r1 (~)20130111 (~)20130213 ;) Unstable rules? Ha! Another bugreport needed. > crda should be on all systems that expect wifi to work legally. As long as kernel provides alternative way it may be not. Legality is just an off-topic, because inkernel mechanism with proper regdb works just like crda was.
As one of the maintainers of wpa_supplicant I strongly disapprove of this. The kernel developers and the wireless developers do not want the kernel static regdb used, I am not going against that. I'm not fighting to keep this bug closed, but I highly doubt anyone is willing to commit around me on this. You will need to provide an incredibly compelling reason for this, you haven't.
I'm with Rick on this one - as long as upstream says this is the way to go, it is the way to go. If people really needs a system without CRDA, there is nothing preventing them from adding net-wireless/crda to their packages.provided file...
Okay guys, clear. So why wpa_supplicant can't have crda as optional dependency? Like others who can talk to the regdom. Like hostapd has. Or even dont depend on it completely! Like net-wireless/iw, which also can interact with the regdom just like as wpa_supplicant can. Or why then not to apply hard dependency on crda to all of them? Also, what about net-wireless/wireless-tools which can do wifi without crda... My simple reason for this, is a bit more out of the box flexibility to our beloved distro. Solution is very simple to: IUSE="+crda"... So whats wrong?
Created attachment 361742 [details] lastest wpa_supplicant pulls udev as crda dependency I have system running with mdev, the latest wpa_supplicant update forces me to install udev, because it pulls crda which depends on udev. It would eventually not force me to install udev if crda was made optional on wpa_supplicant-2
This is from the crda website. http://wireless.kernel.org/en/developers/Regulatory/CRDA ----- Host requirements: -libc/ublibc -regulatory.bin file -libnl >= libnl1 -udevd [but read below for alternative] You can skip out on the CRDA and udev requirement by using CONFIG_CFG80211_INTERNAL_REGDB but read below on its own requirements. [...] therefore using CONFIG_CFG80211_INTERNAL_REGDB is not recommended. ----- So the kernel developers do not want to have static regdb? or is it not recommended? If REGDB internal is not wanted then why mention an alternative way. I don't understand this chain of argumentation. And why to pull udev as dependency on such "vital" package as wpa_supplicant is where there is no substitute for wpa_supplicant.
Created attachment 361960 [details, diff] wpa_supplicant-2.0-r2 patch to support crda optionally Created a patch for optional crda IUSE support
This seems like a no-brainer. CRDA is recommended and used by default, but there's another option out there. Upstream provides a specific config option for it, even. Stick it behind a USE flag with a proper warning, so embedded and other specialty setups can use it.
*** Bug 525030 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Now that CRDA upstream has been telling people to stop using it for several months [1], could this bug maybe be fixed? [1]: https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mcgrof/crda.git/tree/README#n8
Also crda is pulling in m2crypto, which only supports python 2.7. That means in turn there are other packages with PYTHON_TARGETS="python2_7" pulled in...
Another vote for removing CRDA from wpa_supp's DEPEND's, there is no need and no reason for CRDA. You don't loose any functionality without it, you are no longer restricted to static domains in the kernel without CRDA. The kernel itself now does exactly what CRDA did before: Loading the regdb from files in /lib/firmware
#693120 is a dupe and should be marked accordingly. Any progress on this? I'm currently using wpa_supplicant v2.9 without CRDA from a custom overlay. Can confirm it works fine.
(In reply to Andrei F. from comment #14) > #693120 is a dupe and should be marked accordingly. > > Any progress on this? I'm currently using wpa_supplicant v2.9 without CRDA > from a custom overlay. Can confirm it works fine. No need for custom ebuild. Just drop crda into /etc/portage/profile/package.provided
(In reply to charles17 from comment #15) > (In reply to Andrei F. from comment #14) > > #693120 is a dupe and should be marked accordingly. > > > > Any progress on this? I'm currently using wpa_supplicant v2.9 without CRDA > > from a custom overlay. Can confirm it works fine. > > No need for custom ebuild. > Just drop crda into /etc/portage/profile/package.provided This works, but it should just be a temporary workaround, not the permanent solution. Upstream's recommendation since kernel 4.something is not to use crda. So wpa-supp should not depend on it forever. What about depending on either crda or (||) a recent kernel version?
You need some specific kernel setup for the kernel's regulatory db mechanism to work. The net-wireless/iwd ebuilds are doing this check, wpa_supplicant would probably need to do the same (improvement suggestions welcome).
*** Bug 693120 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
Created attachment 602214 [details, diff] Make crda depencency optional with kconfig checking taken from iwd How about this then?
Created attachment 602216 [details, diff] optional crda with kconfig checking for 2.9
Created attachment 602218 [details, diff] Make crda depencency optional with kconfig checking taken from iwd Nothing in wpa_supplicant actually requires crda to compile or work. All the dependency does is make sure that crda is installed when the user will eventually be using wpa_supplicant so the whole setup is regulatory compliant. So it's certainly not a build dependency and arguably not even strictly a runtime dependency. Also, since only crda depends on net-wireless/wireless-regdb, emerge --depclean immediately took that together with crda. Here's a respin of the patch based on how iwd handles the situation. Could this be handled more generically, e.g. through a meta- or virtual package which captures the fact that either crda or the necessary firmware autoload kernel config together with the regdb have to be present when either iwd or wpa_supplicant are installed?
Created attachment 602220 [details, diff] optional crda with kconfig checking for 2.9
The bug has been closed via the following commit(s): https://gitweb.gentoo.org/repo/gentoo.git/commit/?id=86f2873941b8049bfd376569e7871c74782257f4 commit 86f2873941b8049bfd376569e7871c74782257f4 Author: Sam James <sam@gentoo.org> AuthorDate: 2021-11-21 12:25:43 +0000 Commit: Sam James <sam@gentoo.org> CommitDate: 2021-11-21 12:30:25 +0000 net-wireless/wpa_supplicant: make crda optional Since the bug was originally filed, the situation has changed and upstream now _discourage_ CRDA usage. Let's make it optional to avoid pulling in m2crypto on smaller devices. Keeping it on by default (for now?) to avoid breaking existing setups. Closes: https://bugs.gentoo.org/462032 Thanks-to: Michael Weiser <michael@weiser.dinsnail.net> Signed-off-by: Sam James <sam@gentoo.org> .../wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-2.9-r6.ebuild | 501 +++++++++++++++++++++ .../wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-9999.ebuild | 32 +- 2 files changed, 530 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)
Please fix DEPEND also. This it still non-optional DEPEND="kernel_linux? (net-wireless/crda)"
The bug has been referenced in the following commit(s): https://gitweb.gentoo.org/repo/gentoo.git/commit/?id=7011f0660e18847f3b09d610372e6212fc3f7feb commit 7011f0660e18847f3b09d610372e6212fc3f7feb Author: Sam James <sam@gentoo.org> AuthorDate: 2021-11-21 13:38:13 +0000 Commit: Sam James <sam@gentoo.org> CommitDate: 2021-11-21 13:38:13 +0000 net-wireless/wpa_supplicant: fix DEPEND for new optional CRDA Bug: https://bugs.gentoo.org/462032 Signed-off-by: Sam James <sam@gentoo.org> net-wireless/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-2.9-r6.ebuild | 1 - net-wireless/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant-9999.ebuild | 1 - 2 files changed, 2 deletions(-)
