Is there any reason why this Interface is not running? I've been battling for a good couple of hours trying to get this interface to run, and I've had numerious problems getting them to run on other MT installations I did as well. Help and assistance appreciated

What do you mean by "not running"? Does it give you an error when trying to enable the interface? Don't you see/can't you connect to the AP from clients?
Is there any information in the system logs?

note: running status you will only see when somebody connects to this interface. the missing `r` doesn't mean there are problems, simly there is nobdy connected

note: running status you will only see when somebody connects to this interface. the missing `r` doesn't mean there are problems, simly there is nobdy connected

Fair enough. However, I don't even pick up the SSID!!! I can't connect to the interface wirelessly, even if I try

OK, so you try to connect to this AP from another client and don't even see the SSID?
What is this other client? Is it MikroTik, too? Another product? Could you tell us a bit more about your setup? The wireless interface configuration above seems to be OK from the first view, so it has to be something else...

Ok, so now I am *really* confused....

First, I switch the WNIC to Station Mode:
Flags: X - disabled, R - running
0 name="VaryNET Bridge" mtu=1500 mac-address=00:02:6F:20:98:BB arp=enabled
disable-running-check=no interface-type=Atheros AR5212 mode=station
ssid="VaryNETAdmin" frequency=2427 band=2.4GHz-B scan-list=default-ism
supported-rates-b=1Mbps,2Mbps,5.5Mbps,11Mbps
supported-rates-a/g=6Mbps,9Mbps,12Mbps,18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,
54Mbps
basic-rates-b=1Mbps,2Mbps,5.5Mbps,11Mbps
basic-rates-a/g=6Mbps,9Mbps,12Mbps,18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps
max-station-count=2007 ack-timeout=96 tx-power=default
noise-floor-threshold=default burst-time=disabled fast-frames=no
dfs-mode=none antenna-mode=ant-a wds-mode=disabled
wds-default-bridge=none default-authentication=yes
default-forwarding=no hide-ssid=no 802.1x-mode=none

The interface is not running, because it is still searching for a non existant network....

Then, I switch the WNIC to ap-bridge mode:
[cenergy@wgdb.highsites.varynet.co.za] interface wireless> set 0 mode=ap-bridge


Now, the interface is *running*:
[cenergy@wgdb.highsites.varynet.co.za] interface wireless> print
Flags: X - disabled, R - running
0 R name="VaryNET Bridge" mtu=1500 mac-address=00:02:6F:20:98:BB arp=enabled
disable-running-check=no interface-type=Atheros AR5212 mode=ap-bridge
ssid="VaryNETAdmin" frequency=2427 band=2.4GHz-B scan-list=default-ism
supported-rates-b=1Mbps,2Mbps,5.5Mbps,11Mbps
supported-rates-a/g=6Mbps,9Mbps,12Mbps,18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,
54Mbps
basic-rates-b=1Mbps,2Mbps,5.5Mbps,11Mbps
basic-rates-a/g=6Mbps,9Mbps,12Mbps,18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps
max-station-count=2007 ack-timeout=96 tx-power=default
noise-floor-threshold=default burst-time=disabled fast-frames=no
dfs-mode=none antenna-mode=ant-a wds-mode=disabled
wds-default-bridge=none default-authentication=yes
default-forwarding=no hide-ssid=no 802.1x-mode=none

Now, I change the SSID:
[cenergy@wgdb.highsites.varynet.co.za] interface wireless> set 0 ssid=VaryNet


Then, the interface stops running:
[cenergy@wgdb.highsites.varynet.co.za] interface wireless> print
Flags: X - disabled, R - running
0 name="VaryNET Bridge" mtu=1500 mac-address=00:02:6F:20:98:BB arp=enabled
disable-running-check=no interface-type=Atheros AR5212 mode=ap-bridge
ssid="VaryNet" frequency=2427 band=2.4GHz-B scan-list=default-ism
supported-rates-b=1Mbps,2Mbps,5.5Mbps,11Mbps
supported-rates-a/g=6Mbps,9Mbps,12Mbps,18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,
54Mbps
basic-rates-b=1Mbps,2Mbps,5.5Mbps,11Mbps
basic-rates-a/g=6Mbps,9Mbps,12Mbps,18Mbps,24Mbps,36Mbps,48Mbps,54Mbps
max-station-count=2007 ack-timeout=96 tx-power=default
noise-floor-threshold=default burst-time=disabled fast-frames=no
dfs-mode=none antenna-mode=ant-a wds-mode=disabled
wds-default-bridge=none default-authentication=yes
default-forwarding=no hide-ssid=no 802.1x-mode=none
[cenergy@wgdb.highsites.varynet.co.za] interface wireless>



Now, PLEASE explain this to me. Why would the Interface RUN if I go from station mode to ap-bridge mode, and then stop running the moment I change the SSID????

Now, PLEASE explain this to me. Why would the Interface RUN if I go from station mode to ap-bridge mode, and then stop running the moment I change the SSID????

seems like you have another AP with the same SSID and all clients are connected to it but not the one you're trying to configure
try to swich off that AP and see if anyone will connect

And keep in mind that the "R" for running will ONLY show up at an wireless interface in AP mode if at least one client IS ASSOCIATED to this AP. So a missing "R" for an AP interface does not mean the interface is not running...

Hi,

It seems you where right cmit. We've sorted it out and everything is fine now.... Sorry for all the fuzz

Great - the success is everything that counts in the end...

The "R" for running comes from BSD terminology for Ethernet interfaces -- they have an "up" state and "running." "Up and running" is some kind of American slang -- so it is not the easiest to understand, plus, we don't have "up" in our description. We use "enabled."

We may change this to "C" for "connected" to make it less confusing -- for v2.9. It might be a problem for some scrips though...

John