Continue work on interface information section.

posts/2026/10/15/qcncm865-mt7927-comparison/index.org

@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ This article is at AI level: None. [[https://fizz.buzz/post_ai_levels][Click her
 
 * Conclusion
 
-The MT7929 is the clear winner in terms of raw performance (speed / latency) whereas the QCNCM865 used less power. Personally, I am going to stick with the MT7927 because I find the random latency spikes in the QCNCM865 concerning.
+The MT7929 is the clear winner in terms of raw performance (speed / latency) whereas the QCNCM865 used less power. Personally, I am going to stick with the MT7927 because I'm almost always plugged in, so the power usage difference isn't much of a concern, and I find the random latency spikes in the QCNCM865 concerning. If I used my laptop on battery more often, that 1-2 extra watts consumed by the MT7927 could have a meaningful impact on battery life.
 
 * Comparison
 
@@ -94,110 +94,89 @@ For the signal strength test, I ran src_bash[:exports code]{iw dev wlan0 link} e
 
 In addition to measuring the performance of the cards, I also dumped information about the cards by reading from =/sys=, executing =iw list=, and executing =iw reg get=. The differences I found noteworthy are below.
 
-# TODO: See what iw reg means with the 2nd entry.
-
 *** Supported Ciphers
-The MT7927 supports a couple more ciphers than the QCNCM865. That being said, those two additional supported ciphers are for WEP [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy#Weak_security][which should not be in use in 2026]].
+The MT7927 supports WEP104 and WEP40, whereas the QCNCM865 does not. That being said, those ciphers [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wired_Equivalent_Privacy#Weak_security][should not be in use in 2026]].
 
-**** MT7927
+*** Peer to Peer
-- CCMP-128
+
-- CCMP-256
+The MT7927 supports [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TDLS][T-DLS]] whereas the QCNCM865 supports RSN-IBSS.
-- CMAC
+
-- CMAC-256
+*** Mesh
-- GCMP-128
+
-- GCMP-256
+The QCNCM865 supports mesh but the MT7927 does not.
-- GMAC-128
+
-- GMAC-256
+*** Beamformer
-- TKIP
+
-- WEP104
+The QCNCM865 supports SU Beamformer but the MT7927 does not.
-- WEP40
+
-**** QCNCM865
+*** Spatial Streams
-- CCMP-128
+
-- CCMP-256
+The QCNCM865 supports more spatial streams than the MT7927.
-- CMAC
+
-- CMAC-256
+|         | MT7927 | QCNCM865 |
-- GCMP-128
+|---------+--------+----------|
-- GCMP-256
+| 80 MHz  |      1 |        7 |
-- GMAC-128
+| 160 MHz |      1 |        3 |
-- GMAC-256
+| 320 MHz |        |        3 |
-- TKIP
+
-*** Beamformee SS in 6GHz
+*** MU-MIMO
-# TODO add explanation
+
-**** MT7927
+The MT7927 supports MU-MIMO whereas the QCNCM865 does not.
-#+begin_src text
+
-  Beamformee SS (80MHz): 1
+*** Feedback
-  Beamformee SS (160MHz): 1
+
-  Beamformee SS (320MHz): 1
+The MT7927 supports feedback whereas the QCNCM865 does not.
-#+end_src
+
-**** QCNCM865
+*** Target Wake Time
-#+begin_src text
+
-  Beamformee SS (80MHz): 7
+The QCNCM865 supports Broadcast TWT whereas the MT7927 does not.
-  Beamformee SS (160MHz): 3
+
-  Beamformee SS (320MHz): 3
+*** Longer Than 16HE SIG-B OFDM Symbols
-#+end_src
+
-*** WoWLAN support
+The MT7927 supports Longer Than 16HE SIG-B OFDM Symbols but the QCNCM865 does not.
-# TODO add explanation
+
-**** MT7927
+*** Restricted TWP
-#+begin_src text
+
-  ,* wake up on disconnect
+The QCNCM865 supports Restricted TWP but the MT7927 does not.
-  ,* wake up on magic packet
+
-  ,* wake up on pattern match, up to 1 patterns of 1-128 bytes,
+*** Supported Commands
-    maximum packet offset 0 bytes
+
-  ,* can do GTK rekeying
+The MT7927 supports a few more commands than the QCNCM865. Those commands being:
-  ,* wake up on network detection, up to 10 match sets
+
-#+end_src
+- =tdls_mgmt=
-**** QCNCM865
+- =tdls_oper=
-#+begin_src text
+- =start_sched_scan=
-  ,* wake up on disconnect
+- =set_sar_specs=
-  ,* wake up on magic packet
+
-  ,* wake up on pattern match, up to 22 patterns of 1-134 bytes,
+*** Software Interface Modes (can always be added)
-    maximum packet offset 114 bytes
+
-  ,* can do GTK rekeying
+The MT7927 supports AP/VLAN but the QCNCM865 does not.
-  ,* wake up on GTK rekey failure
+
-  ,* wake up on network detection, up to 16 match sets
+*** Other Features
-#+end_src
+
-*** Supported extended features
+**** Only MT7927
-# TODO add explanation
+
-**** MT7927
+Device supports active monitor (which will ACK incoming frames)
-#+begin_src text
+
-  ,* [ RRM ]: RRM
+[ SET_SCAN_DWELL ]: scan dwell setting
-  ,* [ SET_SCAN_DWELL ]: scan dwell setting
+[ BEACON_RATE_LEGACY ]: legacy beacon rate setting
-  ,* [ BEACON_RATE_LEGACY ]: legacy beacon rate setting
+[ BEACON_RATE_HT ]: HT beacon rate setting
-  ,* [ BEACON_RATE_HT ]: HT beacon rate setting
+[ BEACON_RATE_VHT ]: VHT beacon rate setting
-  ,* [ BEACON_RATE_VHT ]: VHT beacon rate setting
+[ AQL ]: Airtime Queue Limits (AQL)
-  ,* [ FILS_STA ]: STA FILS (Fast Initial Link Setup)
+
-  ,* [ CQM_RSSI_LIST ]: multiple CQM_RSSI_THOLD records
+**** Only QCNCM865
-  ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_OVER_NL80211 ]: control port over nl80211
+
-  ,* [ ACK_SIGNAL_SUPPORT ]: ack signal level support
+Device supports AP scan
-  ,* [ TXQS ]: FQ-CoDel-enabled intermediate TXQs
+
-  ,* [ CAN_REPLACE_PTK0 ]: can safely replace PTK 0 when rekeying
+Device can update TPC Report IE
-  ,* [ AIRTIME_FAIRNESS ]: airtime fairness scheduling
+Device supports static SMPS
-  ,* [ AQL ]: Airtime Queue Limits (AQL)
+Device supports dynamic SMPS
-  ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_NO_PREAUTH ]: disable pre-auth over nl80211 control port support
+
-  ,* [ SCAN_FREQ_KHZ ]: scan on kHz frequency support
+Maximum associated stations in AP mode: 512
-  ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_OVER_NL80211_TX_STATUS ]: tx status for nl80211 control port support
+
-  ,* [ BEACON_RATE_HE ]: HE beacon rate support (AP/mesh)
+[ UNSOL_BCAST_PROBE_RESP ]: unsolicated broadcast probe response
-  ,* [ POWERED_ADDR_CHANGE ]: can change MAC address while up
+[ BSS_COLOR ]: BSS coloring support
-#+end_src
+[ PUNCT ]: preamble puncturing in AP mode
-**** QCNCM865
-#+begin_src text
-  ,* [ RRM ]: RRM
-  ,* [ FILS_STA ]: STA FILS (Fast Initial Link Setup)
-  ,* [ CQM_RSSI_LIST ]: multiple CQM_RSSI_THOLD records
-  ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_OVER_NL80211 ]: control port over nl80211
-  ,* [ ACK_SIGNAL_SUPPORT ]: ack signal level support
-  ,* [ TXQS ]: FQ-CoDel-enabled intermediate TXQs
-  ,* [ STA_TX_PWR ]: TX power control per station
-  ,* [ BEACON_PROTECTION ]: beacon protection support
-  ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_NO_PREAUTH ]: disable pre-auth over nl80211 control port support
-  ,* [ SCAN_FREQ_KHZ ]: scan on kHz frequency support
-  ,* [ CONTROL_PORT_OVER_NL80211_TX_STATUS ]: tx status for nl80211 control port support
-  ,* [ FILS_DISCOVERY ]: FILS discovery frame transmission support
-  ,* [ UNSOL_BCAST_PROBE_RESP ]: unsolicated broadcast probe response transmission support
-  ,* [ BSS_COLOR ]: BSS coloring support
-  ,* [ POWERED_ADDR_CHANGE ]: can change MAC address while up
-  ,* [ PUNCT ]: preamble puncturing in AP mode
-#+end_src
 * Test Setup
 
 My test setup consisted of a Framework 13 AMD 7040 laptop with each of the wifi cards, connecting to a [[https://techspecs.ui.com/unifi/wifi/u7-pro][Ubiquiti UniFi U7 Pro]].