Atheros / madwifi and NetworkManager stability tweak
This tweak provides a bit of wireless stability to a NetworkManager + Atheros (madwifi-ng) configuration
create /etc/NetworkManager/dispatcher.d/30setpriv with the following line:
/sbin/iwpriv ath0 bgscan 0
Make the file executable. The name is arbitrary, but has to be placed in the /etc/NetworkManager/dispatcher.d directory. I’m not sure if it requires a number or not, but that’s probably typical *nix to make the files show up in a particular order to the processor.
This command sets a private ioctl on the madwifi driver that disables scanning for stronger access points. If you use your card in a home setting, or have only one access point, this setting improves stability and performance.
This is a Performance Tune, taken directly from the madwifi.org site. It sounded like it might help some of the problems that I was having with my wireless occasionally disconnecting, and then reconnecting. I think it’s solved the problem. I was entering the command manually for a week, until I found some information about how to add the hook script to NetworkManager. NetworkManager has to be one of the most poorly documented applications I’ve used. It’s also one of the most useful.
Hope this helps. I’m simply giddy, now that my wireless doesn’t disconnect anymore