Bug#810047: firmware-linux-free: ath9k_htc firmware (now fully free) not provided by package
Package: firmware-linux-free
Version: 3.3
Severity: normal
Tags: d-i upstream
Dear maintainers,
The atk9k_htc firmware is fully open[1] and hence should be suitable for
inclusion in firmware-linux-free. Currently, the only way to install the
ath9k_htc firmware from the repositories is through the non-free
atheros-firmware package.
The firmware images (htc_7010.fw and htc_9271.fw) are currently
available at linux-firmware.git[2]. By following the build
instructions[3], one can build an htc_9271.fw image that is
bit-identical to the one at linux-firmware.git.
So, since it is possible to build a bit-identical 9271 image, and since
none of the other free firmware files are rebuilt by the package,
perhaps the 9271 binary available at linux-firmware.git could simply be
included in firmware-linux-free without modification? A similar issue[4]
with the carl9170 driver and its firmware was resolved in this way.
As for the 7010.fw image, I have not been able to build an image that is
identical to its linux-firmware.git counterpart, so I am unsure what the
best solution would be in this case. Any suggestions?
[1] http://www.linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/ath9k_htc/#Firmware
[2]
https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/firmware/linux-firmware.git/tree/ath9k_htc
[3]
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/qca/open-ath9k-htc-firmware/master/README
[4] https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=635840
Best,
Mads
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