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39 .Nd "Atheros IEEE 802.11 wireless network driver"
41 To compile this driver into the kernel,
42 place the following lines in your
43 kernel configuration file:
44 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
47 .Cd "device ath_rate_sample"
51 Alternatively, to load the driver as a
52 module at boot time, place the following line in
54 .Bd -literal -offset indent
60 driver provides support for wireless network adapters based on
61 the Atheros AR5210, AR5211, and AR5212 programming api's.
62 These api's are used by a wide variety of chips; all chips with
63 a PCI and/or CardBus interface are supported.
64 Chip-specific support is provided by the Atheros Hardware Access Layer
65 (HAL), that is packaged separately.
67 Supported features include 802.11 and 802.3 frames, power management, BSS,
68 IBSS, and host-based access point operation modes.
69 All host/device interaction is via DMA.
73 driver encapsulates all IP and ARP traffic as 802.11 frames, however
74 it can receive either 802.11 or 802.3 frames.
75 Transmit speed and operating mode is selectable
76 and depends on the specific chipset.
77 AR5210-based devices support 802.11a operation with transmit speeds
78 of 6 Mbps, 9 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 18 Mbps, 24 Mbps, 36 Mbps, 48 Mbps, and 54 Mbps.
79 AR5211-based devices support 802.11a and 802.11b operation with transmit
80 speeds as above for 802.11a operation and
81 1Mbps, 2Mbps, 5.5 Mbps and 11Mbps for 802.11b operation.
82 AR5212-based devices support 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g operation
83 with transmit speeds appropriate to each.
84 Most chips also support an Atheros Turbo Mode (TM) that operates in
85 the 5Ghz frequency range with 2x the transmit speeds.
86 Some chips also support Turbo mode in the 2.4Ghz range with 802.11g
87 though this support is not presently available due to regulatory requirements.
88 (Note that Turbo modes are, however,
89 only interoperable with other Atheros-based devices.)
90 The actual transmit speed used is dependent on signal quality and the
92 algorithm employed by the driver.
93 All chips support WEP encryption.
94 The AR5212 has hardware support for the AES-CCM, TKIP, and Michael cryptographic
95 operations required for WPA.
96 To enable encryption, use
102 driver configures the card for BSS operation (aka infrastructure
104 This mode requires the use of an access point (base station).
108 driver also supports the standard IBSS point-to-point mode
109 where stations can communicate amongst themselves without the
110 aid of an access point.
112 The driver may also be configured to operate in hostap mode.
113 In this mode a host may function as an access point (base station).
114 Access points are different than operating in IBSS mode.
115 They operate in BSS mode.
116 They allow for easier roaming and bridge all Ethernet traffic such
117 that machines connected via an access point appear to be on the local
120 For more information on configuring this device, see
123 Devices supported by the
125 driver come in either Cardbus or mini-PCI packages.
126 Wireless cards in Cardbus slots may be inserted and ejected on the fly.
128 The following cards are among those supported by the
132 .Bl -column -compact "Samsung SWL-5200N" "AR5212" "Cardbus" "a/b/g"
133 .It Em "Card Chip Bus Standard"
134 .It "Aztech WL830PC AR5212 CardBus b/g"
135 .It "Cisco AIR-CB21AG AR5115 Cardbus a/b/g"
136 .It "Cisco AIR-PI21AG AR5115 PCI a/b/g"
137 .It "D-Link DWL-A650 AR5210 CardBus a"
138 .It "D-Link DWL-AB650 AR5211 CardBus a/b"
139 .It "D-Link DWL-A520 AR5210 PCI a"
140 .It "D-Link DWL-AG520 AR5212 PCI a/b/g"
141 .It "D-Link DWL-AG650 AR5212 CardBus a/b/g"
142 .It "D-Link DWL-G520B AR5212 PCI b/g"
143 .It "D-Link DWL-G650B AR5212 CardBus b/g"
144 .It "Elecom LD-WL54AG AR5212 Cardbus a/b/g"
145 .It "Elecom LD-WL54 AR5211 Cardbus a"
146 .It "Fujitsu E5454 AR5212 Cardbus a/b/g"
147 .It "Fujitsu FMV-JW481 AR5212 Cardbus a/b/g"
148 .It "Fujitsu E5454 AR5212 Cardbus a/b/g"
149 .It "HP NC4000 AR5212 PCI a/b/g"
150 .It "I/O Data WN-AB AR5212 CardBus a/b"
151 .It "I/O Data WN-AG AR5212 CardBus a/b/g"
152 .It "I/O Data WN-A54 AR5212 CardBus a"
153 .It "Linksys WMP55AG AR5212 PCI a/b/g"
154 .It "Linksys WPC51AB AR5211 CardBus a/b"
155 .It "Linksys WPC55AG AR5212 CardBus a/b/g"
156 .It "NEC PA-WL/54AG AR5212 CardBus a/b/g"
157 .It "Netgear WAG311 AR5212 PCI a/b/g"
158 .It "Netgear WAB501 AR5211 CardBus a/b"
159 .It "Netgear WAG511 AR5212 CardBus a/b/g"
160 .It "Netgear WG311T AR5212 PCI b/g"
161 .It "Netgear WG511T AR5212 CardBus b/g"
162 .It "Orinoco 8480 AR5212 CardBus a/b/g"
163 .It "Orinoco 8470WD AR5212 CardBus a/b/g"
164 .It "Proxim Skyline 4030 AR5210 CardBus a"
165 .It "Proxim Skyline 4032 AR5210 PCI a"
166 .It "Samsung SWL-5200N AR5212 CardBus a/b/g"
167 .It "SMC SMC2536W-AG AR5212 CardBus a/b/g"
168 .It "SMC SMC2735W AR5210 CardBus a"
169 .It "Sony PCWA-C700 AR5212 Cardbus a/b"
170 .It "Sony PCWA-C300S AR5212 Cardbus b/g"
171 .It "Sony PCWA-C500 AR5210 Cardbus a"
172 .It "3Com 3CRPAG175 AR5212 CardBus a/b/g"
175 An up to date list can be found at
176 .Pa http://customerproducts.atheros.com/customerproducts .
178 Join an existing BSS network (ie: connect to an access point):
180 .Dl "ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.20 netmask 0xffffff00"
182 Join a specific BSS network with network name
185 .Dl "ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.20 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net"
187 Join a specific BSS network with WEP encryption:
188 .Bd -literal -offset indent
189 ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.20 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net \e
190 wepmode on wepkey 0x8736639624
193 Join/create an 802.11b IBSS network with network name
195 .Bd -literal -offset indent
196 ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.22 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net \e
197 mode 11b mediaopt adhoc
200 Create an 802.11g host-based access point:
201 .Bd -literal -offset indent
202 ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.10 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_ap \e
203 mode 11g mediaopt hostap
206 Create an 802.11a host-based access point with WEP enabled:
207 .Bd -literal -offset indent
208 ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.10 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_ap \e
209 wepmode on wepkey 0x1234567890 mode 11a mediaopt hostap
212 Create a host-based wireless bridge to fxp0:
213 .Bd -literal -offset indent
214 ifconfig ath0 inet up ssid my_ap media DS/11Mbps mediaopt hostap
215 sysctl net.inet.ip.check_interface=0
217 ifconfig bridge0 create
218 ifconfig bridge0 addm ath0 addm fxp0
221 This will give you the same functionality as an access point.
224 .It "ath%d: unable to attach hardware; HAL status %u"
225 The Atheros Hardware Access Layer was unable to configure the hardware
227 The status code is explained in the HAL include file
228 .Pa sys/contrib/dev/ath/ah.h .
229 .It "ath%d: failed to allocate descriptors: %d"
230 The driver was unable to allocate contiguous memory for the transmit
231 and receive descriptors.
232 This usually indicates system memory is scarce and/or fragmented.
233 .It "ath%d: unable to setup a data xmit queue!"
234 The request to the HAL to set up the transmit queue for normal
236 This should not happen.
237 .It "ath%d: unable to setup a beacon xmit queue!"
238 The request to the HAL to set up the transmit queue for 802.11 beacon frames
240 This should not happen.
241 .It "ath%d: 802.11 address: %s"
242 The MAC address programmed in the EEPROM is displayed.
243 .It "ath%d: hardware error; resetting"
244 An unrecoverable error in the hardware occurred.
245 Errors of this sort include unrecoverable DMA errors.
246 The driver will reset the hardware and continue.
247 .It "ath%d: rx FIFO overrun; resetting"
248 The receive FIFO in the hardware overflowed before the data could be
249 transferred to the host.
250 This typically occurs because the hardware ran short of receive
251 descriptors and had no place to transfer received data.
252 The driver will reset the hardware and continue.
253 .It "ath%d: unable to reset hardware; hal status %u"
254 The Atheros Hardware Access Layer was unable to reset the hardware
256 The status code is explained in the HAL include file
257 .Pa sys/contrib/dev/ath/ah.h .
258 This should not happen.
259 .It "ath%d: unable to start recv logic"
260 The driver was unable to restart frame reception.
261 This should not happen.
262 .It "ath%d: device timeout"
263 A frame dispatched to the hardware for transmission did not complete in time.
264 The driver will reset the hardware and continue.
265 This should not happen.
266 .It "ath%d: bogus xmit rate 0x%x"
267 An invalid transmit rate was specified for an outgoing frame.
268 The frame is discarded.
269 This should not happen.
270 .It "ath%d: ath_chan_set: unable to reset channel %u (%u Mhz)"
271 The Atheros Hardware Access Layer was unable to reset the hardware
272 when switching channels during scanning.
273 This should not happen.
274 .It "ath%d: unable to allocate channel table"
275 The driver was unable to allocate memory for the table used to hold
276 the set of available channels.
277 .It "ath%d: unable to collect channel list from hal"
278 A problem occurred while querying the HAL to find the set of available
279 channels for the device.
280 This should not happen.
281 .It "ath%d: failed to enable memory mapping"
282 The driver was unable to enable memory-mapped I/O to the PCI device registers.
283 This should not happen.
284 .It "ath%d: failed to enable bus mastering"
285 The driver was unable to enable the device as a PCI bus master for doing DMA.
286 This should not happen.
287 .It "ath%d: cannot map register space"
288 The driver was unable to map the device registers into the host address space.
289 This should not happen.
290 .It "ath%d: could not map interrupt"
291 The driver was unable to allocate an IRQ for the device interrupt.
292 This should not happen.
293 .It "ath%d: could not establish interrupt"
294 The driver was unable to install the device interrupt handler.
295 This should not happen.
311 device driver first appeared in
314 Different regulatory domains have different default channels for adhoc
318 for information on how to change the channel.
321 for information on different regulatory domains.
322 Different regulatory domains may not be able to communicate with each
323 other with 802.11a as different regulatory domains do not necessarily
324 have overlapping channels.
326 Revision A1 of the D-LINK DWL-G520 and DWL-G650 are based on an
327 Intersil PrismGT chip and are not supported by this driver.
329 There is no software retransmit; only hardware retransmit is used.
331 The driver does not fully enable power-save operation of the chip;
332 consequently power use is suboptimal.
334 The driver honors the regulatory domain programmed into the EEPROM of a
335 device and does not support overriding this setting.
336 This is done to insure compliance with local regulatory agencies when
337 operating as an access point.
338 Unfortunately this also means that devices purchased for use in one locale
339 may not be usable in another.
340 Changes are planned to remove this restriction when operating in station mode.
342 WPA is not supported for 5210 parts.
344 Atheros' SuperG functionality is not supported.