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WI(4) BSD Kernel Interfaces Manual WI(4)

NAME

wi — Lucent Hermes, Intersil PRISM and Spectrum24 IEEE 802.11 driver

SYNOPSIS

To compile this driver into the kernel, place the following lines in your kernel configuration file:

device wi
device wlan

Alternatively, to load the driver as a module at boot time, place the following line in loader.conf(5):

if_wi_load="YES"

DESCRIPTION

The wi driver provides support for wireless network adapters based around the Lucent Hermes, Intersil PRISM-II, Intersil PRISM-2.5, Intersil Prism-3, and Symbol Spectrum24 chipsets. All five chipsets provide a similar interface to the driver.

Supported features include 802.11 and 802.3 frames, power management, BSS, IBSS, WDS and old-style Lucent ad-hoc operation modes. Cards based on the Intersil PRISM chips also support a host-based access point mode which allows a card to act as a normal access point (with some assistance from the wi driver). The Lucent Hermes and Symbol Spectrum24 chipsets do not contain this functionality. The PRISM family of chips do not support the WDS functionality. All host/device interaction is via programmed I/O, even on those cards that support a DMA interface.

The wi driver encapsulates all IP and ARP traffic as 802.11 frames, however it can receive either 802.11 or 802.3 frames. Transmit speed is selectable between 1Mbps, 2Mbps, 5.5 Mbps and 11Mbps depending on your hardware. Most hardware supports 11Mbps where the signal quality allows, but falls back to slower speeds when it does not. Except for the Lucent WaveLAN Bronze cards, all cards supported by the wi driver support WEP for encryption. To enable encryption, use ifconfig(8) as shown below.

By default, the wi driver configures the card for BSS operation (aka infrastructure mode). This mode requires the use of an access point (base station).

The wi driver also supports a point-to-point mode where stations can communicate amongst themselves without the aid of an access point. Note that there are two possible point-to-point modes. One mode, referred to as ‘‘ad-hoc demo mode’’, or ‘‘legacy Lucent ad-hoc mode’’, predates the IEEE 802.11 specification and so may not interoperate with cards from different vendors. The standardized point-to-point mode is called IBSS (or confusingly just ad-hoc mode), but is not supported by cards with very old firmware revisions. If your cards supports IBSS mode, it is recommended that you use it in preference to the ‘‘ad-hoc demo mode’’ in new installations.

Cards supported by the driver based on the Intersil PRISM family of chips also have a host-based access point mode which allows the card to act as an access point (base station). Access points are different than operating in IBSS mode. They operate in BSS mode. They allow for easier roaming and bridge all Ethernet traffic such that machines connected via an access point appear to be on the local Ethernet segment.

For more information on configuring this device, see ifconfig(8).

Cards supported by the wi driver come in a variety of packages, though the most common are of the PCMCIA type. In many cases, the PCI version of a wireless card is simply a PCMCIA card bundled with a PCI adapter. The PCI adapters come in two flavors: true PCMCIA bridges and dumb PCMCIA bridges. A true PCMCIA bridge (such as those sold by Lucent) will attach as a real PCMCIA controller. The wireless card will then attach to the PCMCIA bus. Wireless cards in PCMCIA slots may be inserted and ejected on the fly.

A dumb bridge, on the other hand, does not show up as a true PCMCIA bus. The wireless card will simply appear to the host as a normal PCI device and will not require any PCMCIA support. Cards in this type of adapter should only be removed when the machine is powered down.

The following cards are among those supported by the wi driver:

Card Chip Bus

	3Com AirConnect 3CRWE737A	Spectrum24	PCMCIA
	3Com AirConnect 3CRWE777A	Prism-II	PCI
	Accton airDirect WN3301		PCMCIA
	ACTIONTEC HWC01170	Prism-2.5	PCMCIA
	Adaptech ANW-8030	Prism-3	PCMCIA
	Addtron AWP-100	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Adtec Adlink/340C	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Airvast WN 100	Prism-3	PCMCIA
	Airway 802.11 Adapter		PCMCIA
	Agere Orinoco	Hermes	PCMCIA
	Allied Telesis WR211PCM	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	ArTem OnAir	Prism?	PCMCIA
	Asus WL100	Prism-2.5	PCMCIA
	Avaya Wireless	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Bay eMobility 11B	Prism-2.5?	PCMCIA
	Blue Concentric Circle WL-379F	Prism-II	CF
	BreezeNet Wireless	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Buffalo WLI-PCM-S11	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Buffalo WLI-PCM-L11G	Hermes	PCMCIA
	Buffalo WLI-CF-S11G	Prism-II	CF
	Buffalo WLI2-CF-S11G	Prism 2.5	CF
	Cabletron RoamAbout	Hermes	PCMCIA
	Compaq Agency NC5004	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Compaq WL100	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Compaq WL110	Hermes	PCMCIA
	Compaq WL200	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Contec FLEXLAN/FX-DS110-PCC	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Corega PCC-11	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Corega PCCA-11	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Corega PCCB-11	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Corega CGWLPCIA11	Prism-II	PCI
	Dell TrueMobile 1150	Hermes	PCMCIA
	Dlink Air 660	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Dlink DWL520	Prism-2.5	PCI
	Dlink DWL650	Prism-2.5	PCMCIA
	ELECOM Air@Hawk/LD-WL11/PCC		PCMCIA
	ELSA MC-11		PCMCIA
	ELSA XI300	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	ELSA XI800	Prism-II	CF
	EMTAC A2424i	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Ericsson Wireless LAN CARD C11	Spectrum24	PCMCIA
	Farallon Skyline	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Gemtek WL-311	Prism-2.5	PCMCIA
	Hawking Technology WE110P	Prism-2.5	PCMCIA
	Home Wireless Networks	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	IBM High Rate Wireless	Hermes	PCMCIA
	ICOM SL-1100	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	I-O DATA WN-B11/PCM	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Intel PRO/Wireless 2011	Spectrum24	PCMCIA
	Intersil Prism II	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Intersil Mini-PCI	Prism-2.5	PCI
	Intersil ISL37100P	Prism-3	PCMCIA
	Intersil ISL37110P	Prism-3	PCMCIA
	Intersil ISL37300P	Prism-3	PCMCIA
	Laneed Wireless		PCMCIA
	Linksys Instant Wireless WPC11	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Linksys Instant Wireless WPC11 2.5	Prism-2.5	PCMCIA
	Linksys Instant Wireless WPC11 3.0	Prism-3	PCMCIA
	Linksys WCF11	Prism-3	PCMCIA
	Linksys WCF12	Prism-3	CF
	Lucent WaveLAN	Hermes	PCMCIA
	Melco Airconnect	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Microsoft MN-520 WLAN	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	NANOSPEED ROOT-RZ2000	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	NCR WaveLAN/IEEE 802.11		PCMCIA
	NDC/Sohoware NCP130	Prism-II	PCI
	NEC CMZ-RT-WP	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	NEC PK-WL001	Lucent	PCMCIA
	NEC PC-WL/11C	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Netgear MA311	Prism-2.5	PCI
	Netgear MA401	Prism-II/2.5	PCMCIA
	Netgear MA401RA	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Netgear MA701	Prism-II	CF
	NOKIA C020 WLAN	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	NOKIA C110 WLAN	Prism-2.5	PCMCIA
	NTT-ME 11Mbps Wireless LAN	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Planex GeoWave/GW-NS110	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Planex GW-NS11H	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Proxim Harmony	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Proxim RangeLAN-DS	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Samsung MagicLAN SWL-2000N	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	SENAO SL-2511CD	Prism-3	PCMCIA
	Siemens SpeedStream SS1021	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	SMC 2532W-B	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	SMC 2602 EZ Connect (3.3V)	Prism-II	PCI or PCMCIA
	SMC 2632 EZ Connect	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Socket Low Power WLAN-CF	Prism-II	CF
	Sony PCWA-C100	Lucent	PCMCIA
	Sony PEGA-WL110	Prism-2.5	PCMCIA
	Symbol Spectrum24	Spectrum24	PCMCIA
	Symbol LA-4100	Spectrum24	CF
	TDK LAK-CD011WL	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	Toshiba Wireless LAN Card	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	U.S. Robotics Wireless Card 2410	Prism-II	PCMCIA
	YIS YWL-11B	Prism-II	PCMCIA

Several vendors sell PCI adapters built around the PLX Technology 9050 or 9052 chip. The following such adapters are supported or expected to work:

3Com AirConnect 3CRWE777A (3.3V)
Belkin F5D6000 (a rebadged WL11000P)
Eumitcom WL11000P
Global Sun Technology GL24110P (untested)
Global Sun Technology GL24110P02
LinkSys WDT11 (a rebadged GL24110P02)
Netgear MA301
US Robotics 2415 (rebadged WL11000P)
Wisecom Wireless LAN PCI Adapter

The following adapters have the same model numbers as those listed above, but might not work if the actual card is after the change away from the Prism family:

DLink DWL520

EXAMPLES

Join an existing BSS network (ie: connect to an access point):

ifconfig wi0 inet 192.168.0.20 netmask 0xffffff00

Join a specific BSS network with network name ‘‘my_net’’:

ifconfig wi0 inet 192.168.0.20 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net

Join a specific BSS network with WEP encryption:

ifconfig wi0 inet 192.168.0.20 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net \

wepmode on wepkey 0x8736639624

Join a Lucent legacy demo ad-hoc network with network name ‘‘my_net’’:

ifconfig wi0 inet 192.168.0.20 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net \

media DS/11Mbps mediaopt adhoc,link0

Join/create an IBSS network with network name ‘‘my_net’’:

ifconfig wi0 inet 192.168.0.22 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net \

media DS/11Mbps mediaopt adhoc

Create a host-based access point (Prism only):

ifconfig wi0 inet 192.168.0.10 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_ap \

media DS/11Mbps mediaopt hostap

Create a host-based access point with WEP enabled (Prism only):

ifconfig wi0 inet 192.168.0.10 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_ap \

	wepmode on wepkey 0x1234567890 media DS/11Mbps \
	mediaopt hostap

Create a host-based wireless bridge to fxp0 (Prism only):

ifconfig wi0 inet up ssid my_ap media DS/11Mbps mediaopt hostap
sysctl net.inet.ip.check_interface=0
ifconfig bridge0 create
ifconfig bridge0 addm wi0 addm fxp0 up

This will give you the same functionality as an access point.

DIAGNOSTICS

wi%d: init failed  The WaveLAN card failed to become ready after an initialization command was issued.

wi%d: failed to allocate %d bytes on NIC  The driver was unable to allocate memory for transmit frames in the NIC’s on-board RAM. This can also be an indication of an incorrectly configured interrupt.

wi%d: device timeout  The WaveLAN card failed to generate an interrupt to acknowledge a transmit command.

SEE ALSO

altq(4), an(4), arp(4), ath(4), netintro(4), pccard(4), pccbb(4), pcic(4), wlan(4), ifconfig(8),

HCF Light programming specification

,

http://www.wavelan.com .

HISTORY

The wi device driver first appeared in FreeBSD 3.0.

AUTHORS

The wi driver was written by Bill Paul 〈 wpaul AT ctr DOT columbia DOT edu〉 . This man page comes from OpenBSD.

CAVEATS

Different regulatory domains have different default channels for adhoc mode. See ifconfig(8) for information on how to change the channel. The Intersil Prism family of chips’ host-based access point mode has bugs for station firmware versions prior to 0.8.3. The driver currently precludes hostap functionality with older station firmware. The best version of the station firmware for the Prism family of chips seems to be 1.4.9. Some users of Prism-II and 2.5 based cards report that station firmware version 1.3.4 works better for them in hostap than 1.4.9. Older versions of the Prism station firmware have a number of issues with hostap mode. The IBSS/adhoc mode appears to work well on station firmware 1.3.1 and later. The IBSS/adhoc mode appears to have problems for some people with older versions of station firmware.

Lucent cards prior to firmware version 6.0.6 do not support IBSS mode. These cards support only the pre-802.11 mode known as ‘‘demo ad-hoc mode’’ which does not interoperate with stations in IBSS mode.

Prism cards prior to version 0.8.0 do not support IBSS mode.

Symbol cards prior to version 2.50.00 do not support IBSS mode.

BUGS

Not all the new messages are documented here, and many of them are indications of transient errors that are not indications of serious problems.

WL200 PCI wireless cards are based on a Cirrus Logic CL-PD6729 bridge chips glued to an Intersil Prism-II PCMCIA chipset w/o the PC Card form factor being present. These chips are special and require special care to use properly. One must set hw.pcic.pd6729_intr_path="2" in /boot/loader.conf. This tells the PC Card system to use PCI interrupts for this odd beast. It is not possible to know automatically which kind of interrupts to use. OLDCARD devices support this device. NEWCARD devices (pccbb(4) and pccard(4)) do not support it at this time.

BSD July 16, 2005 BSD