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+********************** Linux-wlan-ng FAQ **************************
+For additions, corrections, and clarifications, send mail to
+solomon@linux-wlan.com with FAQ in the subject.
+*******************************************************************
+
+Q: When will linux-wlan-ng be merged into the mainline kernel?
+
+ Short answer: Never.
+
+ First, the linux-netdev people will soundly reject this driver.
+ I don't begrudge them for this; indeed in their position I'd do
+ exactly the same. It's a sound engineering decision.
+
+ linux-wlan-ng is obselete, and effort spent fixing it is better
+ spent elsewhere. You can't even buy the hardware any longer.
+
+ The original design for linux-wlan-ng was to separate the 802.11
+ stack from the actual hardware driver. This added a lot of
+ complexity, but would greatly ease the pain of supporitng
+ multiple hardware types. Unfortunately, the implementation was
+ turned out to be somewhat flawed, and hardware manufaturers went
+ away from the thick-mac model, leaving linux-wlan-ng overly
+ complex for what it did.
+
+ (Ironically, the linux kernel is adopting a similar
+ separation model, but it is a long way off from being ready)
+
+ So why not rewrite linux-wlan-ng to be more suitable, the
+ enterprising reader may ask?
+
+ The kernel already has two drivers for prism2 (cs/pci/plx)
+ hardware -- hostap and orinoco. linux-wlan-ng basically
+ has three features not present in kernel drivers:
+
+ 1) USB support
+ 2) nearly complete implemettion of the 802.11 MIB/MLME
+ 3) Firmware-based AP support
+
+ (3) requires an expensive license that isn't even available any
+ longer, as the hostap mode works far better -- and is already
+ supported by in-kernel drivers.
+
+ (2) would need to be removed or completely rewritten in order to
+ be merged, as it does not fit within existing kernel APIs, and
+ it would be effectively merging new kernel APIs.
+
+ (1) Is the only truly unique thing that linux-wlan-ng does that
+ is generally needed any more.
+
+ To merge it into the kernel, we'd need to strip out (2), which
+ would necessitate a complete rewrite -- to the point where
+ writing a new driver from scratch is easier.
+
+ Basically, it would take far less effort to add USB
+ support to the in-kernel drivers than it would to make
+ linux-wlan-ng acceptable to be merged.
+
+ In other words, the short answer is: Never.
+
+Q: It doesn't work/compile/sing/dance!
+
+ First, make sure you're using the latest linux-wlan-ng release
+ from http://www.linux-wlan-ng.org. New releases are infrequent,
+ but tthey happen for a reason.
+
+ If you are using the latest release, you may want to obtain the
+ latest development sources via subversion:
+
+ svn co svn://svn.shaftnet.org/linux-wlan-ng/trunk
+
+ Questions and problems with the developement code should be sent
+ to the development mailing list, at:
+
+ linux-wlan-devel@lists.linux-wlan.com
+
+Q: What devices does the linux-wlan-ng driver support?
+
+ Currently, the linux-wlan-ng driver supports the Intersil
+ Prism2/2.5/3 chipsets. These chipsets are used in a wide
+ variety of PCMCIA, PCI, and USB products. If it has a Prism
+ chip in it, linux-wlan-ng should support it.
+
+Q: Will linux-wlan-ng support some feature or funkiness in
+ the <pick one> Linux distribution?
+
+ Our development target always consists of stock kernels from
+ kernel.org and stock pcmcia_cs. If a given distribution
+ chooses to do something funky, we rely on users of that
+ distribution to contribute patches to deal with their
+ funkiness.
+
+ The quickest way to get some action on this kind of item is to
+ communicate with any users of the same distribution that you
+ can find on the linux-wlan-[devel|user] lists about working up
+ a patch. If it's reasonably sane and doesn't break things for
+ our development environment or for other distributions, we'll
+ be more than happy to roll that patch into the next release.
+
+Q: What does "resultcode=implementation_failure" mean?
+
+ Complicated Answer:
+ Each command that can be issued with wlanctl-ng returns a status
+ called "resultcode". Resultcode is something that we picked up
+ from the 802.11 MLME definition. In the standard, resultcode
+ is an enumeration with a fixed set of values. To be able to
+ report failures that a driver detects that are outside the
+ context of the 802.11 standard set of resultcode values, we
+ invented the "implementation_failure" value.
+
+ Simple Answer:
+ Go look in your kernel log for more detailed error information.
+
+Q: I'm trying to use the HostAP/orinoco/aironet/wvlan driver and it
+ won't work!
+
+ That has nothing to do with the linux-wlan-ng driver. Go ask
+ those responsible for those drivers.
+
+Q: Can I get Debian packages of linux-wlan-ng?
+
+A: Packages of linux-wlan-ng are now available in the Debian stable
+ tree.
+
+Q: Where do I find some RPMS for linux-wlan-ng? The ones on
+ the ftp are dreadfully out of date!
+
+ http://prism2.unixguru.raleigh.nc.us/
+
+ (Maintained by Tim Miller)
+
+Q: I installed the RPMs/compiled the driver and installed it and it
+ won't work when I try to run 'ifup wlan0' or whatnot.
+
+ First, ensure you're running the most up-to-date version of
+ the driver. Many problems have been fixed in newer releases.
+
+ 802.11 wireless networks are much more complex than wired
+ ethernet networks. They require much more configuration than
+ an ip address. If you are using pcmcia, edit the file
+ /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.opts to set the network parameters. For
+ PCI, PLX, or USB adapters, you need to edit /etc/wlan.conf.
+
+ You also need to make sure you have the correct settings in
+ /etc/modules.conf (alias wlan0 prism2_usb).
+
+ Might we suggest you read the README file?
+
+Q: When I try to load the driver, I get a whole bunch of errors about
+ unresolved symbols.
+
+ The running kernel does not match the kernel the driver was
+ compiled for. If you downloaded a RPM, make sure you
+ downloaded the correct version for your kernel. This should not
+ happen if you compiled the driver from source -- if it does, the
+ kernel configuration you compiled against does not match the
+ running kernel. Probably a screwed-up distro kernel.
+
+Q: I have a DWL-520 and it won't work!
+
+ The DWL-520 claims to require a PCI 2.2 compliant motherboard.
+ Only fairly new machines support this. Yes, the box lies. :)
+ Check the documentation for your system and/or motherboard to see if
+ it is PCI 2.2 compliant.
+
+ NOTE: We have some reports of the DWL-520 working on PCI 2.1
+ motherboards; your mileage may vary. See the following URL:
+
+ http://www.personaltelco.net/index.cgi/DlinkDwl520
+
+ NOTE: The Linksys WMP11 v2.7 is NOT prism-based, and
+ thus not supported by this driver. The Actiontec PCI board is
+ still known to be prism based; you may want to try that instead.
+
+Q: All I see is "Tx attempt prior to association, frame dropped"
+
+ You are not associated with an access point. Double-check the
+ settings in /etc/wlan.conf (USB, PCI, PLX) or /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.opts
+ (for PCMCIA users). If all of these settings are correct (you
+ did check with your admin, right?) make sure the access point
+ doesn't have a MAC filter installed or has different WEP settings.
+
+ If all of this is verified correct, and are using a PCMCIA
+ card, try setting the "irq_mode=0" option. See the
+ documentaiton in the pcmcia-cs sources.
+
+Q: I installed the modules, performed a 'wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_autojoin'
+ command, and it still won't work!
+
+ You did read the README, didn't you? You need to perform a
+ "wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_ifstate ifstate=enable" in order to
+ torn on the radio. The pcmcia scripts and the /etc/init.d/wlan
+ script do this for you.
+
+Q: I have a XXX USB 802.11b device, will it work with this driver?
+
+ Most 802.11b USB devices use the ATMEL AT76C503A chipset, which
+ is not supported by the linux-wlan-ng project. However, there
+ are some prism2.5-based USB adapters, most notably the Linksys
+ WUSB v2.5. The other versions (1.0, 2.6, 3.0) are based on
+ ATMEL chipsets. Another supported USB device is the Actiontec
+ 802UI3.
+
+Q: My prism2.5-based USB adapter won't work!
+
+ An excellent guide can be found at:
+
+ http://www.fuw.edu.pl/~pliszka/hints/prism2.html
+
+Q: My prism2.5-based USB adapter won't come up if it's plugged in at boot!
+
+ Thanks to buggy firmware, it is often necessary to perform a
+ device reset on initialization. You can perform this by adding
+ "options prism2_usb prism2_doreset=1" in your /etc/modules.conf
+
+ Intersil has released Primary firmware 1.1.2, which seems to
+ have resolved this problem, at least on our test machines.
+
+Q: My PC crashes when the USB device is plugged in!
+
+ This is a result of the port reset necessitated by buggy firmware.
+
+ You are probably using the 'usb-uhci' driver with an intel
+ chipset. Unfortunately, the crashes happen deep within the USB
+ core, so there's nothing the linux-wlan-ng driver can do.
+
+ In the mean time, try using the 'uhci' host controller driver
+ instead ("alias usb-controller uhci" in /etc/modules.conf), or
+ plug the USB device into a hub.
+
+ Linux kernel 2.4.19 is known to improve the situation somewhat,
+ but the right way to fix it is to turn off the port reset
+ (options prism2_usb prism2_doreset=0). The current firmware
+ from Intersil alleviates the need to perform the reset.
+
+ UPDATE: if you're using linux-wlan-ng 0.2.1-pre6 or newer and
+ kernel < 2.4.22-pre, the 'uhci' driver will NOT work without a
+ kernel patch! See:
+
+ http://lists.linux-wlan.com/pipermail/linux-wlan-devel/2003-May/002369.html
+
+Q: How come I can't transmit when in monitor mode?
+
+ You can't. It's a fundamental "feature" of the hardware.
+
+Q: How come the /proc/net/wireless info isn't updated when in monitor mode?
+
+ The definition of "signal quality" refers to the quality of the
+ link to the associated access point. When you're in monitor
+ mode, you're not associated, so this information is by defintion
+ irrelevant.
+
+ And regardless, the hardware doesn't update the registers we poll to
+ obtain this information while in monitor mode.
+
+Q: What do the various monitor mode options do?
+
+ enable=[true/false] Turn it on and off. required.
+ channel=[1-14] Sniff channel. required.
+ prismheader=[true/false] Optionally preppend a special
+ radio header on the packet.
+ Defaults to off.
+ keepwepflags=[true/false] If you had WEP configured correctly
+ the card will perform WEP decoding.
+ Defaults to off.
+ stripfcs=[true/false] When true, the 802.11 FCS is not
+ stripped from incoming packets.
+ Defaults off.
+ truncate=[number] Truncates the captured frame.
+
+Q: How come iwconfig/iwspy/[random other wireless tool] doesn't work?
+
+ linux-wlan-ng only supports a subset of the wireless
+ extensions; generally read-only things. However, you won't
+ need any of those tools as wlan-ng comes with its own set of
+ tools that closely mirror the 802.11 spec. Have a look
+ through the documentation and supplied scripts.
+
+ That said, if more complete (ie read/write) wireless extension
+ support is really important to you, you're more than welcome to
+ implement it and submit a patch.
+
+ As of 0.1.16-pre1, the wireless extension plumbing has been
+ re-written, and further support is much easier now. And many
+ more bits are hooked up now than before.
+
+Q: How do I know exactly what prism variant is on my card?
+
+ When you load the driver, you see a line which reads like:
+
+ ident: nic h/w id=0x8008 1.0.0
+
+ 1.0.0 is the hardware revision. Below is a (partial) list of IDs.
+
+ 0x8003, 0x8008 : Prism2 PCMCIA
+
+ 0x800b, 0x800c : Prism2.5 PCMCIA
+ 0x8012, 0x8013 : Prism2.5 PCI
+ 0x801a, 0x801b : Prism3 PCMCIA
+ 0x8021, 0x8022 : Prism3 PCI
+
+ 0x800f, 0x8010 : Prism2.5 USB (3863)
+ 0x801e, 0x801f : Prism2.5 USB (3861B)
+ 0x8025, 0x8026 : Prism3 USB
+
+Q: How do I know what firmware my card has?
+
+ After the driver is loaded and brought into ifstate=enable, you
+ will see the following lines in the kernel log: (eg dmesg |grep ident)
+
+ ident: pri f/w: id=0x15 0.3.0
+ ident: sta f/w: id=0x1f 1.7.1
+
+ In this case, the card has primary firmware 0.3.0 and secondary
+ firmware 1.7.1.
+
+ Or, if you are using 0.2.1-pre17 or newer:
+ 'cat /proc/net/p80211/wlan0/nsd' with the card running.
+
+Q: How can I update my firmware under Linux?
+
+ Use the 'prism2dl' utility. While it does its utmost to ensure
+ you don't fry your card, use it at your own risk. Even the
+ Intersil-supplied tools fail occasionally.
+
+Q: Where can I download updated firmware for my Prism2/2.5/3-based card?
+
+ As of linux-wlan-ng 0.2.1-pre21, the ram download firmware for
+ all supported card types is bundled with the driver. These
+ images cannot be flashed.
+
+ A general FAQ on firmware updating is here:
+ http://linux.junsun.net/intersil-prism
+
+ It includes links to some sites with firmware images.
+
+ We strongly recommend against flashing a new image, instead one
+ should use the ram-download images that are loaded when the
+ driver starts, much like the Windows drivers do.
+
+ See the instructions below for getting this to work.
+
+Q: What's this about "ram downloading"?
+
+ This means the driver loads up a firmware images directly into
+ card RAM, instead of using the firmware stored in the card's
+ flash ROM. This lets us ensure we are using the lastest available
+ code without risking ruining the hardware due to a bad flashing.
+
+ linux-wlan-ng will automatically perform a RAM download if you have
+ the necessary firmware images.
+
+Q: Okay, I have new ram download firmware images, where do I put them?
+
+ copy the *hex files into linux-wlan-ng-XXXX/src/prism2/
+ then build and install the driver per usual.
+
+Q: Can I use my 802.11b card as an AP under Linux?
+
+ Yes, and in the true free software fashion, there are several
+ ways:
+
+ a) linux-wlan-ng supports AP operation by using special tertiary
+ firmware on prism devices. This firmware is not generally
+ available, however. Contact Intersil for licensing terms.
+
+ b) The Prism2 HostAP driver uses the special HostAP mode of the
+ prism chipsets. http://people.ssh.com/jkm/Prism2/
+
+Q: I have a PCI adapter, and upon resuming from a suspend, the device is not
+ responsive.
+
+ Much like you need to run some commands to bring the card to life
+ when the PC is first booted, you also need to perform similar
+ steps when the card comes out of suspend. Run '/etc/init.d/wlan start'
+ and all should be well.
+
+ You'll need to be running 0.1.15-pre3 or newer for this to work
+ properly.
+
+ The prism2.5/3 chipsets do not support PCI power management, so
+ this is the best we can realistically do.
+
+Q: I have a Linksys WMP11, and under moderate to heavy traffic, I get
+ errors like "unknown port number" and "invalid frame type"
+
+ Make sure you're using the latest firmware avaliable from
+ Linksys's web site. According to the firmware release notes:
+
+ "Changes were made to prevent erroneous data from being
+ transferred over the PCI bus"
+
+ Note that this problem has also beeen confirmed on the D-Link
+ DWL-520. You will need firmware 1.3.5 or newer to resolve this.
+
+Q: I have a D-Link DWL-650/650+/520+ card, why doesn't it work with
+ this driver?
+
+ The DWL-650 comes in at least three flavors; older ones have grey
+ antennae, with no revision number on the back.
+ Second-generation has a black antenna and the back reads
+ "H/W J3 F/W 1.x.x". Both of these will work. The third-
+ generation, with a grey antenna, has "H/W A1, F/W x.x", and
+ will NOT work; It has the same hardware as the "plus" series
+ of cards.
+
+ The "plus" series of cards from D-Link use the Texas Instruments
+ ACX100/TNETW1100 chipset. TI has not been forthcoming with
+ programming information. Politely ask TI and D-Link for Linux
+ drivers and/or docs.
+
+ We've been told that TI will be releasing binary-only Linux
+ drivers sometime in December. In the mean time, return the
+ card and buy one that works with Linux.
+
+Q: I have a Linksys WMP11 v2.7 card; why doesn't it work with this driver?
+
+ Linksys, in their grand tradition, likes to introduce completely
+ new cards but re-use the model number. The WMP11 v2.7 utilizes the
+ Broadcomm chipset, and is not supported by linux-wlan-ng. Politely
+ ask Linksys and/or Broadcomm for Linux drivers and/or docs.
+
+Q: What other resources are there for Wireless LANs under Linux?
+
+ http://www.fuw.edu.pl/~pliszka/hints/wireless.html
+
+ http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Linux.Wireless.drivers.html
+
+Q: I'm using RedHat 8.x+ (or Fedora Core), and I get this error when
+ trying to ifup wlan0:
+
+ Error for wireless request "Set Encode" (8B2A) :
+ SET failed on device wlan0 ; Function not implemented.
+ Error for wireless request "Set ESSID" (8B1A) :
+ SET failed on device wlan0 ; Function not implemented.
+
+
+ You can safely ignore this; it is there because linux-wlan-ng
+ does not currently use the wireless extension commands for
+ configuration.
+
+Q: When the prism2_cs module loads, I see the message "RequestIRQ:
+ Resource in use" and the load fails! What's going on?
+
+ Is your card a 16-bit PCMCIA card? If it is, you may need to
+ recompile your kernel with ISA bus support enabled (CONFIG_ISA=y).
+ The PCMCIA core uses ISA bus support to help determine what IRQs
+ are available for the card. Without it, the PCMCIA core may not be
+ able to select an IRQ.
+
+Q: After installing linux-wlan-ng on my RedHat 9 system, pcmcia no
+ longer works!
+
+ This is due to a bug in the RedHat 9 pcmcia startup scripts.
+ On or about line 105 in /etc/init.d/pcmcia, remove all of the
+ '.o' suffixes on the modprobe command lines. It should read
+ something like this:
+
+ if [ -d $PC ] ; then
+ echo -n " modules"
+ /sbin/modprobe pcmcia_core $CORE_OPTS
+ /sbin/modprobe $PCIC $PCIC_OPTS
+ /sbin/modprobe ds
+ elif [ -d $KD ] ; then
+ /sbin/modprobe pcmcia_core
+ /sbin/modprobe $PCIC
+ /sbin/modprobe ds
+ else
+