Root/Documentation/networking/README.ipw2100

1
2Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2100 Driver for Linux in support of:
3
4Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2100 Network Connection
5
6Copyright (C) 2003-2006, Intel Corporation
7
8README.ipw2100
9
10Version: git-1.1.5
11Date : January 25, 2006
12
13Index
14-----------------------------------------------
150. IMPORTANT INFORMATION BEFORE USING THIS DRIVER
161. Introduction
172. Release git-1.1.5 Current Features
183. Command Line Parameters
194. Sysfs Helper Files
205. Radio Kill Switch
216. Dynamic Firmware
227. Power Management
238. Support
249. License
25
26
270. IMPORTANT INFORMATION BEFORE USING THIS DRIVER
28-----------------------------------------------
29
30Important Notice FOR ALL USERS OR DISTRIBUTORS!!!!
31
32Intel wireless LAN adapters are engineered, manufactured, tested, and
33quality checked to ensure that they meet all necessary local and
34governmental regulatory agency requirements for the regions that they
35are designated and/or marked to ship into. Since wireless LANs are
36generally unlicensed devices that share spectrum with radars,
37satellites, and other licensed and unlicensed devices, it is sometimes
38necessary to dynamically detect, avoid, and limit usage to avoid
39interference with these devices. In many instances Intel is required to
40provide test data to prove regional and local compliance to regional and
41governmental regulations before certification or approval to use the
42product is granted. Intel's wireless LAN's EEPROM, firmware, and
43software driver are designed to carefully control parameters that affect
44radio operation and to ensure electromagnetic compliance (EMC). These
45parameters include, without limitation, RF power, spectrum usage,
46channel scanning, and human exposure.
47
48For these reasons Intel cannot permit any manipulation by third parties
49of the software provided in binary format with the wireless WLAN
50adapters (e.g., the EEPROM and firmware). Furthermore, if you use any
51patches, utilities, or code with the Intel wireless LAN adapters that
52have been manipulated by an unauthorized party (i.e., patches,
53utilities, or code (including open source code modifications) which have
54not been validated by Intel), (i) you will be solely responsible for
55ensuring the regulatory compliance of the products, (ii) Intel will bear
56no liability, under any theory of liability for any issues associated
57with the modified products, including without limitation, claims under
58the warranty and/or issues arising from regulatory non-compliance, and
59(iii) Intel will not provide or be required to assist in providing
60support to any third parties for such modified products.
61
62Note: Many regulatory agencies consider Wireless LAN adapters to be
63modules, and accordingly, condition system-level regulatory approval
64upon receipt and review of test data documenting that the antennas and
65system configuration do not cause the EMC and radio operation to be
66non-compliant.
67
68The drivers available for download from SourceForge are provided as a
69part of a development project. Conformance to local regulatory
70requirements is the responsibility of the individual developer. As
71such, if you are interested in deploying or shipping a driver as part of
72solution intended to be used for purposes other than development, please
73obtain a tested driver from Intel Customer Support at:
74
75http://www.intel.com/support/wireless/sb/CS-006408.htm
76
771. Introduction
78-----------------------------------------------
79
80This document provides a brief overview of the features supported by the
81IPW2100 driver project. The main project website, where the latest
82development version of the driver can be found, is:
83
84    http://ipw2100.sourceforge.net
85
86There you can find the not only the latest releases, but also information about
87potential fixes and patches, as well as links to the development mailing list
88for the driver project.
89
90
912. Release git-1.1.5 Current Supported Features
92-----------------------------------------------
93- Managed (BSS) and Ad-Hoc (IBSS)
94- WEP (shared key and open)
95- Wireless Tools support
96- 802.1x (tested with XSupplicant 1.0.1)
97
98Enabled (but not supported) features:
99- Monitor/RFMon mode
100- WPA/WPA2
101
102The distinction between officially supported and enabled is a reflection
103on the amount of validation and interoperability testing that has been
104performed on a given feature.
105
106
1073. Command Line Parameters
108-----------------------------------------------
109
110If the driver is built as a module, the following optional parameters are used
111by entering them on the command line with the modprobe command using this
112syntax:
113
114    modprobe ipw2100 [<option>=<VAL1><,VAL2>...]
115
116For example, to disable the radio on driver loading, enter:
117
118    modprobe ipw2100 disable=1
119
120The ipw2100 driver supports the following module parameters:
121
122Name Value Example:
123debug 0x0-0xffffffff debug=1024
124mode 0,1,2 mode=1 /* AdHoc */
125channel int channel=3 /* Only valid in AdHoc or Monitor */
126associate boolean associate=0 /* Do NOT auto associate */
127disable boolean disable=1 /* Do not power the HW */
128
129
1304. Sysfs Helper Files
131---------------------------
132-----------------------------------------------
133
134There are several ways to control the behavior of the driver. Many of the
135general capabilities are exposed through the Wireless Tools (iwconfig). There
136are a few capabilities that are exposed through entries in the Linux Sysfs.
137
138
139----- Driver Level ------
140For the driver level files, look in /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/
141
142  debug_level
143    
144    This controls the same global as the 'debug' module parameter. For
145        information on the various debugging levels available, run the 'dvals'
146    script found in the driver source directory.
147
148    NOTE: 'debug_level' is only enabled if CONFIG_IPW2100_DEBUG is turn
149           on.
150
151----- Device Level ------
152For the device level files look in
153    
154    /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/{PCI-ID}/
155
156For example:
157    /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/0000:02:01.0
158
159For the device level files, see /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100:
160
161  rf_kill
162    read -
163    0 = RF kill not enabled (radio on)
164    1 = SW based RF kill active (radio off)
165    2 = HW based RF kill active (radio off)
166    3 = Both HW and SW RF kill active (radio off)
167    write -
168    0 = If SW based RF kill active, turn the radio back on
169    1 = If radio is on, activate SW based RF kill
170
171    NOTE: If you enable the SW based RF kill and then toggle the HW
172      based RF kill from ON -> OFF -> ON, the radio will NOT come back on
173
174
1755. Radio Kill Switch
176-----------------------------------------------
177Most laptops provide the ability for the user to physically disable the radio.
178Some vendors have implemented this as a physical switch that requires no
179software to turn the radio off and on. On other laptops, however, the switch
180is controlled through a button being pressed and a software driver then making
181calls to turn the radio off and on. This is referred to as a "software based
182RF kill switch"
183
184See the Sysfs helper file 'rf_kill' for determining the state of the RF switch
185on your system.
186
187
1886. Dynamic Firmware
189-----------------------------------------------
190As the firmware is licensed under a restricted use license, it can not be
191included within the kernel sources. To enable the IPW2100 you will need a
192firmware image to load into the wireless NIC's processors.
193
194You can obtain these images from <http://ipw2100.sf.net/firmware.php>.
195
196See INSTALL for instructions on installing the firmware.
197
198
1997. Power Management
200-----------------------------------------------
201The IPW2100 supports the configuration of the Power Save Protocol
202through a private wireless extension interface. The IPW2100 supports
203the following different modes:
204
205    off No power management. Radio is always on.
206    on Automatic power management
207    1-5 Different levels of power management. The higher the
208        number the greater the power savings, but with an impact to
209        packet latencies.
210
211Power management works by powering down the radio after a certain
212interval of time has passed where no packets are passed through the
213radio. Once powered down, the radio remains in that state for a given
214period of time. For higher power savings, the interval between last
215packet processed to sleep is shorter and the sleep period is longer.
216
217When the radio is asleep, the access point sending data to the station
218must buffer packets at the AP until the station wakes up and requests
219any buffered packets. If you have an AP that does not correctly support
220the PSP protocol you may experience packet loss or very poor performance
221while power management is enabled. If this is the case, you will need
222to try and find a firmware update for your AP, or disable power
223management (via `iwconfig eth1 power off`)
224
225To configure the power level on the IPW2100 you use a combination of
226iwconfig and iwpriv. iwconfig is used to turn power management on, off,
227and set it to auto.
228
229    iwconfig eth1 power off Disables radio power down
230    iwconfig eth1 power on Enables radio power management to
231                   last set level (defaults to AUTO)
232    iwpriv eth1 set_power 0 Sets power level to AUTO and enables
233                   power management if not previously
234                   enabled.
235    iwpriv eth1 set_power 1-5 Set the power level as specified,
236                   enabling power management if not
237                   previously enabled.
238
239You can view the current power level setting via:
240    
241    iwpriv eth1 get_power
242
243It will return the current period or timeout that is configured as a string
244in the form of xxxx/yyyy (z) where xxxx is the timeout interval (amount of
245time after packet processing), yyyy is the period to sleep (amount of time to
246wait before powering the radio and querying the access point for buffered
247packets), and z is the 'power level'. If power management is turned off the
248xxxx/yyyy will be replaced with 'off' -- the level reported will be the active
249level if `iwconfig eth1 power on` is invoked.
250
251
2528. Support
253-----------------------------------------------
254
255For general development information and support,
256go to:
257    
258    http://ipw2100.sf.net/
259
260The ipw2100 1.1.0 driver and firmware can be downloaded from:
261
262    http://support.intel.com
263
264For installation support on the ipw2100 1.1.0 driver on Linux kernels
2652.6.8 or greater, email support is available from:
266
267    http://supportmail.intel.com
268
2699. License
270-----------------------------------------------
271
272  Copyright(c) 2003 - 2006 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
273
274  This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
275  under the terms of the GNU General Public License (version 2) as
276  published by the Free Software Foundation.
277  
278  This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
279  ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
280  FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
281  more details.
282  
283  You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
284  this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
285  Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
286  
287  The full GNU General Public License is included in this distribution in the
288  file called LICENSE.
289  
290  License Contact Information:
291  James P. Ketrenos <ipw2100-admin@linux.intel.com>
292  Intel Corporation, 5200 N.E. Elam Young Parkway, Hillsboro, OR 97124-6497
293
294

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