Documentation/networking/README.ipw2100

   1
   2 Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2100 Driver for Linux in support of:
   3
   4 Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2100 Network Connection
   5
   6 Copyright (C) 2003-2006, Intel Corporation
   7
   8 README.ipw2100
   9
  10 Version: git-1.1.5
  11 Date   : January 25, 2006
  12
  13 Index
  14 -----------------------------------------------
  15 0. IMPORTANT INFORMATION BEFORE USING THIS DRIVER
  16 1. Introduction
  17 2. Release git-1.1.5 Current Features
  18 3. Command Line Parameters
  19 4. Sysfs Helper Files
  20 5. Radio Kill Switch
  21 6. Dynamic Firmware
  22 7. Power Management
  23 8. Support
  24 9. License
  25
  26
  27 0.   IMPORTANT INFORMATION BEFORE USING THIS DRIVER
  28 -----------------------------------------------
  29
  30 Important Notice FOR ALL USERS OR DISTRIBUTORS!!!!
  31
  32 Intel wireless LAN adapters are engineered, manufactured, tested, and
  33 quality checked to ensure that they meet all necessary local and
  34 governmental regulatory agency requirements for the regions that they
  35 are designated and/or marked to ship into. Since wireless LANs are
  36 generally unlicensed devices that share spectrum with radars,
  37 satellites, and other licensed and unlicensed devices, it is sometimes
  38 necessary to dynamically detect, avoid, and limit usage to avoid
  39 interference with these devices. In many instances Intel is required to
  40 provide test data to prove regional and local compliance to regional and
  41 governmental regulations before certification or approval to use the
  42 product is granted. Intel's wireless LAN's EEPROM, firmware, and
  43 software driver are designed to carefully control parameters that affect
  44 radio operation and to ensure electromagnetic compliance (EMC). These
  45 parameters include, without limitation, RF power, spectrum usage,
  46 channel scanning, and human exposure.
  47
  48 For these reasons Intel cannot permit any manipulation by third parties
  49 of the software provided in binary format with the wireless WLAN
  50 adapters (e.g., the EEPROM and firmware). Furthermore, if you use any
  51 patches, utilities, or code with the Intel wireless LAN adapters that
  52 have been manipulated by an unauthorized party (i.e., patches,
  53 utilities, or code (including open source code modifications) which have
  54 not been validated by Intel), (i) you will be solely responsible for
  55 ensuring the regulatory compliance of the products, (ii) Intel will bear
  56 no liability, under any theory of liability for any issues associated
  57 with the modified products, including without limitation, claims under
  58 the warranty and/or issues arising from regulatory non-compliance, and
  59 (iii) Intel will not provide or be required to assist in providing
  60 support to any third parties for such modified products.
  61
  62 Note: Many regulatory agencies consider Wireless LAN adapters to be
  63 modules, and accordingly, condition system-level regulatory approval
  64 upon receipt and review of test data documenting that the antennas and
  65 system configuration do not cause the EMC and radio operation to be
  66 non-compliant.
  67
  68 The drivers available for download from SourceForge are provided as a
  69 part of a development project.  Conformance to local regulatory
  70 requirements is the responsibility of the individual developer.  As
  71 such, if you are interested in deploying or shipping a driver as part of
  72 solution intended to be used for purposes other than development, please
  73 obtain a tested driver from Intel Customer Support at:
  74
  75 http://support.intel.com/support/notebook/sb/CS-006408.htm
  76
  77
  78 1. Introduction
  79 -----------------------------------------------
  80
  81 This document provides a brief overview of the features supported by the
  82 IPW2100 driver project.  The main project website, where the latest
  83 development version of the driver can be found, is:
  84
  85         http://ipw2100.sourceforge.net
  86
  87 There you can find the not only the latest releases, but also information about
  88 potential fixes and patches, as well as links to the development mailing list
  89 for the driver project.
  90
  91
  92 2. Release git-1.1.5 Current Supported Features
  93 -----------------------------------------------
  94 - Managed (BSS) and Ad-Hoc (IBSS)
  95 - WEP (shared key and open)
  96 - Wireless Tools support
  97 - 802.1x (tested with XSupplicant 1.0.1)
  98
  99 Enabled (but not supported) features:
 100 - Monitor/RFMon mode
 101 - WPA/WPA2
 102
 103 The distinction between officially supported and enabled is a reflection
 104 on the amount of validation and interoperability testing that has been
 105 performed on a given feature.
 106
 107
 108 3. Command Line Parameters
 109 -----------------------------------------------
 110
 111 If the driver is built as a module, the following optional parameters are used
 112 by entering them on the command line with the modprobe command using this
 113 syntax:
 114
 115         modprobe ipw2100 [<option>=<VAL1><,VAL2>...]
 116
 117 For example, to disable the radio on driver loading, enter:
 118
 119         modprobe ipw2100 disable=1
 120
 121 The ipw2100 driver supports the following module parameters:
 122
 123 Name            Value           Example:
 124 debug           0x0-0xffffffff  debug=1024
 125 mode            0,1,2           mode=1   /* AdHoc */
 126 channel         int             channel=3 /* Only valid in AdHoc or Monitor */
 127 associate       boolean         associate=0 /* Do NOT auto associate */
 128 disable         boolean         disable=1 /* Do not power the HW */
 129
 130
 131 4. Sysfs Helper Files
 132 ---------------------------
 133 -----------------------------------------------
 134
 135 There are several ways to control the behavior of the driver.  Many of the
 136 general capabilities are exposed through the Wireless Tools (iwconfig).  There
 137 are a few capabilities that are exposed through entries in the Linux Sysfs.
 138
 139
 140 ----- Driver Level ------
 141 For the driver level files, look in /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/
 142
 143   debug_level
 144
 145         This controls the same global as the 'debug' module parameter.  For
 146         information on the various debugging levels available, run the 'dvals'
 147         script found in the driver source directory.
 148
 149         NOTE:  'debug_level' is only enabled if CONFIG_IPW2100_DEBUG is turn
 150                on.
 151
 152 ----- Device Level ------
 153 For the device level files look in
 154
 155         /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/{PCI-ID}/
 156
 157 For example:
 158         /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/0000:02:01.0
 159
 160 For the device level files, see /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100:
 161
 162   rf_kill
 163         read -
 164         0 = RF kill not enabled (radio on)
 165         1 = SW based RF kill active (radio off)
 166         2 = HW based RF kill active (radio off)
 167         3 = Both HW and SW RF kill active (radio off)
 168         write -
 169         0 = If SW based RF kill active, turn the radio back on
 170         1 = If radio is on, activate SW based RF kill
 171
 172         NOTE: If you enable the SW based RF kill and then toggle the HW
 173         based RF kill from ON -> OFF -> ON, the radio will NOT come back on
 174
 175
 176 5. Radio Kill Switch
 177 -----------------------------------------------
 178 Most laptops provide the ability for the user to physically disable the radio.
 179 Some vendors have implemented this as a physical switch that requires no
 180 software to turn the radio off and on.  On other laptops, however, the switch
 181 is controlled through a button being pressed and a software driver then making
 182 calls to turn the radio off and on.  This is referred to as a "software based
 183 RF kill switch"
 184
 185 See the Sysfs helper file 'rf_kill' for determining the state of the RF switch
 186 on your system.
 187
 188
 189 6. Dynamic Firmware
 190 -----------------------------------------------
 191 As the firmware is licensed under a restricted use license, it can not be
 192 included within the kernel sources.  To enable the IPW2100 you will need a
 193 firmware image to load into the wireless NIC's processors.
 194
 195 You can obtain these images from <http://ipw2100.sf.net/firmware.php>.
 196
 197 See INSTALL for instructions on installing the firmware.
 198
 199
 200 7. Power Management
 201 -----------------------------------------------
 202 The IPW2100 supports the configuration of the Power Save Protocol
 203 through a private wireless extension interface.  The IPW2100 supports
 204 the following different modes:
 205
 206         off     No power management.  Radio is always on.
 207         on      Automatic power management
 208         1-5     Different levels of power management.  The higher the
 209                 number the greater the power savings, but with an impact to
 210                 packet latencies.
 211
 212 Power management works by powering down the radio after a certain
 213 interval of time has passed where no packets are passed through the
 214 radio.  Once powered down, the radio remains in that state for a given
 215 period of time.  For higher power savings, the interval between last
 216 packet processed to sleep is shorter and the sleep period is longer.
 217
 218 When the radio is asleep, the access point sending data to the station
 219 must buffer packets at the AP until the station wakes up and requests
 220 any buffered packets.  If you have an AP that does not correctly support
 221 the PSP protocol you may experience packet loss or very poor performance
 222 while power management is enabled.  If this is the case, you will need
 223 to try and find a firmware update for your AP, or disable power
 224 management (via `iwconfig eth1 power off`)
 225
 226 To configure the power level on the IPW2100 you use a combination of
 227 iwconfig and iwpriv.  iwconfig is used to turn power management on, off,
 228 and set it to auto.
 229
 230         iwconfig eth1 power off    Disables radio power down
 231         iwconfig eth1 power on     Enables radio power management to
 232                                    last set level (defaults to AUTO)
 233         iwpriv eth1 set_power 0    Sets power level to AUTO and enables
 234                                    power management if not previously
 235                                    enabled.
 236         iwpriv eth1 set_power 1-5  Set the power level as specified,
 237                                    enabling power management if not
 238                                    previously enabled.
 239
 240 You can view the current power level setting via:
 241
 242         iwpriv eth1 get_power
 243
 244 It will return the current period or timeout that is configured as a string
 245 in the form of xxxx/yyyy (z) where xxxx is the timeout interval (amount of
 246 time after packet processing), yyyy is the period to sleep (amount of time to
 247 wait before powering the radio and querying the access point for buffered
 248 packets), and z is the 'power level'.  If power management is turned off the
 249 xxxx/yyyy will be replaced with 'off' -- the level reported will be the active
 250 level if `iwconfig eth1 power on` is invoked.
 251
 252
 253 8. Support
 254 -----------------------------------------------
 255
 256 For general development information and support,
 257 go to:
 258
 259     http://ipw2100.sf.net/
 260
 261 The ipw2100 1.1.0 driver and firmware can be downloaded from:
 262
 263     http://support.intel.com
 264
 265 For installation support on the ipw2100 1.1.0 driver on Linux kernels
 266 2.6.8 or greater, email support is available from:
 267
 268     http://supportmail.intel.com
 269
 270 9. License
 271 -----------------------------------------------
 272
 273   Copyright(c) 2003 - 2006 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
 274
 275   This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
 276   under the terms of the GNU General Public License (version 2) as
 277   published by the Free Software Foundation.
 278
 279   This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
 280   ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
 281   FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU General Public License for
 282   more details.
 283
 284   You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
 285   this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
 286   Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA  02111-1307, USA.
 287
 288   The full GNU General Public License is included in this distribution in the
 289   file called LICENSE.
 290
 291   License Contact Information:
 292   James P. Ketrenos <ipw2100-admin@linux.intel.com>
 293   Intel Corporation, 5200 N.E. Elam Young Parkway, Hillsboro, OR 97124-6497
 294