FreeBSD Man Pages

wi(4)

NAME

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

SYNOPSIS

     device wi
     device wlan

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, how-
     ever 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 in-
     frastructure 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 com-
     municate 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 operat-
     ing in IBSS mode.	They operate in BSS mode.  They allow for easier roam-
     ing 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.
     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
     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
     Laneed Wireless					 PCMCIA
     Linksys Instant Wireless WPC11	   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
     Siemens SpeedStream SS1021 	   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
	   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):

	   Add BRIDGE to the kernel config.
	   ifconfig wi0 inet up ssid my_ap media DS/11Mbps mediaopt hostap
	   sysctl net.link.ether.bridge.enable=1
	   sysctl net.link.ether.bridge.config="wi0 fxp0"
	   sysctl net.inet.ip.check_interface=0

     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 ini-
     tialization command was issued.

     wi%d: failed to allocate %d bytes on NIC  The driver was unable to allo-
     cate 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

     an(4), arp(4), ath(4), card(4), netintro(4), pccard(4), pccbb(4),
     pcic(4), wlan(4), ifconfig(8), wicontrol(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@ctr.columbia.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.  See
     wicontrol(8) for information on different regulatory domains.

     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 indi-
     cations 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 (pcic(4) and card(4)) support this
     device.  NEWCARD devices (pccbb(4) and pccard(4)) do not support it at
     this time.

FreeBSD 5.4		       February 17, 2003		   FreeBSD 5.4

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