| |
| =========================== |
| Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2100 Network Connection Driver for Linux |
| README.ipw2100 |
| |
| March 14, 2005 |
| |
| =========================== |
| Index |
| --------------------------- |
| 0. Introduction |
| 1. Release 1.1.0 Current Features |
| 2. Command Line Parameters |
| 3. Sysfs Helper Files |
| 4. Radio Kill Switch |
| 5. Dynamic Firmware |
| 6. Power Management |
| 7. Support |
| 8. License |
| |
| |
| =========================== |
| 0. Introduction |
| ------------ ----- ----- ---- --- -- - |
| |
| This document provides a brief overview of the features supported by the |
| IPW2100 driver project. The main project website, where the latest |
| development version of the driver can be found, is: |
| |
| http://ipw2100.sourceforge.net |
| |
| There you can find the not only the latest releases, but also information about |
| potential fixes and patches, as well as links to the development mailing list |
| for the driver project. |
| |
| |
| =========================== |
| 1. Release 1.1.0 Current Supported Features |
| --------------------------- |
| - Managed (BSS) and Ad-Hoc (IBSS) |
| - WEP (shared key and open) |
| - Wireless Tools support |
| - 802.1x (tested with XSupplicant 1.0.1) |
| |
| Enabled (but not supported) features: |
| - Monitor/RFMon mode |
| - WPA/WPA2 |
| |
| The distinction between officially supported and enabled is a reflection |
| on the amount of validation and interoperability testing that has been |
| performed on a given feature. |
| |
| |
| =========================== |
| 2. Command Line Parameters |
| --------------------------- |
| |
| If the driver is built as a module, the following optional parameters are used |
| by entering them on the command line with the modprobe command using this |
| syntax: |
| |
| modprobe ipw2100 [<option>=<VAL1><,VAL2>...] |
| |
| For example, to disable the radio on driver loading, enter: |
| |
| modprobe ipw2100 disable=1 |
| |
| The ipw2100 driver supports the following module parameters: |
| |
| Name Value Example: |
| debug 0x0-0xffffffff debug=1024 |
| mode 0,1,2 mode=1 /* AdHoc */ |
| channel int channel=3 /* Only valid in AdHoc or Monitor */ |
| associate boolean associate=0 /* Do NOT auto associate */ |
| disable boolean disable=1 /* Do not power the HW */ |
| |
| |
| =========================== |
| 3. Sysfs Helper Files |
| --------------------------- |
| |
| There are several ways to control the behavior of the driver. Many of the |
| general capabilities are exposed through the Wireless Tools (iwconfig). There |
| are a few capabilities that are exposed through entries in the Linux Sysfs. |
| |
| |
| ----- Driver Level ------ |
| For the driver level files, look in /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/ |
| |
| debug_level |
| |
| This controls the same global as the 'debug' module parameter. For |
| information on the various debugging levels available, run the 'dvals' |
| script found in the driver source directory. |
| |
| NOTE: 'debug_level' is only enabled if CONFIG_IPW2100_DEBUG is turn |
| on. |
| |
| ----- Device Level ------ |
| For the device level files look in |
| |
| /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/{PCI-ID}/ |
| |
| For example: |
| /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/0000:02:01.0 |
| |
| For the device level files, see /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100: |
| |
| rf_kill |
| read - |
| 0 = RF kill not enabled (radio on) |
| 1 = SW based RF kill active (radio off) |
| 2 = HW based RF kill active (radio off) |
| 3 = Both HW and SW RF kill active (radio off) |
| write - |
| 0 = If SW based RF kill active, turn the radio back on |
| 1 = If radio is on, activate SW based RF kill |
| |
| NOTE: If you enable the SW based RF kill and then toggle the HW |
| based RF kill from ON -> OFF -> ON, the radio will NOT come back on |
| |
| |
| =========================== |
| 4. Radio Kill Switch |
| --------------------------- |
| Most laptops provide the ability for the user to physically disable the radio. |
| Some vendors have implemented this as a physical switch that requires no |
| software to turn the radio off and on. On other laptops, however, the switch |
| is controlled through a button being pressed and a software driver then making |
| calls to turn the radio off and on. This is referred to as a "software based |
| RF kill switch" |
| |
| See the Sysfs helper file 'rf_kill' for determining the state of the RF switch |
| on your system. |
| |
| |
| =========================== |
| 5. Dynamic Firmware |
| --------------------------- |
| As the firmware is licensed under a restricted use license, it can not be |
| included within the kernel sources. To enable the IPW2100 you will need a |
| firmware image to load into the wireless NIC's processors. |
| |
| You can obtain these images from <http://ipw2100.sf.net/firmware.php>. |
| |
| See INSTALL for instructions on installing the firmware. |
| |
| |
| =========================== |
| 6. Power Management |
| --------------------------- |
| The IPW2100 supports the configuration of the Power Save Protocol |
| through a private wireless extension interface. The IPW2100 supports |
| the following different modes: |
| |
| off No power management. Radio is always on. |
| on Automatic power management |
| 1-5 Different levels of power management. The higher the |
| number the greater the power savings, but with an impact to |
| packet latencies. |
| |
| Power management works by powering down the radio after a certain |
| interval of time has passed where no packets are passed through the |
| radio. Once powered down, the radio remains in that state for a given |
| period of time. For higher power savings, the interval between last |
| packet processed to sleep is shorter and the sleep period is longer. |
| |
| When the radio is asleep, the access point sending data to the station |
| must buffer packets at the AP until the station wakes up and requests |
| any buffered packets. If you have an AP that does not correctly support |
| the PSP protocol you may experience packet loss or very poor performance |
| while power management is enabled. If this is the case, you will need |
| to try and find a firmware update for your AP, or disable power |
| management (via `iwconfig eth1 power off`) |
| |
| To configure the power level on the IPW2100 you use a combination of |
| iwconfig and iwpriv. iwconfig is used to turn power management on, off, |
| and set it to auto. |
| |
| iwconfig eth1 power off Disables radio power down |
| iwconfig eth1 power on Enables radio power management to |
| last set level (defaults to AUTO) |
| iwpriv eth1 set_power 0 Sets power level to AUTO and enables |
| power management if not previously |
| enabled. |
| iwpriv eth1 set_power 1-5 Set the power level as specified, |
| enabling power management if not |
| previously enabled. |
| |
| You can view the current power level setting via: |
| |
| iwpriv eth1 get_power |
| |
| It will return the current period or timeout that is configured as a string |
| in the form of xxxx/yyyy (z) where xxxx is the timeout interval (amount of |
| time after packet processing), yyyy is the period to sleep (amount of time to |
| wait before powering the radio and querying the access point for buffered |
| packets), and z is the 'power level'. If power management is turned off the |
| xxxx/yyyy will be replaced with 'off' -- the level reported will be the active |
| level if `iwconfig eth1 power on` is invoked. |
| |
| |
| =========================== |
| 7. Support |
| --------------------------- |
| |
| For general development information and support, |
| go to: |
| |
| http://ipw2100.sf.net/ |
| |
| The ipw2100 1.1.0 driver and firmware can be downloaded from: |
| |
| http://support.intel.com |
| |
| For installation support on the ipw2100 1.1.0 driver on Linux kernels |
| 2.6.8 or greater, email support is available from: |
| |
| http://supportmail.intel.com |
| |
| =========================== |
| 8. License |
| --------------------------- |
| |
| Copyright(c) 2003 - 2005 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved. |
| |
| This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it |
| under the terms of the GNU General Public License (version 2) as |
| published by the Free Software Foundation. |
| |
| This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT |
| ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or |
| FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for |
| more details. |
| |
| You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with |
| this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59 |
| Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA. |
| |
| The full GNU General Public License is included in this distribution in the |
| file called LICENSE. |
| |
| License Contact Information: |
| James P. Ketrenos <ipw2100-admin@linux.intel.com> |
| Intel Corporation, 5200 N.E. Elam Young Parkway, Hillsboro, OR 97124-6497 |
| |