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James Ketrenos2c86c272005-03-23 17:32:29 -06001
2===========================
3Intel(R) PRO/Wireless 2100 Network Connection Driver for Linux
4README.ipw2100
5
6March 14, 2005
7
8===========================
9Index
10---------------------------
110. Introduction
121. Release 1.1.0 Current Features
132. Command Line Parameters
143. Sysfs Helper Files
154. Radio Kill Switch
165. Dynamic Firmware
176. Power Management
187. Support
198. License
20
21
22===========================
230. Introduction
24------------ ----- ----- ---- --- -- -
25
26This document provides a brief overview of the features supported by the
27IPW2100 driver project. The main project website, where the latest
28development version of the driver can be found, is:
29
30 http://ipw2100.sourceforge.net
31
32There you can find the not only the latest releases, but also information about
33potential fixes and patches, as well as links to the development mailing list
34for the driver project.
35
36
37===========================
381. Release 1.1.0 Current Supported Features
39---------------------------
40- Managed (BSS) and Ad-Hoc (IBSS)
41- WEP (shared key and open)
42- Wireless Tools support
43- 802.1x (tested with XSupplicant 1.0.1)
44
45Enabled (but not supported) features:
46- Monitor/RFMon mode
47- WPA/WPA2
48
49The distinction between officially supported and enabled is a reflection
50on the amount of validation and interoperability testing that has been
51performed on a given feature.
52
53
54===========================
552. Command Line Parameters
56---------------------------
57
58If the driver is built as a module, the following optional parameters are used
59by entering them on the command line with the modprobe command using this
60syntax:
61
62 modprobe ipw2100 [<option>=<VAL1><,VAL2>...]
63
64For example, to disable the radio on driver loading, enter:
65
66 modprobe ipw2100 disable=1
67
68The ipw2100 driver supports the following module parameters:
69
70Name Value Example:
71debug 0x0-0xffffffff debug=1024
72mode 0,1,2 mode=1 /* AdHoc */
73channel int channel=3 /* Only valid in AdHoc or Monitor */
74associate boolean associate=0 /* Do NOT auto associate */
75disable boolean disable=1 /* Do not power the HW */
76
77
78===========================
793. Sysfs Helper Files
80---------------------------
81
82There are several ways to control the behavior of the driver. Many of the
83general capabilities are exposed through the Wireless Tools (iwconfig). There
84are a few capabilities that are exposed through entries in the Linux Sysfs.
85
86
87----- Driver Level ------
88For the driver level files, look in /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/
89
90 debug_level
91
92 This controls the same global as the 'debug' module parameter. For
93 information on the various debugging levels available, run the 'dvals'
94 script found in the driver source directory.
95
96 NOTE: 'debug_level' is only enabled if CONFIG_IPW2100_DEBUG is turn
97 on.
98
99----- Device Level ------
100For the device level files look in
101
102 /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/{PCI-ID}/
103
104For example:
105 /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100/0000:02:01.0
106
107For the device level files, see /sys/bus/pci/drivers/ipw2100:
108
109 rf_kill
110 read -
111 0 = RF kill not enabled (radio on)
112 1 = SW based RF kill active (radio off)
113 2 = HW based RF kill active (radio off)
114 3 = Both HW and SW RF kill active (radio off)
115 write -
116 0 = If SW based RF kill active, turn the radio back on
117 1 = If radio is on, activate SW based RF kill
118
119 NOTE: If you enable the SW based RF kill and then toggle the HW
120 based RF kill from ON -> OFF -> ON, the radio will NOT come back on
121
122
123===========================
1244. Radio Kill Switch
125---------------------------
126Most laptops provide the ability for the user to physically disable the radio.
127Some vendors have implemented this as a physical switch that requires no
128software to turn the radio off and on. On other laptops, however, the switch
129is controlled through a button being pressed and a software driver then making
130calls to turn the radio off and on. This is referred to as a "software based
131RF kill switch"
132
133See the Sysfs helper file 'rf_kill' for determining the state of the RF switch
134on your system.
135
136
137===========================
1385. Dynamic Firmware
139---------------------------
140As the firmware is licensed under a restricted use license, it can not be
141included within the kernel sources. To enable the IPW2100 you will need a
142firmware image to load into the wireless NIC's processors.
143
144You can obtain these images from <http://ipw2100.sf.net/firmware.php>.
145
146See INSTALL for instructions on installing the firmware.
147
148
149===========================
1506. Power Management
151---------------------------
152The IPW2100 supports the configuration of the Power Save Protocol
153through a private wireless extension interface. The IPW2100 supports
154the following different modes:
155
156 off No power management. Radio is always on.
157 on Automatic power management
158 1-5 Different levels of power management. The higher the
159 number the greater the power savings, but with an impact to
160 packet latencies.
161
162Power management works by powering down the radio after a certain
163interval of time has passed where no packets are passed through the
164radio. Once powered down, the radio remains in that state for a given
165period of time. For higher power savings, the interval between last
166packet processed to sleep is shorter and the sleep period is longer.
167
168When the radio is asleep, the access point sending data to the station
169must buffer packets at the AP until the station wakes up and requests
170any buffered packets. If you have an AP that does not correctly support
171the PSP protocol you may experience packet loss or very poor performance
172while power management is enabled. If this is the case, you will need
173to try and find a firmware update for your AP, or disable power
174management (via `iwconfig eth1 power off`)
175
176To configure the power level on the IPW2100 you use a combination of
177iwconfig and iwpriv. iwconfig is used to turn power management on, off,
178and set it to auto.
179
180 iwconfig eth1 power off Disables radio power down
181 iwconfig eth1 power on Enables radio power management to
182 last set level (defaults to AUTO)
183 iwpriv eth1 set_power 0 Sets power level to AUTO and enables
184 power management if not previously
185 enabled.
186 iwpriv eth1 set_power 1-5 Set the power level as specified,
187 enabling power management if not
188 previously enabled.
189
190You can view the current power level setting via:
191
192 iwpriv eth1 get_power
193
194It will return the current period or timeout that is configured as a string
195in the form of xxxx/yyyy (z) where xxxx is the timeout interval (amount of
196time after packet processing), yyyy is the period to sleep (amount of time to
197wait before powering the radio and querying the access point for buffered
198packets), and z is the 'power level'. If power management is turned off the
199xxxx/yyyy will be replaced with 'off' -- the level reported will be the active
200level if `iwconfig eth1 power on` is invoked.
201
202
203===========================
2047. Support
205---------------------------
206
207For general development information and support,
208go to:
209
210 http://ipw2100.sf.net/
211
212The ipw2100 1.1.0 driver and firmware can be downloaded from:
213
214 http://support.intel.com
215
216For installation support on the ipw2100 1.1.0 driver on Linux kernels
2172.6.8 or greater, email support is available from:
218
219 http://supportmail.intel.com
220
221===========================
2228. License
223---------------------------
224
225 Copyright(c) 2003 - 2005 Intel Corporation. All rights reserved.
226
227 This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it
228 under the terms of the GNU General Public License (version 2) as
229 published by the Free Software Foundation.
230
231 This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT
232 ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or
233 FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for
234 more details.
235
236 You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with
237 this program; if not, write to the Free Software Foundation, Inc., 59
238 Temple Place - Suite 330, Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA.
239
240 The full GNU General Public License is included in this distribution in the
241 file called LICENSE.
242
243 License Contact Information:
244 James P. Ketrenos <ipw2100-admin@linux.intel.com>
245 Intel Corporation, 5200 N.E. Elam Young Parkway, Hillsboro, OR 97124-6497
246