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Prism 2/2.5/3 USB devices (linux-wlan-ng)

This page describes how to enable support for WiFi devices based on Prism 2/2.5/3 chipsets - using a USB interface - on Debian systems.

Contents

Prism 2/2.5/3 USB devices (linux-wlan-ng)

Driver

The linux-wlan-ng driver is a collection of modules supporting various 802.11b devices based on Intersil (now Conexant) Prism 2, Prism 2.5 and Prism 3 chipsets:

prism2_cs
- Supports Prism 2/2.5/3-based 16-bit PC Card (PCMCIA) devices.
- Deprecated by hostap_cs.
prism2_pci
- Supports Prism 2/2.5/3-based devices using a direct PCI interface.
- Deprecated by hostap_pci.
prism2_plx
- Supports Prism 2/2.5/3-based devices using the PLX9052 PCI bridge.
- Deprecated by hostap_plx.
prism2_usb (supported devices)
- Supports Prism 2/2.5/3-based USB devices.
- Included as a staging driver in mainline Linux kernels since 2.6.28.¹

This page only details installation of the prism2_usb module. See hostap for support of Prism 2/2.5/3-based non-USB devices.

Prism54 802.11g chipsets are supported by the p54 drivers.

Installation

Squeeze

prism2_usb is included in mainline Linux kernels as of version 2.6.28 and is supplied within Debian kernel images.

Firmware for the use by this driver in Linux versions 2.6.32 and later (prism2_ru.fw) is available via the prism2-usb-firmware-installer package. Only some devices require firmware from userspace for their operation. For all devices, it will transiently upgrade station firmware to version 1.8.3.

Connect the device to your system and install the wireless-tools package:
```
aptitude install wireless-tools
```
If firmware is required to be provided for your device (e.g. Prism 3 Small Serial Flash):
1. Add a "contrib" component to /etc/apt/sources.list, for example:
```
# Debian Squeeze/6.0
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian squeeze main contrib
```
2. Update the list of available packages and install the prism2-usb-firmware-installer package:
```
aptitude update && aptitude install prism2-usb-firmware-installer
```
3. Reinsert the prism2_usb module to access installed firmware:
```
modprobe -r prism2_usb ; modprobe prism2_usb
```
Verify your device has an available interface:
```
iwconfig
```
Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:
```
ifconfig wlan0 up
```
Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

Lenny

The linux-wlan-ng driver is required to be compiled and installed, which can be automated via module-assistant.

Connect the device to your system and install the linux-wlan-ng, module-assistant and wireless-tools packages:
```
aptitude install linux-wlan-ng module-assistant wireless-tools
```
Build and install a linux-wlan-ng-modules-* package within your system:
```
m-a a-i linux-wlan-ng
```
If firmware is required to be provided for your device (e.g. Prism 3 Small Serial Flash):
1. Add a "contrib" component to /etc/apt/sources.list for your Debian version. For example:
```
# Debian Lenny/5.0
deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian lenny main contrib
```
2. Update the list of available packages, then install the linux-wlan-ng-firmware package:
```
aptitude update && aptitude install linux-wlan-ng-firmware
```
3. Build and install a linux-wlan-ng-firmware-files-* package within your system:
```
linux-wlan-ng-build-firmware-deb
dpkg -i ./linux-wlan-ng-firmware-files*deb
```
Load the prism2_usb module:
```
modprobe prism2_usb
```
The module will be automatically loaded when your system is restarted and the device is connected.
Verify your device has an available interface:
```
iwconfig
```
Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:
```
ifconfig wlan0 up
```
Configure your interface as appropriate.

Troubleshooting

Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg(1)) to verify any required firmware files are being loaded by the driver. Lack of firmware is the usual reason for the "SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory" error message.
- If required, ensure you have installed the prism2-usb-firmware-installer (Squeeze) or built and installed a linux-wlan-ng-firmware-files-* (Lenny) package as described above, then reload the prism2_usb module: modprobe -r prism2_usb ; modprobe prism2_usb

Known Issues

This driver does not support WPA.
As described in Debian bug report 367790, the linux-wlan-ng driver may leak memory if:
1. The interface is set to operate in monitor mode and
2. Kismet is used to stress the device.

Supported Devices

The page HowToIdentifyADevice/USB explains how to identify a USB device.

The following list is based on the alias fields of prism2_usb in Debian 2.6.32 (2.6.32-30) kernel images.

USB: 03F3:0020 Adaptec, Inc. AWN-8020 WLAN
USB: 0411:0016 BUFFALO INC. (formerly MelCo., Inc.) WLI-USB-S11 802.11b Adapter
USB: 0411:0027 BUFFALO INC. (formerly MelCo., Inc.) WLI-USB-KS11G 802.11b Adapter
USB: 0411:0044 BUFFALO INC. (formerly MelCo., Inc.) WLI-USB-KB11 Wireless LAN Adapter
USB: 045E:006E Microsoft Corp. MN510 802.11b Adapter
USB: 049F:0033 Compaq Computer Corp. 802.11b Adapter [orinoco]
USB: 04BB:0922 I-O Data Device, Inc. IOData AirPort WN-B11/USBS 802.11b
USB: 04F1:3009 Victor Company of Japan, Ltd MP-XP7250 WLAN Adapter
USB: 0543:0F01 ViewSonic Corp. airsync Wi-Fi Wireless Adapter
USB: 066B:2212 Linksys, Inc. WUSB11v2.5 802.11b Adapter
USB: 066B:2213 Linksys, Inc. WUSB12v1.1 802.11b Adapter
USB: 067C:1022 Efficient Networks, Inc. Siemens SpeedStream 1022 802.11b Adapter
USB: 07AA:0012 Corega K.K. Stick-11 802.11b Adapter
USB: 083A:3503 Accton Technology Corp. T-Sinus 111 Wireless Adapter
USB: 0846:4110 NetGear, Inc. MA111(v1) 802.11b Wireless [Intersil Prism 3.0]
USB: 08DE:7A01 ??? 802.11b Adapter
USB: 0967:0204 Acer (??) WarpLink 802.11b Adapter
USB: 09AA:3642 Intersil Corp. Prism 2.x 802.11b Adapter
USB: 0B3B:1601 Tekram Technology Co., Ltd Allnet 0193 802.11b Adapter
USB: 0B3B:1602 Tekram Technology Co., Ltd ZyXEL ZyAIR B200 802.11b Adapter
USB: 0BAF:00EB U.S. Robotics USR1120 802.11b Adapter
USB: 0BB2:0302 Ambit Microsystems Corp. U10H010 802.11b Wireless Adapter [Intersil PRISM 3]
USB: 0CDE:0002 Z-Com XI-725/726 Prism2.5 802.11b Adapter
USB: 0CDE:0005 Z-Com XI-735 Prism3 802.11b Adapter
USB: 0D8E:7A01 Global Sun Technology, Inc. PRISM25 802.11b Adapter
USB: 124A:168B AirVast PRISM3 WLAN Adapter
USB: 124A:4017 AirVast PC-Chips 802.11b Adapter
USB: 1668:0408 Actiontec Electronics, Inc. [hex] Prism2.5 802.11b Adapter
USB: 1668:0421 Actiontec Electronics, Inc. [hex] Prism2.5 802.11b Adapter
USB: 1668:6106 Actiontec Electronics, Inc. [hex] ROPEX FreeLan 802.11b
USB: 1915:2236 Nordic Semiconductor ASA Linksys WUSB11 v3.0 802.11b Adapter [Intersil PRISM 3]
USB: 2001:3700 D-Link Corp. DWL-122 802.11b [Intersil Prism 3]
USB: 2001:3702 D-Link Corp. DWL-120 802.11b Wireless Adapter(rev.F) [Intersil ISL3871]
USB: 2821:3300 ASUSTek Computer Inc. WL-140 / Hawking HWU36D 802.11b Wireless Adapter [Intersil PRISM 3]
USB: 2C02:14EA Planex Communications GW-US11H WLAN
USB: 413C:8100 Dell Computer Corp. TrueMobile 1180 802.11b Adapter [Intersil PRISM 3]
USB: 50C2:4013 Averatec (?) WLAN Adapter
USB: 8086:1111 Intel Corp. PRO/Wireless 2011B 802.11b Adapter [Intersil PRISM 2.5]
USB: 9016:182D Sitecom WL-022 802.11b Adapter

External Links

linux-wlan-ng driver homepage;
- Frequently Asked Questions

CategoryHardware | CategoryWireless

Linux 2.6.28 changelog (1)

linux-wlan-ng