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This portal deals with the installation and configuration of WiFi devices. Device installation is essentially a two-part process: 1) installing the driver (also called a module) and 2) setting up your WiFi interface.
A WiFi device operates on an electronic chip called a "chipset". We can find the same chipset in several different devices. Consequently, the driver/module for one chipset will work for all wireless devices using that chipset.
Free software based systems such as Debian depend on the cooperation between manufacturers and developers to produce and maintain quality drivers and firmware. Drivers and firmware are what determine if and how well your hardware works.
Debian's Social Contract mandates the freeing of the distribution. In practice this means manufacturers are required to cooperate by releasing specifications and free drivers that can be worked on by the community. Newer versions of Debian (6+) do not include non-free drivers or firmware.
Non-free drivers and firmware are produced by companies refusing or unable to cooperate with the free software community. With non-free drivers and firmware support is often unavailable or severely strained. For instance features are often left out, bugs go unfixed, and what support does exist from the manufacture is fleeting.
By encouraging good social practices the community is able to support end-users. Complex installation procedures are no longer required and support continues long after a product has been discontinued.
Currently there are only a few modern wifi chipsets readily available that work with free software systems. For USB wifi devices this list includes the Realtek RTL8187B chipset (802.11G) and the Atheros AR9170 chipset (802.11N). For Mini PCIe all cards with an Atheros chipset are supported.
Wifi has always been a problem for free software users. USB Wifi cards are becoming less free. With the older 802.11G standard many USB wifi cards had free drivers and did not require non-free firmware. With 802.11N there is only one chipset on the market from Atheros which is completely free.
One company which specialises in free software and sells 802.11N USB wifi cards, ThinkPenguin.com, has indicated the availability of free software supported 802.11N USB wifi cards is disappearing. Solving this problem will require more demand than currently exists. Next time you purchase a piece of hardware ask yourself if it is free software compatible.
Continuing on, a WiFi interface is an Ethernet interface which also provides WiFi-specific configuration parameters. These parameters are controlled using the iwconfig program.
www.debian.org/doc/manuals/debian-reference/ch05 - Debian Reference Chapter 5 - Network setup
Prerequisites
wireless-tools, tools for manipulating Linux Wireless Extensions (installed by default on Desktop & Laptop installations)
- For GUI systems:
NetworkManager (installed by default on Gnome-Desktop & Laptop installation)
wicd, a wired and wireless manager, is recommended for other environments without GNOME dependencies such as XFCE, Fluxbox, Openbox, Enlightenment.
wpasupplicant, client support for WPA and WPA2 networks
If these are missing, you can install these via:
aptitude install wireless-tools
…and similar
Install Driver
Before you buy, verify your intended device is supported by an available Linux driver. A good indication of support is Tux being displayed on the product's packaging.
This section presents general lists of WiFi devices (grouped by host interface) and sorted by driver/module name. Each list has two main elements: the module name and the chipset(s) it supports. Known unsupported chipsets are at the end of each list.
If available, a help page link will provide you with further information. We recommend you read the associated help page, as some devices may require to be supplied with microcode (aka "firmware") before they can be used.
For an indication of support with a specific device, see the Wireless Adapter Chipset Directory.
PCI Devices
See HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI for more information
module name |
Device name(s) |
help page |
free (?) |
acx |
Texas Instruments chipsets (ACX100/TNETW1100, ACX111/TNETW1130) |
|
|
adm8211 |
ADMtek ADM8211 chipset |
|
|
airo |
|
?airo |
? |
arlan |
|
?arlan |
? |
ath5k |
Atheros Communications chipsets (AR5210, AR5211, AR5212, AR5213, AR5414, AR2413, AR242x) |
|
|
ath9k |
Atheros Communications 802.11n chipsets |
|
|
atmel_pci |
Atmel at76c506 chipset |
|
|
b43 |
Broadcom chipsets (kernels >= 2.6.24) |
|
|
brcm80211 |
Broadcom chipsets (BCM4313, BCM43224, BCM43225) |
|
|
hostap_pci |
Intersil Prism 2/2.5/3 chipsets |
/ 1 |
|
ipw2100 |
Intel PRO/Wireless 2100 |
|
|
ipw3945 |
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 |
|
|
iwl3945 |
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 |
|
|
iwlagn |
Intel Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN |
|
|
mwl8k |
Marvell chipsets (88W8363, 88W8366, 88W8687) |
|
|
orinoco_nortel |
Lucent/Agere Hermes and Intersil Prism 2/2.5/3 chipsets |
/ 2 |
|
p54pci |
Intersil Prism54 chipsets (ISL3877, ISL3880, ISL3886, ISL3890) |
|
|
prism2_pci |
Intersil Prism 2/2.5/3 chipsets |
/ 1 |
|
prism54 |
Intersil Prism54 chipsets (ISL3887, ISL3880, ISL3890) |
|
|
r8192_pci |
Realtek RTL8192E chipset |
|
|
rt2400pci |
Ralink chipsets (RT2400/RT2460, RT2401/RT2460) |
|
|
rt2500pci |
Ralink RT2500/RT2560 chipset |
|
|
rt2800pci |
Ralink chipsets (RT2760, RT2790, RT2860, RT2890, RT3060, RT3062, RT3090, RT3091, RT3092, RT3390, RT3562, RT3592, RT5390) |
|
|
rt2860sta |
Ralink chipsets (RT2760/RT2790/RT2860/RT2890, RT3090/RT3091/RT3092) |
|
|
rt61pci |
Ralink chipsets (RT2501/2561, RT2600/RT2661) |
|
|
rtl8180 |
Realtek chipsets (RTL8180, RTL8185) |
|
|
r8187se |
Realtek RTL8187SE chipset |
|
|
rtl8192ce |
Realtek chipsets (RTL8188CE, RTL8192CE) |
|
|
rtl8192de |
Realtek chipsets (RTL8188DE, RTL8192DE) |
|
|
rtl8192se |
Realtek chipsets (RTL8191SE, RTL8192SE) |
|
|
strip |
|
?strip |
? |
wavelan |
|
?wavelan |
? |
wl |
Broadcom chipsets (BCM4311, BCM4312, BCM4313, BCM4321, BCM4322, BCM43224, BCM43225, BCM43227, BCM43228) |
|
|
|
Atheros Communications AR5005VL (AR5513) chipset [168c:0020] |
|
|
|
InProComm IPN 2120 chipset [17fe:2120] |
|
|
|
InProComm IPN 2220 chipset [17fe:2220] |
|
|
|
Marvell Libertas 88W8335 chipset [11ab:1faa] |
|
|
|
WavePlus WP1200 chipset [17f7:0001] |
|
Legend :
= OK ; Unsupported(No Driver) ; = Error (Couldn't get it working); [?] Unknown, Not Test ; [-] Not-applicable
= Configuration Required; = Only works with a proprietary driver and/or firmware
An extended list of PCI-IDs to kernel-module mapping is available at DeviceDatabase/PCI.
USB Devices
See HowToIdentifyADevice/USB for more information
module name |
Device name(s) |
help page |
free (?) |
acx |
Texas Instruments chipsets (ACX100USB, TNETW1450) |
|
|
ar9170usb |
Atheros Communications AR9170 chipset |
/ 3 |
|
at76c50x-usb |
Atmel chipsets (at76c503, at76c505, at76c505a) |
|
|
ath9k_htc |
Atheros Communications chipsets (AR9271, AR7010) |
|
|
carl9170 |
Atheros Communications AR9170 chipset |
|
|
orinoco_usb |
Lucent/Agere Hermes chipset |
|
|
p54usb |
Intersil Prism54 chipsets (ISL3886, ISL3887) |
|
|
prism2_usb |
Intersil Prism 2/2.5/3 chipsets |
|
|
r8712u |
Realtek chipsets (RTL8188SU, RTL8191SU, RTL8192SU) |
|
|
r8192u_usb |
Realtek RTL8192U chipset |
|
|
rndis_wlan |
Broadcom BCM4320 chipset |
|
|
rt2500usb |
Ralink RT2500USB/RT2571 chipset |
|
|
rt2800usb |
Ralink chipsets (RT2070, RT2770, RT2870, RT3070, RT3071, RT3072, RT3370, RT3572, RT5370) |
|
|
rt2870sta |
Ralink chipsets (RT2770/RT2870, RT3070/RT3071/RT3072) |
|
|
rt73usb |
Ralink RT2501USB/RT2571W chipset |
|
|
rtl8187 |
Realtek chipsets (RTL8187, RTL8187B) |
|
|
rtl8192cu |
Realtek chipsets (RTL8188CE-VAU, RTL8188CUS, RTL8192CU) |
|
|
usb8xxx |
Marvell Libertas 88W8386 chipset |
|
|
vt6656_stage |
VIA VT6656 chipset |
|
|
zd1201 |
ZyDAS ZD1201 chipset |
|
|
zd1211rw |
ZyDAS ZD1211/1211B and Atheros AR5007UG chipsets |
|
|
|
Netgear MA111v2 [0846:4230] |
|
|
|
Netgear WN111v1 [0846:9000] |
|
|
|
TRENDware TEW-424UB v2 [0457:0163] |
|
An extended list of USB-IDs to kernel-module mapping is available at DeviceDatabase/USB.
PC Card (PCMCIA) Devices
See HowToIdentifyADevice/PC_Card for more information
module name |
Device name(s) |
help page |
free (?) |
acx |
Texas Instruments chipsets (ACX100/TNETW1100, ACX111/TNETW1130) |
|
|
adm8211 |
ADMtek ADM8211 chipset |
|
|
airo_cs |
|
?airo_cs |
? |
ath5k |
Atheros Communications chipsets (AR5210, AR5211, AR5212, AR5213, AR5414) |
|
|
ath9k |
Atheros Communications 802.11n chipsets |
|
|
atmel_cs |
Atmel chipsets (at76c502x, at76c504x) |
|
|
b43 |
Broadcom chipsets (kernels >= 2.6.24) |
|
|
hostap_cs |
Intersil Prism 2/2.5/3 chipsets |
/ 1 |
|
netwave_cs |
|
?netwave cs |
? |
orinoco_cs |
Lucent/Agere Hermes and Intersil Prism 2/2.5/3 chipsets |
/ 2 |
|
p54pci |
Intersil Prism54 chipsets (ISL3877, ISL3880, ISL3886, ISL3890) |
|
|
prism2_cs |
Intersil Prism 2/2.5/3 chipsets |
/ 1 |
|
prism54 |
Intersil Prism54 chipsets (ISL3887, ISL3880, ISL3890) |
|
|
ray_cs |
|
?ray cs |
? |
rt2400pci |
Ralink chipsets (RT2400/RT2460, RT2401/RT2460) |
|
|
rt2500pci |
Ralink RT2500/RT2560 chipset |
|
|
rt2860sta |
Ralink chipsets (RT2760/RT2790/RT2860/RT2890, RT3090/RT3091/RT3092) |
|
|
rt61pci |
Ralink chipsets (RT2501/2561, RT2600/RT2661) |
|
|
rtl8180 |
Realtek chipsets (RTL8180, RTL8185) |
|
|
spectrum_cs |
Symbol Spectrum24 Trilogy chipsets |
/ 4 |
|
wavelan_cs |
|
?wavelan/cs |
? |
wl |
Broadcom chipsets (BCM4311, BCM4312, BCM4321, BCM4322) |
|
|
wl3501_cs |
|
?wl3501/cs |
? |
|
Atheros Communications AR5005VL (AR5513) chipset [168c:0020] |
|
|
|
InProComm IPN 2120 chipset [17fe:2120] |
|
|
|
Marvell Libertas 88W8335 chipset [11ab:1faa] |
|
|
|
WavePlus WP1200 chipset [17f7:0002] |
|
|
|
ZyDAS ZD1201 chipset (16-bit PC Cards) |
n/a |
|
Routers
module name |
Device name(s) |
help page |
free (?) |
Linksys WRT54GC |
Wikipedia; it isn't similar to the WRT54G; The WRT54GC is based on the Sercomm IP806SM reference design the same chipset as the current Linksys WTY54G the Airlink101 AR315W, Alloy WRT2454AP, and Hawking HWR54G. You also can use NdisWrapper |
|
http://hostap.epitest.fi/, hostapd is a daemon to turn a computer into an access point.
Configure Interface
Your wireless network interface can be configured using a connection manager or Debian's network interface configuration file (/etc/network/interfaces).
Graphical Network Connection Tools:
Network Manager for GNOME (network-manager) or wicd
For more information, please see WiFi/HowToUse.
Resources
?Internet_Connection_Sharing
External Links
http://www.linuxwireless.org , including devices and drivers.
http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/#howto The Linux Wireless Compatibility and ?HowTo.
http://linux-wless.passys.nl/ Wireless Adapter Chipset Directory
Wi-Fi definition
CategoryPortal | CategoryNetwork
Prism3 SSF devices require non-free firmware from userspace. (1 2 3 4)
For WPA support on Hermes-based devices, non-free firmware from userspace is required. Non-WPA usage and Prism chipsets (except Prism 3 SSF) use firmware stored in flash memory. (5 6)
Binary-only and GPL firmware available. (7)
For devices without flash memory (eg. Intel WPC2011BWW), non-free firmware from userspace is required. (8)