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Revision 4 as of 2010-03-26 10:03:34
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Revision 5 as of 2010-05-17 07:36:02
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Comment: Amend supported devices, drop -p in mkdir, install wireless-tools in squeeze procedure, formatting.
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# mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/firmware # mkdir /usr/local/lib/firmware
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# mkdir -p /usr/local/lib/firmware # mkdir /usr/local/lib/firmware
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 1. If not already performed, connect the device to your system.  1. Install the DebianPkg:wireless-tools package: {{{
# aptitude install wireless-tools
}}}
If not already performed, connect the device to your system.
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modprobe -r ar9170usb ; modprobe ar9170usb # modprobe -r ar9170usb ; modprobe ar9170usb
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USB: 057C:8401 AVM GmbH AVM Fritz!WLAN USB N
USB
: 057C:8402 AVM GmbH AVM Fritz!WLAN USB N 2.4
USB: 0586:3417 ZyXEL Communications Corp. (Device name unknown)
USB: 057C:8401 AVM GmbH AVM Fritz!WLAN N [Atheros AR9001U]
USB: 057C:8402 AVM GmbH AVM Fritz!WLAN N 2.4 [Atheros AR9001U]
USB: 0586:3417 ZyXEL Communications Corp. NWD271N 802.11n Wireless Adapter [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
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USB: 0CF3:1001 Atheros Communications, Inc. TG121N
USB: 0CF3:1002 Atheros Communications, Inc. (Device name unknown)
USB: 0CF3:1001 Atheros Communications, Inc. Thomson TG121N [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
USB: 0CF3:1002 Atheros Communications, Inc. TP-Link TL-WN821N v2 [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
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USB: CACE:0300 CACE Technologies Inc. (Device name unknown) USB: CACE:0300 CACE Technologies Inc. AirPcap NX [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]

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Atheros AR9170 devices

This page describes how to enable support for WiFi devices based on the Atheros AR9170 chipset on Debian systems.

ar9170usb is a module for the Atheros AR9170 ("otus") 802.11 draft-n USB wireless LAN chipset. Supported devices are listed at the end of this page.

This driver is included in the mainline Linux kernel since 2.6.30-rc1. It is present in Debian kernel images since 2.6.30.

{i} Atheros 802.11n PCI devices are supported by the ath9k driver.

Installation

Firmware is required to be installed prior to device operation (not currently packaged, see 558740).

Lenny

  1. Acquire the AR9170 one stage firmware:

    $ wget http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/mcgrof/firmware/ar9170/ar9170.fw
  2. Install the firmware:

    $ su
    # mkdir /usr/local/lib/firmware
    # mv ar9170.fw /usr/local/lib/firmware
  3. Add the Debian Backports repository to /etc/apt/sources.list, for example:

    # Backported packages for Debian Lenny
    deb http://www.backports.org/debian lenny-backports main
  4. Update the list of available packages and install the lenny-backports/debian-backports-keyring package:

    # aptitude update
    # aptitude -t lenny-backports install debian-backports-keyring

    As your system does not yet have the GnuPG archive key of the backports.org repository installed, you will be asked to confirm installation of a package from an untrusted repository. Enter Yes when prompted.

  5. Install a 2.6.32 kernel image appropriate for your system, along with the wireless-tools package. For example:

    # aptitude update
    # aptitude -t lenny-backports install linux-image-2.6-$(uname -r | sed 's,.*-,,') wireless-tools
  6. Restart your system and boot with the newly installed kernel. If not already performed, connect the device to your system.
  7. The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via:

    $ su
    # modprobe ar9170usb
  8. Verify your device has an available interface:

    # iwconfig
  9. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:

    # ifconfig wlan0 up
  10. Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

Squeeze

  1. Acquire the AR9170 one stage firmware:

    $ wget http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/kernel/people/mcgrof/firmware/ar9170/ar9170.fw
  2. Install the firmware:

    $ su
    # mkdir /usr/local/lib/firmware
    # mv ar9170.fw /usr/local/lib/firmware
  3. Install the wireless-tools package:

    # aptitude install wireless-tools
    If not already performed, connect the device to your system.
  4. As the driver may already be loaded, reinsert the module to access installed firmware:

    # modprobe -r ar9170usb ; modprobe ar9170usb
  5. Verify your device has an available interface:

    # iwconfig
  6. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:

    # ifconfig wlan0 up
  7. Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

Troubleshooting

  • Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg(1)) to verify required firmware files are being loaded by the driver:

    [ 7032.396963] usb 2-1: firmware: requesting ar9170.fw
    [ 7032.427345] usb 2-1: ar9170.fw firmware file not found, trying old firmware...
    [ 7032.442582] usb 2-1: firmware: requesting ar9170-1.fw
    [ 7032.495148] usb 2-1: file with init values not found.
    [ 7032.514607] ar9170usb: probe of 2-1:1.0 failed with error -2
    • If requested firmware is not available, no wireless interface will be created.
    • After the firmware is installed, reload the driver: modprobe -r ar9170usb ; modprobe ar9170usb

Supported Devices

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

The following list is based on the alias fields of modinfo ar9170usb in Debian 2.6.32 kernel images.

  • USB: 04BB:093F I-O Data Device, Inc. WNGDNUS2 802.11n
    USB: 057C:8401 AVM GmbH AVM Fritz!WLAN N [Atheros AR9001U]
    USB: 057C:8402 AVM GmbH AVM Fritz!WLAN N 2.4 [Atheros AR9001U]
    USB: 0586:3417 ZyXEL Communications Corp. NWD271N 802.11n Wireless Adapter [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
    USB: 07D1:3A09 D-Link System DWA-160 Xtreme N Dual Band USB Adapter(rev.A2) [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
    USB: 07D1:3C10 D-Link System DWA-160 Xtreme N Dual Band USB Adapter(rev.A) [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
    USB: 083A:F522 Accton Technology Corp. Arcadyan WN7512 802.11n
    USB: 0846:9001 NetGear, Inc. WN111(v2) RangeMax Next Wireless [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
    USB: 0846:9010 NetGear, Inc. WNDA3100(v1) 802.11n [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
    USB: 0ACE:1221 ZyDAS ZD1221 802.11n
    USB: 0CDE:0023 Z-Com UB81 802.11bgn
    USB: 0CDE:0026 Z-Com UB82 802.11abgn
    USB: 0CF3:1001 Atheros Communications, Inc. Thomson TG121N [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
    USB: 0CF3:1002 Atheros Communications, Inc. TP-Link TL-WN821N v2 [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]
    USB: 0CF3:9170 Atheros Communications, Inc. AR9170 802.11n
    USB: 2019:5304 PLANEX GWUS300 802.11n
    USB: CACE:0300 CACE Technologies Inc. AirPcap NX [Atheros AR9001U-(2)NG]

See Also


CategoryHardware | CategoryWireless