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Atmel at76c506 devices
This page describes how to enable support for WiFi devices based on the Atmel at76c506 PCI chipset on Debian systems.
Contents
atmel_pci is a module for the Atmel at76c506 PCI 802.11b wireless LAN chipset. For assistance with Atmel PCMCIA or USB wireless devices, see the atmel_cs and at76_usb pages respectively.
Non-free firmware is required, which can be provided by installing the atmel-firmware package.
Installation
The atmel_pci driver is included in the mainline Linux kernel since version 2.6.5 and is included as a module in Debian kernel images.
Firmware is required to be installed prior to device operation:
Add a "non-free" component to /etc/apt/sources.list for your Debian version, for example:
# Debian Squeeze/6.0 deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian squeeze main contrib non-free
Update the list of available packages and install the atmel-firmware and wireless-tools packages:
aptitude update aptitude install atmel-firmware wireless-tools
The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via:
modprobe atmel_pci
Verify your device has an available interface:
iwconfig
Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:
ifconfig eth1 up
Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.
Troubleshooting
Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg(1)) to verify the required firmware file is being loaded by the driver. Lack of firmware is the usual reason for the "SIOCSIFFLAGS: Resource temporarily unavailable" error message.
Ensure the atmel-firmware package is installed.
Known Issues
- No monitor or master mode functionality is available.
- The driver does not support WPA.
Supported Devices
The page HowToIdentifyADevice/PCI explains how to identify a PCI device.
The following list is based on the alias fields of modinfo atmel_pci in Debian 2.6.32 (2.6.32-30) kernel images.
PCI: 1114:0506 Atmel Corporation at76c506 802.11b Wireless Network Adaptor
Other Notes
The dependent atmel module accepts a firmware parameter, which can be used to force the loading of a specific firmware file if necessary.
See Also
atmel_cs - Help page for Atmel PCMCIA wireless devices
at76_usb - Help page for Atmel USB wireless devices
External Links
Alternate Pcmcia GPL driver - Driver description in the Linux Wireless LAN Howto