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  * Not compiled by default in [[DebPkg:linux-wlan-ng-source|linux-wlan-ng-source]].<<FootNote(Driver disabled to resolve Debian bug report Bug:365076.)>>   * Not compiled by default in [[DebPkg:linux-wlan-ng-source|linux-wlan-ng-source]].<<FootNote(Driver disabled to resolve Debian bug report DebianBug:365076.)>>
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 * As described in Debian bug report Bug:367790, the linux-wlan-ng driver will leak memory if:  * As described in Debian bug report DebianBug:367790, the linux-wlan-ng driver will leak memory if:
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 * DebPkg:lenny/linux-wlan-ng-source does not build against 2.6.27 and later kernels (see bug Bug:501486).  * DebPkg:lenny/linux-wlan-ng-source does not build against 2.6.27 and later kernels (see bug DebianBug:501486).

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(!) ?Discussion


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

This page describes how to enable support for WiFi devices based on Prism 2/2.5/3 chipsets, using the linux-wlan-ng driver on Debian systems.

Driver

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

  • prism2_cs (supported devices)

    • Not compiled by default in linux-wlan-ng-source.1

    • Supports Prism 2/2.5/3-based 16-bit PC Card (PCMCIA) devices.
  • prism2_pci (supported devices)

    • Supports Prism 2/2.5/3-based devices using a direct PCI interface.
  • prism2_plx (supported devices)

    • Supports Prism 2/2.5/3-based devices using the PLX9052 PCI bridge.
  • prism2_usb (supported devices)

    • Supports Prism 2/2.5/3-based USB devices.
    • Included as a staging driver in mainline kernels since 2.6.28-rc1.2

{i} The hostap or orinoco drivers are generally preferred to linux-wlan-ng. linux-wlan-ng is the only driver supporting USB devices. Prism54 802.11g chipsets are supported by the p54 drivers.

With the exception of prism2_usb, the linux-wlan-ng driver is not included in the mainline Linux kernel. Driver source, documentation and support scripts are packaged for use on Debian systems.

Installation

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

For all other modules or earlier kernels, the linux-wlan-ng driver is required to be compiled and installed, which can be automated via module-assistant.

  1. If not already performed, connect the device to your system.
  2. Install the linux-wlan-ng, linux-wlan-ng-doc and module-assistant packages:

    aptitude update
    aptitude install linux-wlan-ng linux-wlan-ng-doc module-assistant
  3. Build and install a linux-wlan-ng-modules-* package within your system, using one of the following steps:
    1. 16-bit PC Card (PCMCIA) devices only: A configuration script is required to be cloned and modified to build the prism2_cs module:

      cd /usr/src
      m-a get linux-wlan-ng
      tar xvf linux-wlan-ng.tar.bz2
      cd modules/linux-wlan-ng/debian
      cp config-for-lwng config-foo
      sed -i 's/PCMCIA=n/PCMCIA=$BUILD_MODULES/' config-foo
      m-a -O a-i linux-wlan-ng

      or

    2. All other devices (ie. PCI, Mini PCI, Cardbus and USB):

      m-a a-i linux-wlan-ng
  4. If firmware is required to be provided for your device (eg. 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

      or

      # Debian Etch/4.0
      deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian etch 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
  5. Unload and blacklist the Host AP driver modules. This step is not necessary for Prism USB devices.

    for i in hostap_cs hostap_pci hostap_plx ; do \
    modprobe -r $i ; echo blacklist $i >> /etc/modprobe.d/local.conf ; done
  6. Load the relevant module, depending on your device's host interface:

    modprobe prism2_cs

    or

    modprobe prism2_pci

    or

    modprobe prism2_plx

    or

    modprobe prism2_usb

    The module will be automatically loaded when your system is restarted and the device is connected.

  7. Verify your device has an available interface:

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

    ifconfig wlan0 up
  9. Configure your interface as appropriate.

Troubleshooting

  • Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg) 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.
    • Ensure you have built and installed a linux-wlan-ng-firmware-files-* package as described above, then reload the relevant driver module:
      • prism2_cs: modprobe -r prism2_cs && modprobe prism2_cs

      • prism2_pci: modprobe -r prism2_pci && modprobe prism2_pci

      • prism2_plx: modprobe -r prism2_plx && modprobe prism2_plx

      • prism2_usb: 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 will leak memory if:

    1. The interface is set to operate in monitor mode and

    2. Kismet is used to stress the device.

Other Notes

  • This driver supports Prism 3 SSF (Small Serial Flash) devices, which require firmware.
  • Primary and secondary (aka station) firmware will be downloaded to the device's RAM during its initalization, if previously installed via the linux-wlan-ng-firmware-files* package.
  • lenny/linux-wlan-ng-source does not build against 2.6.27 and later kernels (see bug 501486).

Supported Devices

prism2_cs

The page HowToIdentifyADevice/PC_Card explains how to identify a PC Card device.

The following list was extracted from /etc/pcmcia/wlan-ng.conf provided by lenny/linux-wlan-ng.

  • 3Com AirConnect 3CRWE777A
    ACTIONTEC PRISM Wireless LAN PC Card
    Adaptec AWN-8030
    Addtron AWP-100 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card
    Ambicom WL1100 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card
    AnyPoint(TM) Wireless II PC Card
    ASUS WL-100 802.11b WLAN  PC Card
    ASUS WL-110 802.11b WLAN CF Card
    benQ AWL100 802.11b WLAN Card
    BroMax Freeport 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card (Prism 2.5)
    Bromax OEM 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card (Prism 2.5)
    Bromax OEM 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card (Prism 3)
    BUFFALO WLI-CF-S11G 802.11b WLAN Card
    Compaq iPaq HNW-100 11Mb/s 802.11b WLAN Card
    Compaq WL100/200 11Mb/s 802.11b WLAN Card
    CONTEC FLEXSCAN/FX-DDS110-PCC
    corega K.K. Wireless LAN PCC-11
    corega K.K. Wireless LAN PCCA-11
    D-Link DCF-660W  11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card
    D-Link DRC-650 802.11b WLAN Card
    D-Link DWL-650 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card
    D-Link DWL-650 rev P 802.11b WLAN card
    Dynalink L11HDT 11Mbps 802.11 WLAN Card
    Intermec MobileLAN 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card
    Intersil Prism 2 card
    Intersil PRISM Freedom 11mbps 802.11 WLAN Card
    LeArtery SYNCBYAIR 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card
    Level-One WPC-0100
    Linksys WCF11 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card (Prism 2.5)
    Linksys WCF12 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card (Prism 3)
    Microsoft Wireless Notebook Adapter MN-520
    NETGEAR MA401 11Mbps 802.11 WLAN Card
    OTC Wireless AirEZY 2411-PCC 11Mbps 802.11 WLAN Card
    PLANEX GeoWave/GW-NS110
    PROXIM RangeLAN-DS/LAN PC CARD
    Samsung SWL2000-N 11Mb/s 802.11b WLAN Card
    SMC 2632W 11Mbps 802.11b WLAN Card
    U.S. Robotics IEEE 802.11b PC-CARD
    Z-Com XI300 11Mb/s 802.11b WLAN Card
    ZoomAir 4100 11Mb/s 802.11b WLAN Card

prism2_pci

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

The following list is based on the alias fields of prism2_pci on Lenny.

  • PCI: 1260:3872 Intersil Corporation Prism 2.5 Wavelan chipset
    PCI: 1260:3873 Intersil Corporation Prism 2.5 Wavelan chipset
    PCI: 1385:3872 Netgear (Device name unknown)
    PCI: 167D:A000 Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., Ltd. IPW2200 miniPCI Wireless

prism2_plx

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

The following list is based on the alias fields of prism2_plx on Lenny.

  • PCI: 10B7:7770 3Com Corporation 3CRWE777 PCI(PLX) Wireless Adaptor [Airconnect]
    PCI: 1385:4100 Netgear MA301 802.11b Wireless PCI Adapter
    PCI: 15E8:0130 National Datacomm Corp Wireless PCI Card
    PCI: 15E8:0131 National Datacomm Corp NCP130A2 Wireless NIC
    PCI: 1638:1100 Standard Microsystems Corp [SMC] SMC2602W EZConnect / Addtron AWA-100 / Eumitcom PCI WL11000
    PCI: 16AB:1101 Global Sun Technology Inc PLX9052 PCMCIA-to-PCI Wireless LAN
    PCI: 16AB:1102 Global Sun Technology Inc PCMCIA-to-PCI Wireless Network Bridge
    PCI: 16EC:3685 U.S. Robotics Wireless Access PCI Adapter Model 022415

prism2_usb

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

The following list is based on the alias fields of prism2_usb on Lenny.

  • USB: 03F3:0020 Adaptec, Inc. AWN-8020 WLAN
    USB: 0411:0016 MelCo., Inc. WLI-USB-S11 802.11b Adapter
    USB: 0411:0027 MelCo., Inc. WLI-USB-KS11G 802.11b Adapter
    USB: 0411:0044 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: 0707:EE04 Standard Microsystems Corp. SMCWUSB32 802.11b Wireless LAN Card
    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. WLAN
    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 Linksys WUSB11 v3.0 802.11b Adapter
    USB: 2001:3700 D-Link Corp. [hex] DWL-122 802.11b
    USB: 2001:3702 D-Link Corp. [hex] DWL-120 rev F
    USB: 2821:3300 Unknown Wireless Adapter
    USB: 2C02:14EA Planex Communications GW-US11H WLAN
    USB: 413C:8100 Dell Computer Corp. TrueMobile 1180 802.11b Adapter
    USB: 50C2:4013 Averatec (?) WLAN Adapter
    USB: 8086:1111 Intel Corp. PRO/Wireless 2011B 802.11b Adapter
    USB: 9016:182D Sitecom WL-022 802.11b Adapter

See Also


CategoryHardware | CategoryWireless

  1. Driver disabled to resolve Debian bug report 365076. (1)

  2. Linux 2.6.28-rc1 changelog (2)