Ralink RT2400/RT2460, RT2401/RT2460 devices

This page describes how to enable support for WiFi devices based on Ralink RT2400 and RT2401 chipsets on Debian systems.

Drivers

The Ralink RT2400 and RT2401 802.11b wireless LAN chipsets are supported by three native drivers:

• rt2400 (Legacy driver)
  • Released by Ralink under the GPL.
  • Not generally recommended for use.

• rt2400 (Enhanced legacy driver)

  • Source provided by the rt2400-source package.

• rt2400pci (Next-generation driver)

  • The recommended driver to use.
  • Included in the mainline kernel starting from 2.6.24.

  • Source previously packaged in rt2x00-source, removed from Debian to resolve bug 474189.

Both the enhanced legacy and next-generation drivers are maintained by the rt2x00 project. Supported devices are listed at the end of this page.

All drivers do not require firmware to be installed.

Installation

rt2400pci (next-generation driver)

The rt2400pci driver is included in the mainline kernel since 2.6.24. It is included as a module in Debian kernel images.

Lenny

Using Etch? Skip to the Etch section.

As drivers from the rt2x00 project are included in the mainline kernel, the rt2400pci driver is present on your system.

1. Install the wireless-tools package:

   aptitude update
   aptitude install wireless-tools

2. The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via:

   modprobe rt2400pci

3. Verify your device has an available interface:

   iwconfig

4. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:

   ifconfig wlan0 up

5. Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

Etch with 2.6.18 kernel

Although an etch/rt2x00-source package is available, this version is considered experimental and only supports a small number of devices. The devices which are supported are likely to encounter issues.

It is highly recommended to use an EtchAndAHalf kernel image, which will provide your system with an updated rt2400pci driver included as part of the kernel. You will not need to use etch/rt2x00-source.

Install an EtchAndAHalf kernel image (apt-cache search linux-image-2.6.24-etchnhalf and install a package appropriate for your system), restart your system to boot using this kernel, then follow the Etch with 2.6.24 kernel procedure below.

Etch with 2.6.24 kernel

As drivers from the rt2x00 project are included in the mainline kernel, the rt2400pci driver is present on your system.

• The rt2400pci driver is not present in the stock 2.6.18 kernel.

• Install and boot an EtchAndAHalf kernel: apt-cache search linux-image-2.6.24-etchnhalf and install a package appropriate for your system.

• Restart your system with this kernel before continuing.

1. Install the etch/wireless-tools package:

   aptitude update
   aptitude install wireless-tools

2. The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via:

   modprobe rt2400pci

3. Verify your device has an available interface:

   iwconfig

4. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:

   ifconfig wlan0 up

5. Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

rt2400 (enhanced legacy driver)

While use of the next-generation driver is preferred, the enhanced legacy driver can alternatively be used. This is required to be compiled and installed, which can be automated via module-assistant.

1. Install the module-assistant and wireless-tools packages:

   aptitude update
   aptitude install module-assistant wireless-tools

2. Build and install an rt2400-modules-* package within your system:

   m-a prepare
   m-a a-i rt2400

3. Load the rt2400 module:

   modprobe rt2400

   This module will be automatically loaded when your system is restarted.

4. Verify your device has an available interface:

   iwconfig

5. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:

   ifconfig eth1 up

6. Configure your wireless interface as appropriate.

Known Issues

• The enhanced legacy driver does not support:

  • WPA

  • Scanning via iwlist(8)

  Use the next-generation driver to provide this support.

Supported Devices

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

The following list is based on the alias fields of  modinfo rt2400pci on Lenny.

• PCI: 1814:0101 RaLink Wireless PCI Adapter RT2400 / RT2460

See Also

• How to use a WiFi interface

External Links

• http://rt2x00.serialmonkey.com/ - enhanced legacy and next-generation driver homepage

CategoryHardware | CategoryWireless