Differences between revisions 11 and 13 (spanning 2 versions)
Revision 11 as of 2009-04-04 04:50:25
Size: 8253
Editor: GeoffSimmons
Comment: Amend RTL8187SE procedures due to rtl8187se package removal (bug #522121).
Revision 13 as of 2009-05-02 14:43:29
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Editor: GeoffSimmons
Comment: More information required WRT RTL8185 and Squeeze.
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<!> [[DebianSqueeze|Squeeze]] users:
  * For devices with the RTL8185 chipset it may be necessary to use [[NdisWrapper|NDISwrapper]] instead.
    ToDo: Provide more information (e.g. the relevant Debian [[reportbug|bug report]] number).

Translation(s): none

(!) ?Discussion


Realtek RTL8180, RTL8185, RTL8187, RTL8187B, RTL8187SE devices

This page describes how to enable support for WiFi devices based on Realtek chipsets on Debian systems.

Drivers

rtl-wifi is a project to develop drivers for Realtek wireless LAN chipsets, a fork of the rtl8180-sa2400 project. These drivers were introduced into the mainline Linux kernel at various stages.

The driver modules are:

  • rtl8180 (PCI devices) - supported devices

    • Support for RTL8180 chipsets was introduced in kernel 2.6.25.
    • Support for RTL8185 chipsets was introduced in kernel 2.6.25.
  • rtl8187 (USB devices) - suported devices

    • Support for RTL8187 chipsets was introduced in kernel 2.6.23.
    • Support for some RTL8187B chipsets was introduced in kernel 2.6.27.

The RTL8187SE chipset is not supported by the project at this time. An experimental vendor driver is available, which is included in the mainline Linux kernel since 2.6.29-rc1. It is present in Debian kernel images since 2.6.29.1

Installation

<!> Squeeze users:

  • For devices with the RTL8185 chipset it may be necessary to use NDISwrapper instead.

    • ToDo: Provide more information (e.g. the relevant Debian bug report number).

<!> Lenny users:

  • For RTL8187B chipset support, install a 2.6.27 (or later) Debian Kernel snapshot. Restart your system with this kernel before continuing.

<!> Etch users:

  • For RTL8180 and RTL8185 chipset support, install a 2.6.26 kernel from Debian Backports. Once your sources are configured: apt-cache search linux-image-2.6.26 and install a package appropriate for your system. Restart your system with this kernel before continuing.

  • For RTL8187 chipset support, install 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 wireless-tools package:

    $ su
    # aptitude update
    # aptitude install wireless-tools
  2. If your device uses USB or PC Card (PCMCIA), physically connect it to your system.
  3. The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via either:

    # modprobe rtl8180

    or

    # modprobe rtl8187
  4. Verify your device has an available interface:

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

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

Supported Devices

rtl8180

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

The following list is based on the alias fields of modinfo rtl8180 on Lenny.

  • PCI: 10EC:8180 Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (Device name unknown)
    PCI: 10EC:8185 Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (Device name unknown)
    PCI: 1186:3300 D-Link System Inc DWL-510 2.4GHz Wireless PCI Adapter
    PCI: 1799:6001 Belkin Wireless PCI Card - F5D6001
    PCI: 1799:6020 Belkin Wireless PCMCIA Card - F5D6020
    PCI: 1799:700F Belkin (Device name unknown)
    PCI: 1799:701F Belkin (Device name unknown)

rtl8187

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

The following list is based on the alias fields of modinfo rtl8187 on Lenny.

  • USB: 03F0:CA02 Hewlett-Packard (Device name unknown)
    USB: 050D:705E Belkin Components (Device name unknown)
    USB: 0846:4260 NetGear, Inc. WG111v3 54 Mbps Wireless [realtek RTL8187B]
    USB: 0846:6100 NetGear, Inc. (Device name unknown)
    USB: 0846:6A00 NetGear, Inc. WG111v2 54 Mbps Wireless [RealTek RTL8187L] 
    USB: 0B05:171D ASUSTek Computer, Inc. (Device name unknown)
    USB: 0BDA:8187 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. (Device name unknown)
    USB: 0BDA:8189 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. (Device name unknown)
    USB: 0BDA:8197 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. (Device name unknown)
    USB: 0BDA:8198 Realtek Semiconductor Corp. (Device name unknown)
    USB: 0DF6:000D Sitecom Europe B.V. (Device name unknown)
    USB: 0DF6:0028 Sitecom Europe B.V. (Device name unknown)
    USB: 13D1:ABE6 A-Max Technology Macao Commercial Offshore Co. Ltd. (Device name unknown)

RTL8187SE

The Realtek RTL8187SE is an IEEE 802.11b/g single-chip wireless LAN integrated circuit, with a PCI Express interface. This can be found in the Asus EeePC 701SD.

A driver from Realtek is available for initial device support on Linux systems. This is included in the mainline Linux kernel since 2.6.29-rc1. It is present in Debian kernel images since 2.6.29.

  • {X} The vendor driver is experimental. Expect stability, performance and/or latency issues.

Installation

Lenny, Squeeze

  1. Add the Debian Kernel Snapshots repository to /etc/apt/sources.list:

    # Debian Kernel Snapshots (experimental!)
    deb http://kernel-archive.buildserver.net/debian-kernel sid main
  2. Add the Debian Kernel Snapshots repository key:

    $ wget http://kernel-archive.buildserver.net/key
    $ su
    # apt-key add key
  3. Update the list of available packages. Install a 2.6.29 (or later) kernel image appropriate for your system, along with the wireless-tools package. For example:

    # aptitude update
    # aptitude install linux-image-2.6.29-1-686 wireless-tools
  4. Restart your system and boot with the newly installed kernel.
  5. The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via:

    $ su
    # modprobe rtl8187se
  6. Verify your device has an available interface:

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

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

Sid

  1. Install the wireless-tools package:

    $ su
    # aptitude update
    # aptitude install wireless-tools
  2. The necessary kernel module should be automatically loaded. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via:

    # modprobe rtl8187se
  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.

Supported Devices

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

The following list is based on the alias fields of modinfo rtl8187se in Debian 2.6.29 kernel images.

  • PCI: 10EC:8199 Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL8187SE Wireless LAN Controller

See Also


CategoryHardware | CategoryWireless

  1. Formerly packaged as ?PTS:rtl8187se, removed to resolve Debian bug 522121. (1)