[:/Discussion:Discussion]
ZyDAS ZD1211/ZD1211B and Atheros AR5007UG devices
This page describes how to enable support for WiFi devices based on ZyDAS ZD1211 chipsets on Debian systems. ?TableOfContents(2) zd1211rw is a module for ZyDAS ZD1211, ZD1211B and Atheros AR5007UG USB 802.11g wireless LAN chipsets. This is not to be confused with the ["zd1201"] module which supports the ZD1201 802.11b chipset.
After being acquired by Atheros, the ZyDAS ZD1211B chipset was rebranded as the "Atheros AR5007UG" (also known as AR2524/AR5524). Devices with chipsets bearing these names are also supported.
Non-free firmware is required, which can be provided by installing the zd1211-firmware package.
Installation
The zd1211rw driver is included in the mainline Linux kernel since 2.6.18-rc1. It is present in Debian kernel images.
[:DebianEtch:Etch] users: Some ZD1211/ZD1211B devices may not be known to the zd1211rw driver in the 2.6.18 kernel. Refer to the [#troubleshoot troubleshooting section] to install a 2.6.24 kernel image.
1. Add a "non-free" component to /etc/apt/sources.list for your Debian version, for example:
# Debian Etch/4.0 deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian etch main contrib non-free
# Debian Lenny/5.0 deb http://ftp.us.debian.org/debian lenny main contrib non-free
2. Install the wireless-tools and zd1211-firmware packages:
aptitude update aptitude install wireless-tools zd1211-firmware
3. Physically connect the device to your system.
4. The necessary kernel module should be [:Modules:automatically loaded]. If necessary, it can be manually loaded via:
modprobe zd1211rw
5. Verify your device has an available interface:
iwconfig
6. Raise the interface to activate the radio, for example:
ifconfig wlan0 up
7. [:WiFi/HowToUse:Configure] your wireless interface as appropriate.
?Anchor(troubleshoot)
Troubleshooting
- Examine the kernel ring buffer (dmesg) to verify the 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 the zd1211-firmware package is installed. Alternatively, firmware can be manually acquired from SourceForge: http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=129083 ; place the zd1211* files within the /lib/firmware/zd1211 directory.
- Atheros AR5007UG devices based on the UW2453 radio require a 2.6.23 or later kernel.
Etch users: Install and boot an [:EtchAndAHalf:] kernel (apt-cache search linux-image-2.6.24-etchnhalf and install a package appropriate for your system).
External Links
http://www.linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/zd1211rw - driver homepage;
http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=129083 - zd1211 firmware
http://www.linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/zd1211rw/devices - supported devices
irc://irc.freenode.net/#zd1211 - driver ["IRC"] channel
http://zd1211.wiki.sourceforge.net/VendorDriver - brief history of the original vendor driver
See Also
- ["zd1201"] - Help page for the ZyDAS ZD1201 chipset (802.11b USB devices)
[:WiFi/HowToUse:?HowToUse] Wifi adapter