Date: Sat, 02 Apr 2005 13:47:21 -0800 From: Sam Leffler <sam@errno.com> To: Brian Reichert <reichert@numachi.com> Cc: freebsd-hackers@freebsd.org Subject: Re: which Wifi cards can be used for a WAP? Message-ID: <424F12E9.30804@errno.com> In-Reply-To: <20050402162842.GU44514@numachi.com> References: <20050402065052.GT44514@numachi.com> <20050402162842.GU44514@numachi.com>
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Brian Reichert wrote: > On Sat, Apr 02, 2005 at 01:50:52AM -0500, Brian Reichert wrote: > >>I'm looking at the impressive list of wireless network cards supported >>by FreeBSD here: >> >> http://www.freebsd.org/releases/5.3R/hardware-i386.html#WLAN >> >>But, I have the specific interest of building an 802.11g WAP. I >>seem to recall lore that not all Wifi cards could be used this way >>(something about needing to be able to run in ad-hoc mode, or some >>such.) > > > The ath(4) manpage speaks of a 'hostap' mode, but the manpage > confuses me. > > First, it says: > > The driver may also be configured to operate in hostap mode. In > this mode a host may function as an access point (base station). > > Then: > > Access points are different than operating in IBSS mode. They > operate in BSS mode. > > So, I'm confused, which mode does a WAP need to be in, 'BSS' or > 'hostap'? A "Wireless Access Point" is in charge of a "BSS network". The ath driver does this with a host-based implementation (as opposed to a device-based/firmware-based implementation). Numerous other devices are designed to be used tis way too as doing things on the host reduces vendors cost. > > Quickie research on this 'hostap' mode (which I'd never heard of > until I began this research) seems to be what I need, but the > verbiage in the ath(4) manpage is throwing me... > > Anyway, a survey of the manpages for various WiFi drivers supporting > 'hostap' mode seems to sum up as such: > > wi(4) > Cards based on the Intersil PRISM chips, but I don't think > any of them support 802.11g. > > at(4) > I guess everything listed here, with a URL to an up-to-date list: > > <http://customerproducts.atheros.com/customerproducts>; > > In case anyone's following the same rabbit trail I am, on that > search page, if I select: > > WLAN Product: PCI > > I get a huge list of PCI cards, and which 802.11 bands they > support. (The search page won't let me exclude those cards that > don't support 802.11g, but that subset it tiny.) > > That narrows my search, at this time, to 17 PCI cards supporting > 802.11g. I'm currently assuming that anything on this list is > indeed supported by FreeBSD's ath(4) driver. > > Please feel free to disabuse me of that notion... > For 5.3 I believe the only cards you can use to create an 11g ap are those that use the ath driver. However you should beware as the 5.3 ath support is significantly out of date wrt the code in current. I would not suggest using 5.3 to build an 11g ap; only current. Sam
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