1 .\" Copyright (c) 1999 Andreas Neuhaus <andy@fasta.fh-dortmund.de>
4 .TH WVLAN_CS 4 "27/12/99" ""
7 wvlan_cs \- Lucent WaveLAN/IEEE 802.11 device driver
23 .RB [ medium_reservation=\c
25 .RB [ frag_threshold=\c
27 .RB [ transmit_rate=\c
35 \fBwvlan_cs\fR is the low-level Card Services driver for the Lucent
36 WaveLAN/IEEE 802.11 and compatible (the NCR WaveLAN/IEEE 802.11, the
37 Cabletron RoamAbout 802.11 DS, the Melco WLI-PCM-L11) wireless
38 ethernet adapters. When this driver is attached to a card, it
39 allocates the next available device (eth0..eth#). This device name
40 will be passed on to \fBcardmgr\fR(8) for the card configuration, and
41 reported in the kernel log.
46 Specifies the set of interrupts that may be allocated by this driver.
49 Select WaveLAN port type:
51 BSS - Basic Service Set (default),
53 WDS - Wireless Distribution System,
55 Pseudo-IBSS - ad-hoc network (no AccessPoint, PtP).
58 Sets the station name.
59 The default is card-configured.
62 Sets the independent network name in ad-hoc mode.
63 Sets the desired network (desired ESSID) to connect to if using an access point.
64 The default is card-configured.
67 Channel (frequency) for ad-hoc networks and is useless if using an
68 access point. Valid range:
70 (depends on local restrictions) and defaults to
74 Sets the access point density (sensitivity). This affects modem and
77 low density (default),
83 .BI medium_reservation= n
84 Sets the medium reservation (RTS/CTS frame length), which affects the
85 number of octets in a message or fragment above which a RTS/CTS
86 handshake is performed.
90 no RTS/CTS (default). Valid range:
94 Defines the number of bytes used for the fragmentation boundary for
95 directed messages (Fragmentation length unicast message
98 is the default, valid range:
100 (even numbers only!).
103 Transmit rate control.
109 auto select high (default),
115 auto select standard,
120 Network device naming. By default
122 devices are named eth#, set this to
124 to have devices named wvlan#.
127 Maximum transfer unit.
129 is the default, valid range:
132 .SH WIRELESS EXTENSIONS
133 Use \fBiwconfig\fR(8) to manipulate wireless extensions.
134 You need a kernel which was compiled with CONFIG_NET_RADIO set.
135 It is recommended that you run at least Linux kernel 2.2.11 and use wireless_tools 19.
136 Older version do not support all of the current commands.
138 .SS ESSID (network ID)
139 Set the network ID of the desired network to connect to (with access point)
140 or the name of your private ad-hoc network (no access point).
143 Set the operating mode to
147 In managed mode, the card will try to connect to an Access Point, to
148 get access to the infrastructure. In Ad-Hoc mode, the card doesn't
149 require an Access Point and can communicate directly with its peers.
150 .\" Frequency sub part
151 .SS Frequency & channels
152 Channel (frequency) for ad-hoc networks. The frequency is changed
153 immediately and is only changeable in ad-hoc network mode. You may
154 enter a frequency value in the 2.4 GHz band or the channel number.
157 .I 2.412, 2.417, 2.422, 2.427, 2.432, 2.437, 2.442, 2.447, 2.452, 2.457, 2.462,
161 GHz (depends on local restrictions) and defaults to
166 Set the Access Point density (sensitivity). This affects modem and
169 low density (default),
176 Sets the medium reservation threshold (RTS/CTS frame length), which
177 affects the number of octets in a message or fragment above which a
178 RTS/CTS handshake is performed.
182 when there are hidden stations or large number of nodes and
184 for no RTS/CTS (default). Valid range:
188 Defines the number of bytes used for the fragmentation boundary for
189 directed messages (Fragmentation length unicast message
190 transmission). To be used when you have interference on the radio,
191 because it significantly decreases the performance.
194 is the default, valid range:
198 Set the rate used for transmission (but not reception). You may want
199 to set it to a fixed value for high number of nodes.
204 .IR 1 ", " 2 ", " 5.5 " or " 11
205 Mb/s (of course, 2 Mb/s cards cannot get the higher speeds).
208 Set the encryption key
216 to disable and reenable the hardware encryption. This feature works
217 only for device with encryption option (Silver or Gold).
219 The card has 4 different keys that you may select, and you can choose
220 the default key for transmission (see \fBiwconfig\fR(8)).
222 .SS Nick (station name)
223 Set the station name (only used for debugging purpose).
226 Set a list of MAC addresses in the driver (up to 8) and get the last
227 quality of link for each of those (see \fBiwspy\fR(8)).
228 .\" /proc/net/wireless part
229 .SS /proc/net/wireless
231 is the status reported by the modem.
235 refer to the signal level and noise level in dBm.
238 You may use \fBiwpriv\fR(8) to manipulate private ioctls.
241 This functionality allow to set a number of signal level intervals and
242 to count the number of packets received in each of those defined
243 intervals. This distribution might be used to calculate the mean value
244 and standard deviation of the signal level.
247 Some of the mentioned features are optional. You may enable to disable
248 them by changing flags in the driver header and recompile.
250 It's currently not possible to use the WaveLAN/IEEE as a bridge (MAC
251 level). This is not a restriction of the driver, the NIC firmware
252 doesn't allow to send out packets with another source MAC address
253 than its own (which is mandatory required for bridgeing to work).
255 Also the WaveLAN/IEEE can be used to connect to an Access Point, but
256 cannot be an Access Point itself (because lack of bridgeing).
259 Andreas Neuhaus <andy@fasta.fh-dortmund.de>
261 http://www.fasta.fh-dortmund.de/users/andy/wvlan
264 I would like to thank Lucent Technology for making the necessary information
265 available to public. Thanks to Nico Valster and Jan Martejin at Lucent for
266 technical support. Thanks to Frank Bruegmann, who managed to get additional
267 hardware for me so that I can now do tests in different environments. And
268 thanks to Jean Tourrilhes for many patches and wireless kernel extensions.
269 Also many thanks to everybody who tested and helped me developing this