wpi4

Usage

Overview

The wpi driver supports running the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG network adapter in station, adhoc, adhoc-demo, hostap, and monitor mode operation. This driver requires the wpifw firmware module and can be configured at runtime with ifconfig(8) or at boot in rc.conf(5). Only one virtual interface may be configured at any time.

The wpi driver can be configured to use Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA-PSK and WPA2-PSK). WPA is the de facto encryption standard for wireless networks. It is strongly recommended that WEP not be used as the sole mechanism to secure wireless communication, due to serious weaknesses in it. The wpi driver offloads both encryption and decryption of data frames to the hardware for the CCMP cipher.

Hardware

The wpi driver provides support for the Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini PCIe network adapter.

Files

/usr/share/doc/legal/intel_wpi.LICENSE

wpi firmware license

Examples

Join an existing BSS network (i.e., connect to an access point):

ifconfig wlan0 create wlandev wpi0 inet 192.168.0.20 \
    netmask 0xffffff00

Join a specific BSS network with network name my_net:

ifconfig wlan0 create wlandev wpi0 ssid my_net up

Join a specific BSS network with 64-bit WEP encryption:

ifconfig wlan0 create wlandev wpi0 ssid my_net \
	wepmode on wepkey 0x1234567890 weptxkey 1 up

Create an IBSS network with 128-bit WEP encryption on the channel 4:

ifconfig wlan0 create wlandev wpi0 wlanmode adhoc ssid my_net \
	wepmode on wepkey 0x01020304050607080910111213 weptxkey 1 \
	channel 4

Join/create an 802.11b IBSS network with network name my_net:

ifconfig wlan0 create wlandev wpi0 wlanmode adhoc
ifconfig wlan0 inet 192.168.0.22 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net \
	mode 11b

Create an 802.11g host-based access point:

ifconfig wlan0 create wlandev wpi0 wlanmode hostap
ifconfig wlan0 inet 192.168.0.10 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_ap \
	mode 11g

Diagnostics

wpi%d: could not load firmware image '%s'

The driver failed to load the firmware image using the firmware(9) subsystem. Verify the wpifw firmware module is installed.

wpi%d: %s: timeout waiting for adapter to initialize, error %d

The onboard microcontroller failed to initialize in time. This should not happen.

wpi%d: %s: could not load boot firmware

An attempt to upload the boot firmware image to the onboard microcontroller failed. This should not happen.

wpi%d: device timeout

A frame dispatched to the hardware for transmission did not complete in time. The driver will reset the hardware and continue. This should not happen.

wpi%d: scan timeout

Firmware scan command response was not received in time. The driver will reset the hardware and continue. This should not happen.

wpi%d: fatal firmware error

The onboard microcontroller crashed for some reason. The driver will reset the hardware and continue. This should not happen.

wpi%d: RF switch: radio disabled

The hardware switch controlling the radio is currently turned off. Data transmission is not possible in this state.

wpi%d: can't map mem space

The driver was unable to map the device registers into the host address space. This should not happen.

wpi%d: can't map interrupt

The driver was unable to allocate an IRQ for the device interrupt. This should not happen.

wpi%d: can't establish interrupt, error %d

The driver was unable to install the device interrupt handler. This should not happen.

wpi%d: %s: bus_dmamap_load failed, error %d

The driver was unable to map newly allocated mbuf to device visible address space. Contents of currently received frame will be lost. This should not happen.

Caveats

Hostap mode is not directly supported by the device; it is implemented through IBSS mode (as a result, DFS/passive channels are not available in this mode).

Powersave may be unstable on some networks (results in occasional 'wpi%d: device timeout' messages); you can try to disable it to improve device stability.