WPI(4) BSD Kernel Interfaces Manual WPI(4)NAMEwpi — Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG IEEE 802.11a/b/g wireless network driver
SYNOPSIS
wpi* at pci? dev ? function ?
DESCRIPTION
The wpi driver provides support for Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini PCI
Express network adapters.
These are the modes the wpi driver can operate in:
BSS mode
Also known as infrastructure mode, this is used when associating
with an access point, through which all traffic passes. This
mode is the default.
monitor mode
In this mode the driver is able to receive packets without asso‐
ciating with an access point. This disables the internal receive
filter and enables the card to capture packets from networks to
which it wouldn't normally have access, or to scan for access
points.
wpi supports software WEP. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is the de
facto encryption standard for wireless networks. It can be typically
configured in one of three modes: no encryption; 40-bit encryption; or
104-bit encryption. Unfortunately, due to serious weaknesses in the WEP
protocol it is strongly recommended that it not be used as the sole mech‐
anism to secure wireless communication. WEP is not enabled by default.
CONFIGURATION
The wpi driver can be configured at runtime with ifconfig(8) using the
following parameters:
bssid bssid
Set the desired BSSID.
-bssid Unset the desired BSSID. The interface will automatically select
a BSSID in this mode, which is the default.
chan n Set the channel (radio frequency) to be used by the driver based
on the given channel ID n.
-chan Unset the desired channel to be used by the driver. The driver
will automatically select a channel in this mode, which is the
default.
media media
The wpi driver supports the following media types:
autoselect Enable autoselection of the media type and options.
mediaopt opts
The wpi driver supports the following media options:
monitor Select monitor mode.
-mediaopt opts
Disable the specified media options on the driver and return it
to the default mode of operation (BSS).
mode mode
The wpi driver supports the following modes:
11a Force 802.11a operation.
11b Force 802.11b operation.
11g Force 802.11g operation.
nwid id
Set the network ID. The id can either be any text string up to
32 characters in length, or a series of hexadecimal digits up to
64 digits. An empty id string allows the interface to connect to
any available access points. By default the wpi driver uses an
empty string. Note that network ID is synonymous with Extended
Service Set ID (ESSID).
nwkey key
Enable WEP encryption using the specified key. The key can
either be a string, a series of hexadecimal digits (preceded by
‘0x’), or a set of keys of the form “n:k1,k2,k3,k4”, where ‘n’
specifies which of the keys will be used for transmitted packets,
and the four keys, “k1” through “k4”, are configured as WEP keys.
If a set of keys is specified, a comma (‘,’) within the key must
be escaped with a backslash. Note that if multiple keys are
used, their order must be the same within the network. wpi is
capable of using both 40-bit (5 characters or 10 hexadecimal dig‐
its) or 104-bit (13 characters or 26 hexadecimal digits) keys.
-nwkey Disable WEP encryption. This is the default mode of operation.
FILES
The driver needs at least version 2.14.4 of the following firmware file,
which is loaded when an interface is brought up:
/libdata/if_wpi/iwlwifi-3945.ucode
EXAMPLES
# ifconfig wpi0 nwkey 0x1deadbeef1
Return wpi0 to its default settings:
# ifconfig wpi0 -bssid -chan media autoselect \
nwid "" -nwkey
Join an existing BSS network, “my_net”:
# ifconfig wpi0 192.168.1.1 netmask 0xffffff00 nwid my_net
DIAGNOSTICS
wpi%d: device timeout A frame dispatched to the hardware for transmis‐
sion did not complete in time. The driver will reset the hardware. This
should not happen.
wpi%d: fatal firmware error For some reason, the firmware crashed. The
driver will reset the hardware. This should not happen.
wpi%d: Radio transmitter is off The radio transmitter is off and thus no
packet can go out. The driver will reset the hardware. Make sure the
laptop radio switch is on.
wpi%d: could not read firmware file For some reason, the driver was
unable to read the firmware image from the filesystem. The file might be
missing or corrupted.
wpi%d: firmware file too short: %d bytes The firmware image is corrupted
and can't be loaded into the adapter.
wpi%d: could not load firmware An attempt to load the firmware into the
adapter failed. The driver will reset the hardware.
NOTES
On some laptops the radio transmitter button must be pushed twice to get
the driver working, or you will get a wpi%d: fatal firmware error when
the interface will be set to up
SEE ALSOarp(4), ifmedia(4), intro(4), netintro(4), pci(4), ifconfig(8),
firmload(9)
The IPW Web Page, http://damien.bergamini.free.fr/ipw/.
AUTHORS
The wpi driver was originally written by Damien Bergamini
⟨damien@openbsd.org⟩. NetBSD porting was done by
Jean-Baptiste Campesato ⟨camjelemon@gmail.com⟩.
BSD February 4, 2009 BSD
