CONTENTS

SYNOPSIS

DESCRIPTION

Supported features include 802.11 and 802.3 frames, power management, BSS, IBSS, and host-based access point operation modes. All host/device interaction is via DMA.

The ath driver encapsulates all IP and ARP traffic as 802.11 frames, however it can receive either 802.11 or 802.3 frames. Transmit speed and operating mode is selectable and depends on the specific chipset. AR5210-based devices support 802.11a operation with transmit speeds of 6 Mbps, 9 Mbps, 12 Mbps, 18 Mbps, 24 Mbps, 36 Mbps, 48 Mbps, and 54 Mbps. AR5211-based devices support 802.11a and 802.11b operation with transmit speeds as above for 802.11a operation and 1Mbps, 2Mbps, 5.5 Mbps and 11Mbps for 802.11b operation. AR5212-based devices support 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g operation with transmit speeds appropriate to each. All chips also support an Atheros Turbo Mode (TM) that operates in the 5Ghz frequency range with 2x the transmit speeds. Some chips also support Turbo mode in the 2.4Ghz range with 802.11g. (These modes are, however, only interoperable with other Atheros-based devices.) The actual transmit speed used is dependent on signal quality and the ""rate control"" algorithm employed by the driver. All chips support WEP encryption. The AR5212 has hardware support for the AES-CCM, TKIP, and Michael cryptographic operations required for WPA. To enable encryption, use ifconfig(8) as shown below.

By default, the ath driver configures the card for BSS operation (aka infrastructure mode). This mode requires the use of an access point (base station).

The ath driver also supports the standard IBSS point-to-point mode where stations can communicate amongst themselves without the aid of an access point.

The driver may also be configured to operate in hostap mode. In this mode a host may function as an access point (base station). Access points are different than operating in IBSS mode. They operate in BSS mode. They allow for easier roaming and bridge all Ethernet traffic such that machines connected via an access point appear to be on the local Ethernet segment.

For more information on configuring this device, see ifconfig(8).

"ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.20 netmask 0xffffff00"

Join a specific BSS network with network name "my_net":

"ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.20 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net"

Join a specific BSS network with WEP encryption:
ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.20 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net \
wepmode on wepkey 0x8736639624

Join/create an 802.11b IBSS network with network name "my_net":
ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.22 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_net \
mode 11b mediaopt adhoc

Create an 802.11g host-based access point:
ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.10 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_ap \
mode 11g mediaopt hostap

Create an 802.11a host-based access point with WEP enabled:
ifconfig ath0 inet 192.168.0.10 netmask 0xffffff00 ssid my_ap \
wepmode on wepkey 0x1234567890 mode 11a mediaopt hostap

Create a host-based wireless bridge to fxp0:
Add BRIDGE to the kernel config.
ifconfig ath0 inet up ssid my_ap media DS/11Mbps mediaopt hostap
sysctl net.link.ether.bridge.enable=1
sysctl net.link.ether.bridge.config="ath0 fxp0"
sysctl net.inet.ip.check_interface=0

SEE ALSO

HISTORY

CAVEATS

BUGS