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| slackware:madwifi [2007/09/03 19:16] – Modernized for Slackware 12.0 alien | slackware:madwifi [2008/11/19 11:23] (current) – New project name, new homepage URL , new logo alien |
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| ===== Installing Madwifi on Slackware ===== | ===== Installing Madwifi on Slackware ===== |
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| {{ :slackware:madwifi-logo-draft-3-small.png|Madwifi }}\\ Wireless support in Slackware has much improved since Slackware 10.0 (the first release to support non-PCMCIA wireless cards out of the box). The madwifi driver for Atheros based chipsets works fine with the current 2.6.x series of kernels and the 2.4.x kernels found in Slackware releases prior to 12.0. The Slackware configuration files support unencrypted, WEP- and WPA-protected connections. For WPA encryption, the wpa_supplicant package (part of Slackware since 12.0) is an additional requirement.\\ | {{ :slackware:madwifi-logo-20081106-2.png|Madwifi }}\\ Wireless support in Slackware has much improved since Slackware 10.0 (the first release to support non-PCMCIA wireless cards out of the box). The [[http://madwifi-project.org/|madwifi driver]] for Atheros based chipsets works fine with the current 2.6.x series of kernels and the 2.4.x kernels found in Slackware releases prior to 12.0. The Slackware configuration files support unencrypted, WEP- and WPA-protected connections. For WPA encryption, the wpa_supplicant package (part of Slackware since 12.0) is an additional requirement.\\ |
| If you need WPA encryption, be sure to read the [[#support_for_wpa_encryption|Support for WPA encryption]] section of this page. | If you need WPA encryption, be sure to read the [[#support_for_wpa_encryption|Support for WPA encryption]] section of this page. |
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| This Wiki page explains how to install an appropriate Madwifi package on your Slackware computer, and gives directions on how to build your own package if you need to (for instance if you run a non-Slackware kernel). | This Wiki page explains how to install an appropriate Madwifi package on your Slackware computer, and gives directions on how to build your own package if you need to (for instance if you run a non-Slackware kernel). |
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| The madwifi driver is capable of creating so-called //virtual access points// or VAPs. This is being done on a base device called //wifi0// which will show up in your listings of ifconfig and iwconfig, and is not linked to the wireless extensions. You should never have to use this //wifi0// network device. The //user station// (a VAP of type "sta") will by created by default when the kernel module loads and is called //ath0//. This //ath0// is the real network device, which you will be configuring and using.\\ People who want to create something other than a user station, for instance a real Access Point (master mode) will want to read this [[http://madwifi.org/wiki/UserDocs/autocreate|MadWiki documentation]]. | The madwifi driver is capable of creating so-called //virtual access points// or VAPs. This is being done on a base device called //wifi0// which will show up in your listings of ifconfig and iwconfig, and is not linked to the wireless extensions. You should never have to use this //wifi0// network device. The //user station// (a VAP of type "sta") will by created by default when the kernel module loads and is called //ath0//. This //ath0// is the real network device, which you will be configuring and using.\\ People who want to create something other than a user station, for instance a real Access Point (master mode) will want to read this [[http://madwifi-project.org/wiki/UserDocs/autocreate|MadWiki documentation]]. |
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| Binary Slackware packages for the madwifi driver can be found at [[http://www.slackware.com/~alien/slackbuilds/madwifi/pkg/|slackware.com]]. They can be installed onto your computer using ''installpkg'' or ''upgradepkg''. They are packages for specific kernels. The package naming convention is //madwifi-${VERSION}_${KERNELVERSION}-i486-${NUMBER}.tgz//. Here, //${VERSION}// is the version of the madwifi source package, and //${KERNELVERSION}// is the version of the kernel that the package is meant for. The //${NUMBER}// is the build number. In case there are multiple packages where only the build number differs, then the package with the highest build number is the most recent and should be used. | Binary Slackware packages for the madwifi driver can be found at [[http://www.slackware.com/~alien/slackbuilds/madwifi/pkg/|slackware.com]]. They can be installed onto your computer using ''installpkg'' or ''upgradepkg''. They are packages for specific kernels. The package naming convention is //madwifi-${VERSION}_${KERNELVERSION}-i486-${NUMBER}.tgz//. Here, //${VERSION}// is the version of the madwifi source package, and //${KERNELVERSION}// is the version of the kernel that the package is meant for. The //${NUMBER}// is the build number. In case there are multiple packages where only the build number differs, then the package with the highest build number is the most recent and should be used. |
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| A deprecated madwifi driver, also referred to as "madwifi-old", still has some features that have not yet been ported to the "madwifi-ng" code. For people who need this old driver specifically, there is a package still available [[http://www.slackware.com/~alien/slackbuilds/madwifi-old/|here]]. YMMV, I no longer support this package. | |
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| ==== Building a slackware package for madwifi from source ==== | ==== Building a slackware package for madwifi from source ==== |
| </code> A binary Slackware package will be created in directory /tmp and have a name of ''madwifi-${VERSION}_${KERNELVERSION}-i486-1.tgz''. Here, ''${VERSION}'' is the version of the madwifi source package, and ''${KERNELVERSION}'' is the version of your running kernel. | </code> A binary Slackware package will be created in directory /tmp and have a name of ''madwifi-${VERSION}_${KERNELVERSION}-i486-1.tgz''. Here, ''${VERSION}'' is the version of the madwifi source package, and ''${KERNELVERSION}'' is the version of your running kernel. |
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| * If you want to build a package for another kernel that you've already installed on your computer, and you don't want to reboot into that kernel for building the madwifi package, you can run the script like this (the example builds a package for Linux kernel 2.6.22): <code> | * If you want to build a package for another kernel that you've already installed on your computer, and you don't want to reboot into that kernel for building the madwifi package, you can run the script like this (the example builds a package for Linux kernel ''2.6.23.16-smp''): <code> |
| KVER=2.6.22 ./madwifi.SlackBuild | KVER=2.6.23.16-smp ./madwifi.SlackBuild |
| </code> If the kernel source tree cannot be found (i.e. if the kernel source tree is not found where the link /lib/modules/${KVER}/build points) you can specify your kernel source directory as well (again, this is only an example): <code> | </code> If the kernel source tree cannot be found (i.e. if the kernel source tree is not found where the link /lib/modules/${KVER}/build points) you can specify your kernel source directory as well (again, this is only an example): <code> |
| KVER=2.6.22 KSRC=~/src/linux-2.6.22 ./madwifi.SlackBuild | KVER=2.6.23.16-smp KSRC=~/src/linux-2.6.23.16 ./madwifi.SlackBuild |
| </code> If you downloaded a newer/other version of the madwifi sources and you want to build a package out of that, you will have to edit the madwifi.SlackBuild script, and substitute the correct value for the **VERSION** parameter in the line<code> | </code> If you downloaded a newer/other version of the madwifi sources and you want to build a package out of that, you will have to edit the madwifi.SlackBuild script, and substitute the correct value for the **VERSION** parameter in the line<code> |
| VERSION=<value> | VERSION=<value> |
| === rc.inet1.conf === | === rc.inet1.conf === |
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| Slackware 10.2 understands network interfaces whose names do not start with ''eth''. A network card that shows up as **''ath0''** can not be setup with an IP address using the configuration files that are part of pre-Slackware 10.2 releases. We are going to assume here that you are running Slackware 10.2 or newer. For older releases, read [[#network_configuration_the_manual_way_slackware_10.1_and_older|Updating the network scripts and Configuration the manual way]]. | Slackware since release 10.2 understands network interfaces whose names do not start with ''eth''. A network card that shows up as **''ath0''** can not be setup with an IP address using the configuration files that are part of pre-Slackware 10.2 releases. We are going to assume here that you are running Slackware 10.2 or newer. For older releases, read [[#network_configuration_the_manual_way_slackware_10.1_and_older|Updating the network scripts and Configuration the manual way]]. |
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| * You will need to add or modify a few lines in /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf in order to get a configuration like this: <code> | * You will need to add or modify a few lines in /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1.conf in order to get a configuration like this: <code> |
