Madwifi-ng (Atheros)
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Contents |
[edit] Shopping List
The following is a list of required and optional software components that the administrator (you) will need to get the wireless card operational.
- Linux kernel source and headers packages from the repositories
- Latest Linux kernel (optional)
- Madwifi-ng driver
- Wpa-supplicant (optional)
[edit] Driver history
The original stable madwifi driver is no longer supported by the madwifi developer community. The latest release (madwifi-ng) is recommended for late-version kernels.
[edit] Installation Procedure
[edit] Acquiring the Linux kernel
The driver will not compile without the kernel source and headers. You will be required to download and install them accordingly.
# netpkg kernelsource kernelheaders
These packages may be blacklisted under the netpkg.conf file, so be sure to remove them from the blacklist before attempting this command.
Alternatively, you may download a fresh kernel from kernel.org and compile it using the stock Zenwalk configuration. This may be a better solution for some, given that it allows people to customize their kernel before adding wireless support.
NOTE: The driver is built as a module only.
Be sure to reboot into the new kernel if one was installed.
[edit] Compiling the driver
The driver is distributed as source code. The administrator will be required to download and build the driver in accordance to his/her environment. The following command will download the latest release from madwifi.org:
$ svn checkout http://svn.madwifi.org/madwifi/trunk madwifi-ng
The syntax is
$ svn [command] [origin] [destination]
where destination is a local directory.
Alternatively, you may attempt to acquire a different build from the latest. The following command will download release number 2178 from madwifi.org:
$ svn checkout -r 2178 http://svn.madwifi.org/madwifi/trunk madwifi-ng
The file 'svnversion.h' contains the currently downloaded version of your madwifi driver. If you are having trouble compiling it, you may elect to download an earlier release.
NOTE: Please refer to the 'INSTALL' file in your madwifi-ng directory for further assistance in compiling a driver specific to your environment.
To compile the driver, change to the newly created madwifi-ng directory and execute:
$ make
This will compile all the drivers for any chipsets that are supported. The kernel will automatically load the appropriate modules for the hardware present.
[edit] Installing the driver
To install the drivers under /lib/modules/2.6.20.x/ execute as root:
# make install
This will copy the newly compiled drivers to your kernel's modules directory, where it will look to enable your Atheros-based WiFi card.
[edit] Enabling WiFi
To enable the wireless card, execute as root:
modprobe ath_pci
or reboot the system. This command will load the madwifi module into kernelspace and turn on the wireless card. You may now execute the appropriate commands to acquire an IP address and connect to the network.
