Linux Wireless compatibility package ===================================== This is a Linux wireless compatibility package which provides the latest Linux wireless subsystem enhancements for kernels 2.6.25 and above. It is technically possible to support kernels < 2.6.25 but more work is required for that. It also provides Linux bluetooth subsystem enhancements for kernels 2.6.27 and above. If you'd like to keep the wireless-testing git repository local as well, please read out git-guide which explains how to achieve this: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/developers/git-guide With a local git repository you can update the compatibility package yourself. For more information on how to do this please refer the Developers section below. Documentation ------------ This package is also documented online and has more-up-to date information online than on this README file. You should read the wiki page and not rely on this README: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download Subscribe to the wiki page to get updates on the documentation. Where to get the latest ----------------------- This package lets you build your own 'latest', all you need is a local git repository checkout of wireless-testing.git. However since not many users are expected to keep a local git repository of wireless-testing we provide daily snapshots of this package + the wireless subsystem code. You can find the latest snapshot at: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download Selecting your driver --------------------- If you know the driver you want you can select it with our helper script: ./scripts/driver-select Run that script to see more information. Building, and installing ------------------------ Build: build the latest linux wireless subsystem make Install: We use the updates/ directory so your distribution's drivers are left intact. sudo make install Uninstall: This nukes our changes to updates/ so you can go back to using your distribution's supported drivers. sudo make uninstall Load: Reboot unless you know what you are doing. Bluetooth modules can be seperately compiled and installed using below commands Build: make bt Install: sudo make btinstall Uninstall: sudo make btuninstall Load: sudo make btload Unload: sudo make btunload Drivers ------- This is the list of drivers this package provides. It adds all new drivers or drivers which keep being updated which you might be interested in. Driver adm8211 ath5k ath9h ar9170 b43 b43legacy iwl3945 iwlagn ipw2100 ipw2200 libertas_cs (Libertas) ub8xxx (Libertas) p54pci p54usb rt2400pci (rt2x00) rt2500pci (rt2x00) rt2500usb (rt2x00) rt61pci (rt2x00) rt73usb (rt2x00) rtl8180 (Realtek) rtl8187 (Realtek) zd1211rw This package also provides more drivers which may be documented here For a complete list see: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Download Non-wireless drivers -------------------- To support b43 ssb is also provided, and since ssb is also provided we provide b44 (the ethernet driverl). The new rfkill drivers also provided and backported. Bluetooth drivers: bluetooth btusb hci_uart btsdio btuart_cs bluecard_cs bfusb Firmware: --------- If your driver needs firmware please be sure to check the driver page for that driver here: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers Why? ---- For users or developers stuck on older kernels that want to help test or patch wireless work. Additionally if you're on a recent kernel this lets you get the latest and greatest wireless-testing git work without much effort. This may mean new drivers for some users. Last but not least we hope this will encourage vendors and developers to post patches upstream first rather than forking or maintaining their own mac80211 releases with their own patches for their own drivers. Building for external kernels ---------------------------------- If you have a kernel you do not have installed but yet want to build the compat-wireless-2.6 drivers for it you can use this syntax: make KLIB=/home/mcgrof/kernels/linux-2.6.23.9 KLIB_BUILD=/home/mcgrof/kernels/linux-2.6.23.9 If you have a kernel installed, which is not your currently running kernel (e.g. via distro updates; plus its corresponding kernel-dev package), you can use this syntax: make KLIB=/lib/modules/2.6.30.6-53.fc11.x86_64 and to install to your system's root path for the non-running kernel: make KLIB=/lib/modules/2.6.30.6-53.fc11.x86_64 KMODPATH_ARG='INSTALL_MOD_PATH=' install Bugs ----- If you've found a bug please report it to our linux-wireless mailing list: linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org Report the bug because you are working with the latest and greatest. If your bug is compatibility-related then we should still try to fix it within the compat.[ch] work. ChangeLog --------- Here you see the list of changes to all wireless drivers, the wireless core and mac80211. http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/linville/wireless-testing.git;a=log; This views all the changes on the 'everything' branch of wireless-testing.git. License ------- This work is a subset of the Linux kernel as such we keep the kernel's Copyright practice. Some files have their own copyright and in those cases the license is mentioned in the file. All additional work made to building this package is licensed under the GPLv2. Developers ---------- Compatibility work goes into compat/compat.[ch]. If using those files do not suffice additional actual code changes can go into compat/compat.diff. If you have your own wireless-testing git tree, before running admin-update.sh be sure to set your GIT_TREE variable. For example: export GIT_TREE=/home/mcgrof/wireless-testing/ scripts/admin-clean.sh - Cleans the compat-wireless-2.6 tree scripts/admin-update.sh - Updates compat-wireless-2.6 with your git tree scripts/admin-refresh.sh - Does the above two TODO ---- * Compatibilty work for 2.6.18 --> 2.6.21 Patches for compatibility work ------------------------------ Please send patches against: git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/mcgrof/compat-wireless-2.6.git To: Luis R. Rodriguez CC: linux-wireless@vger.kernel.org Subject: [PATCH] compat-2.6: backport foo Patches for drivers ------------------- If you'd like to send patches for a driver though you can send it using our Submitting Patches guideline: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/developers/SubmittingPatches