46 lines
1.9 KiB
Plaintext
46 lines
1.9 KiB
Plaintext
iw package for Debian
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=====================
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iw is a new tool for configuration of wireless settings on Linux. iw combines
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cfg80211, the new Linux wireless configuration API [0], and nl80211, the
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new 802.11 netlink interface public header [1], to form a tool which aims to
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replace the functionality of wireless-tools, which is built upon on the
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incumbent Wireless Extensions (WEXT or WE) API [2].
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The tool is currently mainly used for drivers based on the mac80211 stack but
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work is under way to make it useful for other drivers as well.
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[0] http://wireless.kernel.org/en/developers/Documentation/cfg80211
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[1] http://wireless.kernel.org/en/developers/Documentation/nl80211
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[2] http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Linux.Wireless.Extensions.html
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Why is wireless-tools being replaced?
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=====================================
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A complete summary of technical reasons for the abandonment of Linux Wireless
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Extensions API is documented on the wireless.kernel.org wiki page for WEXT [3].
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In brief, WEXT uses ioctl's as the kernel<->userspace communication mechanism,
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but some developers wish to have a more structured transport mechanism, which
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cfg80211 and nl80211 provide, to allow them to address old nagging problems
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with the current wireless device configuration implementation, and give them
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more freedom to enhance the process of wireless configuration [4].
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WEXT is in deep maintenance mode, cfg80211 and nl80211 are the communication
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transport mechanism of the future.
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[3] http://wireless.kernel.org/en/developers/Documentation/Wireless-Extensions
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[4] which is one of the areas which, in my opinion, has always been difficult
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for new adopters on Linux, especially on the desktop.
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How does iw integrate into the Debian system?
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=============================================
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At the time of writing, it does not. The iw binary is provided as is, without
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any system integration (eg. with ifupdown).
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-- Kel Modderman <kel@otaku42.de> Mon, 30 Jul 2012
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