NAME
ral —
Ralink Technology IEEE
802.11a/b/g wireless network driver
SYNOPSIS
ral* at cardbus?
ral* at pci?
ral* at uhub? port ?
DESCRIPTION
The
ral driver supports PCI/CardBus wireless adapters based on
the Ralink RT2500, RT2501, and RT2600 chipsets. The
ral
driver supports USB 2.0 wireless adapters based on the Ralink RT2500USB
chipset.
The RT2500 chipset is the first generation of 802.11b/g adapters from Ralink. It
consists of two integrated chips, an RT2560 or RT2570(USB) MAC/BBP and an
RT2525 or RT2526(USB) radio transceiver.
The RT2501 chipset is the second generation of 802.11b/g adapters from Ralink.
It consists of two integrated chips, an RT2561 MAC/BBP and an RT2527 radio
transceiver. This chipset provides support for the IEEE 802.11e standard with
multiple hardware transmission queues and allows scatter/gather for efficient
DMA operations.
The RT2600 chipset consists of two integrated chips, an RT2661 MAC/BBP and an
RT2529 radio transceiver. This chipset uses the MIMO (multiple-input
multiple-output) technology with multiple antennas to extend the operating
range of the adapter and to achieve higher throughput. MIMO will be the basis
of the future IEEE 802.11n standard.
These are the modes the
ral driver can operate in:
-
-
- BSS mode
- Also known as infrastructure mode, this
is used when associating with an access point, through which all traffic
passes. This mode is the default.
-
-
- IBSS mode
- Also known as IEEE ad-hoc mode or
peer-to-peer mode. This is the standardized method of
operating without an access point. Stations associate with a service set.
However, actual connections between stations are peer-to-peer.
-
-
- Host AP
- In this mode the driver acts as an access point (base
station) for other cards.
-
-
- monitor mode
- In this mode the driver is able to receive packets without
associating with an access point. This disables the internal receive
filter and enables the card to capture packets from networks which it
wouldn't normally have access to, or to scan for access points.
ral supports software WEP. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is
the de facto encryption standard for wireless networks. It can be typically
configured in one of three modes: no encryption; 40-bit encryption; or 104-bit
encryption. Unfortunately, due to serious weaknesses in WEP protocol it is
strongly recommended that it not be used as the sole mechanism to secure
wireless communication. WEP is not enabled by default.
The transmit speed is user-selectable or can be adapted automatically by the
driver depending on the received signal strength and on the number of hardware
transmission retries. See
rssadapt(9) for more
information.
CONFIGURATION
The
ral driver can be configured at runtime with
ifconfig(8) or on boot with
ifconfig.if(5) using the
following parameters:
-
-
- bssid
bssid
- Set the desired BSSID.
-
-
- -bssid
- Unset the desired BSSID. The interface will automatically
select a BSSID in this mode, which is the default.
-
-
- chan
n
- Set the channel (radio frequency) to be used by the driver
based on the given channel ID n.
-
-
- -chan
- Unset the desired channel to be used by the driver. The
driver will automatically select a channel in this mode, which is the
default.
-
-
- media
media
- The ral driver supports the following
media types:
- autoselect
- Enable autoselection of the media type and
options.
- DS1
- Set 802.11b DS 1Mbps operation.
- DS2
- Set 802.11b DS 2Mbps operation.
- DS5
- Set 802.11b DS 5.5Mbps operation.
- DS11
- Set 802.11b DS 11Mbps operation.
- OFDM6
- Set 802.11a/g OFDM 6Mbps operation.
- OFDM9
- Set 802.11a/g OFDM 9Mbps operation.
- OFDM12
- Set 802.11a/g OFDM 12Mbps operation.
- OFDM18
- Set 802.11a/g OFDM 18Mbps operation.
- OFDM24
- Set 802.11a/g OFDM 24Mbps operation.
- OFDM36
- Set 802.11a/g OFDM 36Mbps operation.
- OFDM48
- Set 802.11a/g OFDM 48Mbps operation.
- OFDM54
- Set 802.11a/g OFDM 54Mbps operation.
-
-
- mediaopt
opts
- The ral driver supports the following
media options:
- hostap
- Select Host AP operation.
- ibss
- Select IBSS operation.
- monitor
- Select monitor mode.
-
-
- -mediaopt
opts
- Disable the specified media options on the driver and
return it to the default mode of operation (BSS).
-
-
- mode
mode
- The ral driver supports the following
modes:
- 11a
- Force 802.11a operation.
- 11b
- Force 802.11b operation.
- 11g
- Force 802.11g operation.
-
-
- nwid
id
- Set the network ID. The id can either
be any text string up to 32 characters in length, or a series of
hexadecimal digits up to 64 digits. An empty id
string allows the interface to connect to any available access points. By
default the ral driver uses an empty string. Note that
network ID is synonymous with Extended Service Set ID (ESSID).
-
-
- nwkey
key
- Enable WEP encryption using the specified
key. The key can either be a
string, a series of hexadecimal digits (preceded by ‘0x’), or
a set of keys of the form “n:k1,k2,k3,k4”, where
‘n’ specifies which of the keys will be used for transmitted
packets, and the four keys, “k1” through “k4”, are
configured as WEP keys. If a set of keys is specified, a comma
(‘,’) within the key must be escaped with a backslash. Note
that if multiple keys are used, their order must be the same within the
network. ral is capable of using both 40-bit (5
characters or 10 hexadecimal digits) or 104-bit (13 characters or 26
hexadecimal digits) keys.
-
-
- -nwkey
- Disable WEP encryption. This is the default mode of
operation.
FILES
The following firmware files are potentially loaded when an interface is brought
up:
- /libdata/firmware/ral/ral-rt2561
-
- /libdata/firmware/ral/ral-rt2561s
-
- /libdata/firmware/ral/ral-rt2661
-
RT2500 adapters do not require a firmware to operate.
HARDWARE
The following PCI adapters should work:
A-Link WL54H. Amigo AWI-926W. AMIT
WL531P. AOpen AOI-831. ASUS WL-130g. ASUS WIFI-G-AAY. Atlantis Land
A02-PCI-W54. Belkin F5D7000 v3. Canyon CN-WF511. CNet CWP-854. Compex WLP54G.
Conceptronic C54Ri. Corega CG-WLPCI54GL. Digitus DN-7006G-RA. Dynalink
WLG25PCI. E-Tech WGPI02. Edimax EW-7128g. Eminent EM3037. Encore ENLWI-G-RLAM.
Eusso UGL2454-VPR. Fiberline WL-400P. Foxconn WLL-3350. Gigabyte GN-WPKG. Hama
WLAN PCI Card 54 Mbps. Hawking HWP54GR. Hercules HWGPCI-54. iNexQ CR054g-009
(R03). JAHT WN-4054PCI. KCORP LifeStyle KLS-660. LevelOne WNC-0301 v2. Linksys
WMP54G v4. Micronet SP906GK. Minitar MN54GPC-R. MSI MS-6834. MSI PC54G2.
OvisLink EVO-W54PCI. PheeNet HWL-PCIG/RA. Pro-Nets PC80211G. Repotec
RP-WP0854. SATech SN-54P. Signamax 065-1798. Sitecom WL-115. SparkLAN WL-660R.
Surecom EP-9321-g. Sweex LC700030. TekComm NE-9321-g. Tonze PC-6200C. Unex
CR054g-R02. Zinwell ZWX-G361. Zonet ZEW1600.
The following CardBus adapters should work:
A-Link WL54PC. Alfa AWPC036. Amigo
AWI-914W. AMIT WL531C. ASUS WL-107G. Atlantis Land A02-PCM-W54. Belkin F5D7010
v2. Canyon CN-WF513. CC&C WL-2102. CNet CWC-854. Conceptronic C54RC.
Corega CG-WLCB54GL. Digitus DN-7001G-RA. Dynalink WLG25CARDBUS. E-Tech WGPC02.
E-Tech WGPC03. Edimax EW-7108PCg. Eminent EM3036. Encore ENPWI-G-RLAM. Eusso
UGL2454-01R. Fiberline WL-400X. Gigabyte GN-WMKG. Hawking HWC54GR. Hercules
HWGPCMCIA-54. JAHT WN-4054P(E). KCORP LifeStyle KLS-611. LevelOne WPC-0301 v2.
Micronet SP908GK V3. Minitar MN54GCB-R. MSI CB54G2. MSI MS-6835. Pro-Nets
CB80211G. Repotec RP-WB7108. SATech SN-54C. Sitecom WL-112. SparkLAN WL-611R.
Surecom EP-9428-g. Sweex LC500050. TekComm NE-9428-g. Tonze PW-6200C. Unex
MR054g-R02. Zinwell ZWX-G160. Zonet ZEW1500.
The following Mini PCI adapters should work:
Amigo AWI-922W. Billionton MIWLGRL.
Gigabyte GN-WIKG. MSI MP54G2. MSI MS-6833. Tonze PC-620C. Zinwell
ZWX-G360.
The following USB 2.0 adapters should work:
AMIT WL532U. ASUS WL-167g. Belkin
F5D7050 v2000. Buffalo WLI-U2-KG54. Buffalo WLI-U2-KG54-AI. Buffalo
WLI-U2-KG54-YB. CNet CWD-854. Compex WLU54G 2A1100. Conceptronic C54RU. D-Link
DWL-G122 (b1). Dynalink WLG25USB. E-Tech WGUS02. Gigabyte GN-WBKG. Hercules
HWGUSB2-54. KCORP LifeStyle KLS-685. Linksys HU200-TS. Linksys WUSB54G v4.
Linksys WUSB54GP v4. MSI MS-6861. MSI MS-6865. MSI MS-6869. Nintendo Wi-Fi USB
Connector. OvisLink Evo-W54USB. SerComm UB801R. SparkLAN WL-685R. Surecom
EP-9001-g. Sweex LC100060. Tonze UW-6200C. Zinwell ZWX-G261. Zonet
ZEW2500P.
EXAMPLES
The following
ifconfig.if(5)
example creates a host-based access point on boot:
inet 192.168.1.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 media autoselect \
mediaopt hostap nwid my_net chan 11
Configure ral0 for WEP, using hex key “0x1deadbeef1”:
# ifconfig ral0 nwkey 0x1deadbeef1
Return ral0 to its default settings:
# ifconfig ral0 -bssid -chan media autoselect \
nwid "" -nwkey
Join an existing BSS network, “my_net”:
# ifconfig ral0 192.168.1.1 netmask 0xffffff00 nwid my_net
DIAGNOSTICS
- ral%d: could not read microcode
%s
- For some reason, the driver was unable to read the
microcode file from the filesystem. The file might be missing or
corrupted.
- ral%d: could not load 8051
microcode
- An error occurred while attempting to upload the microcode
to the onboard 8051 microcontroller unit.
- ral%d: timeout waiting for MCU to
initialize
- The onboard 8051 microcontroller unit failed to initialize
in time.
- ral%d: device timeout
- A frame dispatched to the hardware for transmission did
not complete in time. The driver will reset the hardware. This should not
happen.
SEE ALSO
arp(4),
cardbus(4),
ifmedia(4),
intro(4),
netintro(4),
pci(4),
usb(4),
ifconfig.if(5),
hostapd(8),
ifconfig(8)
Ralink Technology
HISTORY
The
ral driver first appeared in
OpenBSD
3.7 and in
NetBSD 3.0. Support for the RT2501
and RT2600 chipsets was added in
OpenBSD 3.9 and in
NetBSD 4.0.
AUTHORS
The
ral driver was written by
Damien
Bergamini
<
damien@openbsd.org>.
CAVEATS
Some PCI
ral adapters seem to strictly require a system
supporting PCI 2.2 or greater and will likely not work in systems based on
older revisions of the PCI specification. Check the board's PCI version before
purchasing the card.
The USB
ral driver supports automatic control of the transmit
speed in BSS mode only. Therefore the use of a USB
ral
adapter in Host AP mode is discouraged.