Atheros Releases Free Linux Driver For Its 802.11n Devices 155
mcgrof writes "Atheros has released a shiny new Atheros driver for all their 11n devices aimed for inclusion in the Linux kernel. This new driver has no proprietary HAL and is licensed under the ISC license, so the BSD community should be able to benefit as well. Note: no firmware required!"
if only there were a similar driver (Score:4, Informative)
There is one, silly... (Score:3, Informative)
And it's been in the kernel for at least one major release. ath5k is the name
I have a few of these devices and they work pretty well with the driver. They don't do access point mode yet, but that will come soon.
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Supposedly you need 2.6.25 at least.
Broadcomm next?? (Score:5, Insightful)
Now... if we can just get Broadcomm to do the same.....
Re:Broadcomm next?? (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Broadcomm next?? (Score:4, Interesting)
BCM supports linux for other chipsets directly, go look on their website they provide GPL'd drivers for a bunch of stuff, just not the BCM94311 cores for some reason, probably licensing.
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As a new Linux desktop user (Score:1)
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That's why I bought the Dell Inspiron 1420n. I KNEW that everything would work under Linux.
When I finally upgrade my home's network, you can bet I'll be going with Atheros.
Re:As a new Linux desktop user (Score:4, Informative)
After struggling with Zydas ZD1211, various Broadcrap cards and two TI ACX cards, I tried using atheros. After that, I ordered 10 minipci cards to use in my various devices (NAS, Laptop, routers etc.). And by the look of things, I'm never going back ;)
Re:As a new Linux desktop user (Score:5, Informative)
I just get Intel laptops with Centrino...works perfectly.
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Unfortunately the Centrino driver (at least the one included with Backtrack 3) does not support injection, so isn't much good for wardriving.
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I can totally relate to your frustration. In the process of getting an atheros chipset to work, I spent AT LEAST 50 hours drudging forums, mailing lists, and man pages. However, I did get it to work, using a forum hack.
During that ordeal, I learned a great deal about Linux...I went from clueless to competent. I learned to make symbolic links, regular expressions..even some shell scripting. I use a bash script every time I need to browse the web. --I could probably automate this script, but I'm happy to
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Please don't take this as an insult, I actually congratulate you for don't giving up and learning about your OS while solving an actual issue.
Anyway, my point is: If you know Unix, and have at least some specific knowledge of GNU/Linux, the atheros cards work out of the box. There are two drivers, one proprietary, the other free, both of them work like a charm if you are connecting as a client (I Haven't tried them in other modes since I have an ath chipset in the built-in wlan of my Toshiba laptop, which b
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It seems that this thread has degenerated into plugs for Intel. lol
For people like me, next time please give some reasons that they should have bought intel, and how buying an ATI product 2.5 years ago relates to that.
Intel is to be credited for being the first to open up video!
That aside,
In practice, IF you are willing to run with a proprietary driver, Intel is still only a marginally acceptable option(IMHO). I am typing on a Core2Duo Centrino, but my experience is the opposite of yours. If I want a comp
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I believe you, I don't have any trouble with Compiz with my ATI chipsets, but I do with my Centrino. The worst thing is that I cannot have video playback while running the 3D desktop.
Ironically, the thing that has worked best on this Centrino laptop is the Broadcom Gigabit ethernet adaptor(BCM5787M). Not a big broadcom fan, and maybe it is because ethernet adaptors are simple to do(?), but it has worked reliably in every distro I've tried.
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I just bought a Dell laptop. When I was configuring it, I had two wireless options (not a common one, I know) - "Dell 802.11N" or "Intel 802.11N". I went Intel, only becau
Re:Broadcomm next?? (Score:5, Interesting)
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I haven't looked at the ath9k driver code, but based on the web pages, it appears that what's different is that they finally decided that publishing the driver source code doesn't violate FCC regulat
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Have you ever dealt with Broadcom? (Score:2, Interesting)
I have. Screw Broadcom. Anyone who buys their products deserves the hell they are helping to support.
Broadcom is EXTREMELY anal retentive about anything that looks remotely proprietary. On their CPU's, they dropped Linux support for the Sibyte stuff that they bought up as soon as they could. I know some guys who are stuck having to support development efforts with such products, and my heart goes out to them.
The one good bit of news is that they do have a suppposedly serious effort on the Wifi side. The bad
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I thought the bcm4xxx project did a substantial portion of black box reverse engineering?
Or is that not the Broadcom you mean?
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Hey, Linux would have Broadcom support if only they had not been such geeks.
All that they needed was a Linux grotto, full of Coke, E, and chicks... They would have had the full support of the president of the company!
But no, the Linux dudes are all concerned about freedom (and not the freedom to slip drugs into the food and drinks of business associates)
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They're too busy blowing lines and partying, silly!
Seriously? (Score:5, Interesting)
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Not having read the article (this is Slashdot, of course) I don't know exactly what chipset(s) this is for, but this [atheros.com] might help...
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Re:Seriously? (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.ubnt.com/products/sr71a.php [ubnt.com]
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http://www.ubnt.com/products/sr71a.php [ubnt.com]
With that name I really was expecting a much stealthier router.
That's nothing that a bit of camo paint and not plugging it in in the first place can't solve, of course...
np: Spooky - Shelter (Open (Disc 1))
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Indeed this is great news. Nonetheless, there are multiple companies pushing products which are blessed with this chip and, although the support is obviously there, some of those companies don't even bother to cite linux as a supported OS. Therefore it would be nice if those who are in the market for one of these babies would spend their cash on the company that at least acknowledges that linux exist.
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is there a miniPCI card available containing this chipset that I can plug into a little router board?
That just begs the question: What kind of a router do you have which takes miniPCI cards?
(Myself, I like to use an ordinary computer for a router instead, but it's still very interesting)
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Sorry but what are you smoking? The ISC license is OSI approved and GPL compatible according to the wikipedia page.
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I fundamentally believe proprietary software is both unfair and stupid.
Fortunately for people who write code and don't want to work for a megacorp, others who respect other people's rights have an edge over you. :)
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I'm not sure what disadvantage you are under. You get to use something that you didn't previously have the opportunity to use. Sure, some company can use your stuff but the ISC license also mandates that if they give the same permissions when they use it or distribute it. Your able to use the software in any way that you can now with the initial offering. Outside of no requirement for source there is no differences.
Hurray, that makes choosing the next laptop easier (Score:5, Informative)
No more weighing the lesser of two evils, I can cross off all the laptops with Broadcom chips and narrow the playing field.
I wasted untold hours with the b43 driver and routinely get bitten when I upgrade kernels and madwifi falls apart and I can't load the new source because it fell apart. Wireless hardware that just works will be a relief.
Which laptops with Broadcom chips? (Score:2, Interesting)
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Sabayon Linux works out of the box with all the hardware on my laptop, INCLUDING a broadcom 4318 wireless adapter. It's the distro, kids, because ubuntu couldn't even bother to use my wireless until I fiddled around for an hour, and even then it wouldn't work for more than 20-30 seconds. Sabayon had it working during the install, so I could wirelessly surf the web from the liveDVD, and it still works flawlessly. Hell, it works better than it did on Windows!
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Not entirely sure what you mean.
If you Google the at risk bits in your computer (wifi, webcam) then you'll very easily be able to tell if it works or not.
The number of things that dont work is very small these days.
Its improving all the time.
Cool (Score:5, Interesting)
Does anybody know the HW capabilities of the Atheros chipset?
Thinking of Software Radio...
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So was I, the previous chips and drivers used that HAL to prevent out of spec tuning of the software radio i believe, so are they doing this in hardware now?
No firmware, no HAL, open driver. Either they can't be tuned out of spec by software, or they are hard locked at manufacture time.
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Keep in mind the FCC has something to say about out of spec wireless devices. They're covering their own asses by keeping people from using certain parts of the spectrum in unorthodox ways.
(Sorry, but it's a tragedy of the commons matter which means if it's not regulated, whoever has the biggest megaphone/transmitter wins.)
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I know why it's done and i have no problem with it actually. I'm just curious why its no longer an issue anymore with the 802.11n chips Atheros makes.
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I think it has the firmware in flash on the chip.
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But only about transmitting, no?
I'd be ok with radio and TV reception.
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There are 4 kinds of devices, I believe, that make any sense for the FCC to care about:
1. Passive antennas
2. Radios intended to transmit (which do not include an antenna)
3. Radios intended to transmit (which include an antenna)
4. Electronic devices not intended to transmit but that, nonetheless, do radiate (EMI)
Passive antennas are the only category where what you said makes sense. But I think all the FCC cares about passive antennas is what the FAA cares about passive antennas: that they aren't so tall as
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So was I, the previous chips and drivers used that HAL to prevent out of spec tuning of the software radio i believe, so are they doing this in hardware now?
No firmware, no HAL, open driver. Either they can't be tuned out of spec by software, or they are hard locked at manufacture time.
> Either they can't be tuned out of spec by software, or they are hard locked at manufacture time.
Neither of both is correct. The hardware has the same capabilities as it had when just MadWifi (plus the binary-only HAL) was available as a Linux driver.
Atheros obviously understood that a blob does not help to prevent people from tuning the radio to frequencies they are not allowed to use. Luis Rodriguez is working on a in-kernel framework called "Central Regulatory Domain Agent" (CRDA) which will take car
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So essentially the locks are no longer closed source, but most users won't care to screw with the tuner anyway and won't do so even though they could, right?
Good move if thats what you mean
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As a part 97 FCC license holder, I am also interested.
hacking Atheros chips for software radio (Score:2)
I took apart an older Atheros card and looked through the specs with this in mind a year or so ago. I can't remember the exact chips, but it was from the 5k series. There was a separate RF front end chip that did analog up/down conversion between the ISM bands and an intermediate frequency. The IF ran from the RF front end to a chip that contained the ADC/DAC. Unfortunately, this chip also did PHY, implemented in hardware, and I couldn't figure out a way to get access to raw samples. You can implement
The not so long article - fyi (Score:5, Informative)
ath9k - Atheros unveils free Linux driver for its 802.11n devices Â
We are pleased to announce Atheros has released ath9k to the community. This driver is aimed at inclusion to the Linux kernel and supports all Atheros IEEE 802.11n devices. This represents a major shift in terms of support from Atheros with respect to Linux. The ath9k driver comes shortly after Atheros hired two key Linux wireless developers -- Luis Rodriguez and Jouni Malinen.
We have been informed Atheros does plan to add access point support to ath9k and to work with the community to enhance and complete access point support in the Linux kernel. It is understood there is plenty of work required on the wireless stack to complete full access point support. Jouni Malinen will help drive this process within the community while Luis helps enhance regulatory compliance in the Linux kernel.
We are eager to work with Atheros with ath9k and applaud their efforts for properly supporting Linux.
The ath9k driver includes supports for the following chipsets:
* AR5418+AR5133
* AR5416+AR5133
* AR5416+AR2133
* AR9160
* AR9280
* AR9281
B and G (Score:5, Interesting)
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No relation. 802.11n is completely different hardware than a/b/g.
Re:B and G (Score:5, Informative)
Yes but, due to the physical differences (MIMO, etc) the software->hardware interface is likely significantly different.
The specifications for 802.11n are mostly compatible with a/b/g, but what you are saying is, to use a car analogy, putting a truck transmission into a coup. Sure, they do the same thing, but they are still completely different 'under the hood'.
Another example: a CD and DVD do the same thing, a DVD is backwards compatible, and a DVD does more. But a DVD is not a CD, and you cannot interface with the DVD the same way as you do a CD. (this is usually abstracted away from you, by the chips in the actual drive, but it is still true)
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whatcouldpossiblygowrong? (Score:2, Interesting)
No, really, this is GREAT news all around and I can't think of a catch. Kudos Atheros!
Hired ath5k developer (Score:5, Interesting)
Atheros hired Luis R. Rodriguez [lwn.net], the developer of the Linux kernel Atheros driver, back in April with the intention of doing just this. Congratulations!
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What??? I never had anything to do with money. It all had to do with copyright and changing the license to restrict BSD uses. The GPL folks actually took the BSD implementation and places a GPL on it then attempted to go after the BSD guys for violating the GPL until he was able to show who actually owned the code.
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BSD is free but not in the way your talking. It has a copyright on on the code that says you have to put the copyright notice and permissions with any copies. That wasn't happening and at one point, some GPL people attempted to claim ownership of the copyright on the whole damn module which is a big part of what caused the problems in the first place. A bunch of GPL people started complaining that a BSD stole their code and wasn't following the GPL which got Theo's attention who pointed out that it was BSD
Great news! Vote with you wallet. (Score:5, Insightful)
I applaud Atheros for taking this step, and I will be buying Atheros hardware in the future due to this move.
May other companies learn from this initiative.
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Now if I can just find a list of OTC parts and retailers using the Atheros chips so I can make sure to purchase only them in the future.
I build and upgrade a lot of systems. Most of which get made into Linux machines at one point in their life. I'm in the process of taking 2 old win98 workstations and turning them into internet kiosks for patrons to use and we already have wifi on site for them. This potentially means I can put more in without having to pull cable through the walls. and just in time too.
I second that! Here's the choices (Score:3, Informative)
Belkin
* N1 Wireless Notebook Card
D-Link
* DWA-642 RangeBooster N Notebook Adapter
* DWA-645 RangeBooster N650 Notebook Adapter
* DWA-542 RangeBooster N Desktop Adapter
* DWA-547 RangeBooster N650 Desktop Adapter
* DWA-652 XtremeN Notebook Adapter
* DWA-552 XtremeN Desktop Adapter
* DWA-643 Xtreme N ExpressCard Notebook Adapter
* DWA-556 Xtreme N PCIe Desktop Adapter
Linksys
* WPC300Nv2
* WMP300Nv2
* WPC100N
* WMP110N
NEC
* WL300NC
Netgear
* WNHDE111 Video Bridge
* WN711, Wireless-N eXpresscard adapter
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*ring* *ring* (Score:1)
"Hi, Broadcom? This is everyone else calling..."
Sweet!!!! (Score:2)
Does this mean (Score:2)
...we'll be seeing 'Works on Linux' stickers featuring Tux on the wireless card boxes?
Well, it better, because I don't feel like rushing out and spray painting all those boxes myself right now. It's Saturday, and I got better things to do than make that one free phone call...
Now how about AR5007EG support (Score:1)
n/t
As a current madwifi user (Score:2)
Not a minute too soon. I was getting extremely frustrated with the flaky quality and constant upgrade issues.
I am compiling the new driver right now for my Santa Rosa Macbook Pro. I'll post again to let you all know how it went.
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You have a new 802.11n card?
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only one other problem (Score:1)
the card manufacturers often change chipset between revisions of the card, without any indication on the packaging.
this can make it difficult to be 100% sure your getting the chipset you thought you were at times, however, the nintendo wifi connector is guaranteed to use the rt2500 chipset, which is plug it in and works with any modern kernel, unfortunately they seem to be out of production now, but I'm nabbing up a few before they become scarce.
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Buy hardware, and if it doesn't contain the right chipset send it back to the manufacturer with the reason for the return ("Unlabeled change in chipset, product is no longer compatible").
I've seen some hardware have the chipset printed on the box. My PCMCIA card from Netgear incidentally had the Atheros logo on the box.
My wonderful HP Pavilion laptop (Score:5, Interesting)
I have a dv5030us of the dv5000 series. But this applies to nearly all Pavilion models. If you take out the Broadcom card and replace it with something that is not Broadcom (or does not have its ID in the BIOS), then the BIOS will boot and say "Unsupported hardware detected. Remove and reboot." I wanted official support for wireless. I bought an Atheros card off eBay, installed it, got exactly what everyone was saying it would do. Then, I found this web site: http://www.richud.com/HP-Pavilion-104-Bios-Fix/ [richud.com] . And, I had to hex edit my BIOS and reflash as well. Quite something, HP, doing a hardware lock-in with a vendor who refuses to release specs on their hardware.
Access Point? (Score:3, Interesting)
Anyone know of a good WAP that uses the Atheros chipset? I have a Linksys WRT600N (wifi-N, GbE and USB) and while their European models use Atheros, the U.S. models use Broadcom chipsets.
Come to think of it, anyone interested in doing a little gray market exporting?
Open hardware for laptop (Score:1)
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Um... that's what they did. You don't need to open the hardware, just the interface to the hardware.
Yell at Sony for putting shit-chips in your laptop.
Open source in general (Score:1, Funny)
MOD PARENT +5 FUNNY/INTERESTING/BATSHITLOCO (Score:2)
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now if only Apple went with Atheros (Score:2)
Having Atheros chips in a Mac Book would be downright awesome.
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When I went looking for Linux drivers for my Macbook Pro (2007 model, ended up with ndiswrapper and a Windoze driver from my Leopard install disk) I read that the Airport Extreme *is* an Atheros model.
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ISC license is irrelevant, Linux makes it GPL (Score:1)
Woot! (Score:3, Interesting)
Awesome, spectacular and I hope everyone buys atheros based chipsets.
Hopefully with a concerted effort we can provide atheros enough cash to buy broadcom, fire its board, and can its management.
Then, have a massive open source party wuv fest with opening the broadcom chipsets and publishing the specifications.
I am pleased that at least, some manufacturers are beginning to see, that open hardware yields better drivers and better experience for the consumer.
I hope it continues.
VIA, Atheros look like they just "get it".
Awesome.
-Hackus
not finalized yet (Score:2)
The draft is expected to be finalized in March 2009 with publication in December 2009
Would it really be wise to start purchasing 802.11n cards without the 802.11n standard being finalized yet?
madwifi? (Score:2)
What's wrong with madwifi?
Re:madwifi? (Score:4, Informative)
The driver itself is open source but depends on the proprietary Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) that is available in binary form only.
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From the MadWifi homepage: [madwifi.org]
The driver itself is open source but depends on the proprietary Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) that is available in binary form only.
That's for the madwifi driver.
...yes, they're all written by the madwifi group...
We're talking about the ath9k driver.
There's also ath5k, that does not uses HAL.
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Didn't work with the 5007 chipset as of 2 months ago. There is a patch working it's way through that I got to work briefly, but haven't quite figured out how to repeat my success yet.
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Also bear in mind that Network Manager can be a pain in the ass and might be the cause of your trouble. On my laptop it routinely forgets my AP name and WAP password, so I have to open it up an re-enter the password every time I reboot Ubuntu.
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madwifi works only as .11a/b/g for once. Second, as pointed out, the stable madwifi still works with the proprietary HAL - OpenHAL is work-in-progress. Third, said HAL still makes the drivers for my AR5418 crash occasionally with RX overflow messages. So for me (ans probably a whole lot of Thinkpad and Macbook owners) this is Very Good News.
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however, look here: http://wireless.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/ath5k [kernel.org] for more information.