Linux Wireless

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===== Existing Linux Wireless drivers =====

We currently have a fair amount of working drivers that cover most of the available wireless networking cards. However, they don't implement all features and may have some issues, due to various reasons like companies not providing specs. Below is an alphabetically sorted list of drivers and what they currently can and can't do. 

See also: 
  * [[wp>Comparison_of_open_source_wireless_drivers|Linux wireless drivers in Wikipedia]] 

**NOTE:** All drivers can of course run in [[en/users/Documentation/modes|station mode]], but only a few drivers support the other available **[[en/users/Documentation/modes|wireless modes]]**! Support of [[en/developers/Documentation/Glossary|cfg80211]] also offers benefits. 






| **Driver**                                            | **Manufacturer**       | **cfg80211**\\  | **AP**\\  | **IBSS**\\  | **mesh**\\  | **monitor**\\  | **PHY modes**  | **Buses**                   |
| [[en/users/Drivers/adm8211|adm8211]]                  | ADMtek/Infineon        | yes             | no        | no          | no          | ?              | B              | PCI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/airo|airo]]                        | Aironet/Cisco          | no              | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B              | PCI / PCMCIA                |
| [[en/users/Drivers/ar5523|ar5523]]                    | Atheros                | yes             | no        | no          | no          | yes            | A(2)/B/G       | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/at76c50x-usb|at76c50x-usb]]        | Atmel                  | yes             | no        | no          | no          | no             | B              | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/ath5k|ath5k]]                      | Atheros                | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes         | yes            | A/B/G          | PCI / PCI-E / PCMCIA        |
| [[en/users/Drivers/ath6kl|ath6kl]]                    | Atheros                | yes             | no        | yes         | no          | no             | A/B/G/N        | SDIO                        |
| [[en/users/Drivers/ath9k|ath9k]]                      | Atheros                | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes         | yes            | A/B/G/N        | PCI / PCI-E / AHB / PCMCIA  |
| [[en/users/Drivers/ath9k_htc|ath9k_htc]]              | Atheros                | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes         | yes            | B/G/N          | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/ath10k|ath10k]]                    | Atheros                | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | yes            | A/B/G/N/AC     | PCI-E                       |
| [[en/users/Drivers/atmel|atmel]]                      | Atmel                  | no              | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B              | PCI / PCMCIA                |
| [[en/users/Drivers/b43|b43]]                          | Broadcom               | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes         | yes            | A(2)/B/G       | SSB / PCI / PCI-E / PCMCIA  |
| [[en/users/Drivers/b43|b43legacy]]                    | Broadcom               | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes         | yes            | A(2)/B/G       | PCI / SSB                   |
| [[en/users/Drivers/brcm80211|brcmfmac]]               | Broadcom               | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | no             | A(1)/B/G/N/AC  | USB / SDIO / PCI-E          |
| [[en/users/Drivers/brcm80211|brcmsmac]]               | Broadcom               | yes             | yes       | no          | no          | yes            | A(1)/B/G/N     | PCI-E / AXI                 |
| [[en/users/Drivers/carl9170|carl9170]]                | ZyDAS/Atheros          | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes         | yes            | A(1)/B/G/N     | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/cw1200|cw1200]]                    | ST-Ericsson            | yes             | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | A/B/G/N        | SPI / SDIO                  |
| [[http://w1.fi/|hostap]]                              | Intersil/Conexant      | no              | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B              | PCI / PCMCIA                |
| [[en/users/Drivers/ipw2100|ipw2100]]                  | Intel                  | no              | no        | yes         | no          | no             | B              | PCI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/ipw2200|ipw2200]]                  | Intel                  | no              | no (3)    | yes         | no          | no             | A/B/G          | PCI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/iwlegacy|iwlegacy]]                | Intel                  | yes             | no        | yes         | no          | no             | A/B/G          | PCI-E                       |
| [[en/users/Drivers/iwlwifi|iwlwifi]]                  | Intel                  | yes             | yes (6)   | yes         | no          | yes            | A/B/G/N/AC     | PCI-E                       |
| [[en/users/Drivers/libertas|libertas]]                | Marvell                | no              | no        | yes         | yes (4)     | no             | B/G            | USB / PCMCIA / SDIO / GSPI  |
| [[en/users/Drivers/libertastf|libertas_tf]]           | Marvell                | yes             | yes       | no          | yes         | ?              | B/G            | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/mac80211_hwsim|mac80211_hwsim]]    | Jouni                  | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | yes            | A/B/G/N        | NONE!                       |
| [[en/users/Drivers/mwifiex|mwifiex]]                  | Marvell                | yes             | yes       | yes         | ?           | ?              | A/B/G/N        | SDIO / PCI-E / USB          |
| [[en/users/Drivers/mwl8k|mwl8k]]                      | Marvell                | yes             | yes       | ?           | ?           | yes            | A/B/G/N        | PCI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/orinoco|orinoco]]                  | Agere/Intersil/Symbol  | yes             | no        | yes         | no          | yes            | B              | PCI / PCMCIA / USB          |
| [[en/users/Drivers/p54|p54pci]]                       | Intersil/Conexant      | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes         | yes            | A(1)/B/G       | PCI / PCMCIA                |
| [[en/users/Drivers/p54|p54spi]]                       | Conexant/ST-NXP        | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes         | yes            | A(1)/B/G       | SPI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/p54|p54usb]]                       | Intersil/Conexant      | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes         | yes            | A(1)/B/G       | USB                         |
| [[http://www.linux-wlan.org/|** prism2_usb]]          | Intersil/Conexant      | yes             | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B              | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl819x|** r8192e_pci]]            | Realtek                | no              | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B/G/N          | PCI-E                       |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl819x|** r8192u_usb]]            | Realtek                | no              | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B/G/N          | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl819x|** r8712u]]                | Realtek                | no              | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B/G/N          | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/ray_cs|ray_cs]]                    | Raytheon               | no              | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | pre802.11      | PCMCIA                      |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rndis_wlan|rndis_wlan]]            | Broadcom               | yes             | no        | yes         | no          | no             | B/G            | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rt61pci|rt61pci]]                  | Ralink                 | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | yes            | A(1)/B/G       | PCI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rt73usb|rt73usb]]                  | Ralink                 | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | yes            | A(1)/B/G       | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rt2400pci|rt2400pci]]              | Ralink                 | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | yes            | B              | PCI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rt2500pci|rt2500pci]]              | Ralink                 | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | yes            | A(1)/B/G       | PCI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rt2500usb|rt2500usb]]              | Ralink                 | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | yes            | A(1)/B/G       | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rt2800pci|rt2800pci]]              | Ralink                 | yes             | yes       | ?           | ?           | yes            | A(1)/B/G/N     | PCI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rt2800usb|rt2800usb]]              | Ralink                 | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes(5)      | yes            | A(1)/B/G/N     | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl8187|rtl8180]]                  | Realtek                | yes             | no        | no          | no          | ?              | B/G            | PCI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl8187|rtl8187]]                  | Realtek                | yes             | no        | yes         | no          | yes            | B/G            | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl819x|rtl8188ee]]                | Realtek                | yes             | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B/G/N          | PCI-E                       |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl819x|rtl8192ce]]                | Realtek                | yes             | ?         | ?           | ?           | yes              | B/G/N          | PCI-E                       |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl819x|rtl8192cu]]                | Realtek                | yes             | yes         | ?           | ?           | yes            | B/G/N          | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl819x|rtl8192de]]                | Realtek                | yes             | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B/G/N          | PCI-E                       |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl819x|rtl8192se]]                | Realtek                | yes             | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B/G/N          | PCI-E                       |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl819x|rtl8723ae]]                | Realtek                | yes             | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B/G/N          | PCI-E                       |
| [[en/users/Drivers/rtl819x| ** r8723au]]              | Realtek                | yes             | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B/G/N          | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/vt665x| ** vt6655]]                | VIA                    | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | no             | A/B/G          | PCI                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/vt665x| ** vt6656]]                | VIA                    | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | no             | A/B/G          | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/wcn36xx|wcn36xx]]                  | Qualcomm Atheros       | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes          | yes            | A/B/G/N             |                        |
| [[en/users/Drivers/wil6210|wil6210]]                  | Atheros                | yes             | yes       | no          | no          | yes            | AD             | PCI-E                       |
| [[http://code.google.com/p/winbondport/|** winbond]]  | Winbond                | yes             | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B              | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/wl1251|wl1251]]                    | Texas Instruments      | yes             | no        | yes         | ?           | yes            | B/G            | SPI / SDIO                  |
| [[en/users/Drivers/wl12xx|wl12xx]]                    | Texas Instruments      | yes             | yes       | yes         | no          | no             | A(1)/B/G/N     | SPI / SDIO                  |
| [[en/users/Drivers/wl18xx|wl18xx]]                    | Texas Instruments      | yes             | yes       | yes         | ?           | ?              | A/B/G/N        | SDIO                        |
| [[en/users/Drivers/wl3501_cs|wl3501_cs]]              | Z-Com                  | no              | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | pre802.11      | PCMCIA                      |
| [[en/users/Drivers/wlags49_h2|** wlags49_h2]]         | Lucent/Agere           | no              | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B/G            | PCI / PCMCIA                |
| [[en/users/Drivers/zd1201|zd1201]]                    | ZyDAS/Atheros          | no              | ?         | ?           | ?           | ?              | B              | USB                         |
| [[en/users/Drivers/zd1211rw|zd1211rw]]                | ZyDAS/Atheros          | yes             | yes       | yes         | yes         | yes            | A(2)/B/G       | USB                         |






Note: %%**%% **staging drivers** 


===== Out of the tree drivers(Unsupported) =====






|**Driver**|**Manufacturer**|**cfg80211**\\ |**AP**\\ |**IBSS**\\ |**mesh**\\ |**monitor**\\ |**PHY modes**|**Buses**|
|[[en/users/Drivers/acx1xx|acx1xx]]|Texas Instruments|yes|?|?|no|?|B|PCI / PCMCIA / USB|
|[[en/users/Drivers/agnx|agnx]]|Airgo/Qualcom|yes|?|?|?|?|A/B/G|PCI|
|[[en/users/Drivers/ar6k|ar6k]]|Atheros|?|?|?|?|?|B/G|?|
|[[http://poldhu.sf.net/|poldhu]]|NWN|no|?|?|?|?|B|PCMCIA|

Notes: 
    - 802.11a capabilities depend on the actual radio chip used. 
    - 802.11a devices exist, but currently can't be used with this driver, A/B/G devices will work in B/G mode only. 
    - There is support with a special, out-of-tree driver and special firmware, see [[http://sf.net/projects/ipw2200-ap|http://sf.net/projects/ipw2200-ap]]. 
    - Slightly different mesh implementation than mac80211's, in firmware. 
    - Tested with RT2870/RT3070 driver 
    - Only some devices 
===== Abandoned/Deprecated Drivers(Unsupported) =====
|**Driver** |**Manufacturer** |**[[en/developers/Documentation/cfg80211|cfg80211]]** |**[[en/users/Documentation/modes|AP]]** |**[[en/users/Documentation/modes|ad-hoc]]** |**[[en/users/Documentation/modes|mesh]]** |**[[en/users/Documentation/modes|monitor]]** |**PHY modes** |**BUS** |**Replaced by** |
|[[en/users/Drivers/ar9170|ar9170usb]] |ZyDAS/Atheros |yes |no |yes |no |yes |A(1)/B/G/N |USB |[[en/users/Drivers/carl9170|carl9170]] |
|[[http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=af449f924c95fa8d4f57c9b71e9b104a5079fa33|arlan]] |Aironet/Cisco |no |? |? |? |? |pre802.11 |ISA |- |
|[[en/users/Drivers/at76_usb|at76_usb]] |Atmel |no |no |no |no |no |B |USB |[[en/users/Drivers/at76c50x-usb|at76c50x-usb]] |
|[[http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=e5b3e80016198ee55c82dfd653c1dee99a38964b|netwave_cs]] |Netwave/Xircom |no |? |? |? |? |pre802.11 |PCMCIA |- |
|[[en/users/Drivers/otus|otus]] |ZyDAS/Atheros |no |? |no |no |no |A/B/G/N |USB |[[en/users/Drivers/carl9170|carl9170]] |
|[[en/users/Drivers/p54|prism54]] |Intersil/Conexant |no |? |? |? |? |A/B/G |PCI / PCMCIA |[[en/users/Drivers/p54|p54pci]] |
|[[en/users/Drivers/stlc45xx|stlc45xx]] |ST/Nokia |yes |no |no |no |no |B/G |SPI |[[en/users/Drivers/p54|p54spi]] |
|[[http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=commit;h=1d794e3b353b50ab5d9d46f7c15607f9ec8c78e0|wavelan]] |Lucent |no |? |? |? |? |pre802.11 |ISA / PCMCIA |- |



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