NetGuido

Once you have a wireless network installed on your computer, the first step is to install the driver and make it work. A map wireless network implements the functions of the physical layer (PHY) and the sub-layer control media access (MAC) as specified in at least one series of protocols IEEE 802.11 while the pilot controls the map and provides other interfaces specific management of the wireless network.


There is no single method to install drivers for the multitude of vendors and maps available on the market. However, most of them can run through 3 methods:
* Use the kernel’s native support for Linux ® map,
* Compile and install a driver module for the specific card,
* Use the NDIS wrapper [1] to run cards using drivers for MS Windows ®.
In the following sections, the author will illustrate these methods with examples.
Please note that even if you use one of the last two methods, you must ensure that support wireless network has been activated in the kernel configuration:
gnawux fitness @: ~ $ grep CONFIG_NET_RADIO / boot/config- `uname-r`
CONFIG_NET_RADIO = y
If this is not the case, you should reconfigure the kernel and enable the “Wireless LAN (non-hamradio) Drivers and Wireless Extensions.”
Kernel support for wireless network
Pilots who are mature enough and have no license issues are introduced into the Linux kernel. Thus, the list of WLAN cards depends on the version of the kernel and it is therefore advisable to check whether the new kernel has better support your card before installing the driver.
In this section, the author will illustrate how to use the driver for WLAN cards based on chipsets Intersil Prism (ISL38xx). The list of supported cards can be found at http://prism54.org [2].
To use a card-based Prism chipset, you’ll need the latest 2.6 kernel and enable the “Intersil Prism GT / Duette / Indigo PCI / Cardbus” in “Wireless LAN driver” of the kernel configuration and recompile the kernel.
If you read the help text of the module carefully when you configure the kernel, you may find that you may need a firmware’s website prism54.org project [2]. This is because the card does not have an EPROM to store its firmware. Therefore, it needs to download the firmware when the pilot initializing the map. The firmware can not be part of the kernel because of a license. After getting the firmware and putting it into “/ usr / lib / hotplug / firmware /”, restart your computer and you find that you have an additional ethernet interface card from your wireless network.