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Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/networking/bcm43xx.txt')
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diff --git a/Documentation/networking/bcm43xx.txt b/Documentation/networking/bcm43xx.txt deleted file mode 100644 index d602c8d..0000000 --- a/Documentation/networking/bcm43xx.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,89 +0,0 @@ - - BCM43xx Linux Driver Project - ============================ - -Introduction ------------- - -Many of the wireless devices found in modern notebook computers are -based on the wireless chips produced by Broadcom. These devices have -been a problem for Linux users as there is no open-source driver -available. In addition, Broadcom has not released specifications -for the device, and driver availability has been limited to the -binary-only form used in the GPL versions of AP hardware such as the -Linksys WRT54G, and the Windows and OS X drivers. Before this project -began, the only way to use these devices were to use the Windows or -OS X drivers with either the Linuxant or ndiswrapper modules. There -is a strong penalty if this method is used as loading the binary-only -module "taints" the kernel, and no kernel developer will help diagnose -any kernel problems. - -Development ------------ - -This driver has been developed using -a clean-room technique that is described at -http://bcm-specs.sipsolutions.net/ReverseEngineeringProcess. For legal -reasons, none of the clean-room crew works on the on the Linux driver, -and none of the Linux developers sees anything but the specifications, -which are the ultimate product of the reverse-engineering group. - -Software --------- - -Since the release of the 2.6.17 kernel, the bcm43xx driver has been -distributed with the kernel source, and is prebuilt in most, if not -all, distributions. There is, however, additional software that is -required. The firmware used by the chip is the intellectual property -of Broadcom and they have not given the bcm43xx team redistribution -rights to this firmware. Since we cannot legally redistribute -the firmware we cannot include it with the driver. Furthermore, it -cannot be placed in the downloadable archives of any distributing -organization; therefore, the user is responsible for obtaining the -firmware and placing it in the appropriate location so that the driver -can find it when initializing. - -To help with this process, the bcm43xx developers provide a separate -program named bcm43xx-fwcutter to "cut" the firmware out of a -Windows or OS X driver and write the extracted files to the proper -location. This program is usually provided with the distribution; -however, it may be downloaded from - -http://developer.berlios.de/project/showfiles.php?group_id=4547 - -The firmware is available in two versions. V3 firmware is used with -the in-kernel bcm43xx driver that uses a software MAC layer called -SoftMAC, and will have a microcode revision of 0x127 or smaller. The -V4 firmware is used by an out-of-kernel driver employing a variation of -the Devicescape MAC layer known as d80211. Once bcm43xx-d80211 reaches -a satisfactory level of development, it will replace bcm43xx-softmac -in the kernel as it is much more flexible and powerful. - -A source for the latest V3 firmware is - -http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/wl_apsta-3.130.20.0.o - -Once this file is downloaded, the command -'bcm43xx-fwcutter -w <dir> <filename>' -will extract the microcode and write it to directory -<dir>. The correct directory will depend on your distribution; -however, most use '/lib/firmware'. Once this step is completed, -the bcm3xx driver should load when the system is booted. To see -any messages relating to the driver, issue the command 'dmesg | -grep bcm43xx' from a terminal window. If there are any problems, -please send that output to Bcm43xx-dev@lists.berlios.de. - -Although the driver has been in-kernel since 2.6.17, the earliest -version is quite limited in its capability. Patches that include -all features of later versions are available for the stable kernel -versions from 2.6.18. These will be needed if you use a BCM4318, -or a PCI Express version (BCM4311 and BCM4312). In addition, if you -have an early BCM4306 and more than 1 GB RAM, your kernel will need -to be patched. These patches, which are being updated regularly, -are available at ftp://lwfinger.dynalias.org/patches. Look for -combined_2.6.YY.patch. Of course you will need kernel source downloaded -from kernel.org, or the source from your distribution. - -If you build your own kernel, please enable CONFIG_BCM43XX_DEBUG -and CONFIG_IEEE80211_SOFTMAC_DEBUG. The log information provided is -essential for solving any problems. |
