mac80211 subsystem package

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NOTE: The mac80211 subsystem was previously called d80211. You may hear folks still refer to this subsystem using the old name.

This page provides general information about the the mac80211 subsystem. The packages hosted here provide a version installable into most kernels with a version of 2.6.18 or later. We're working to get the subsystem to work in kernels older than 2.6.18, but we aren't there yet.

NOTE: The mac80211 subsystem is being developed by a group of community developers. Intel put together this packaging system in order to better facilitate the widespread availability and adoption of the subsystem.

Community development version

The main community development for the mac80211 subsystem occurs on the linux-wireless mailing list.

You can find the latest "tip" version of the subsystem in the wireless-dev GIT repository.

If you want to pull the latest version of the GIT tree (and associated kernel tip), you can do so by installing the Git - Fast Version Control System and then running the following commands:

% git clone \
  git://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/linville/wireless-dev.git

If you run into problems connecting via the GIT port (9418), try using HTTP instead:

% git clone \
  http://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/linville/wireless-dev.git

NOTE: The above will download the wireless-dev version of the Linux kernel sources and its change history. If you are on a slow connection, you might want to go get some coffee...

The mac80211 subsystem package version

The community development version above typically focuses on the 'tip' of the Linux kernel. To the average user that means that bug fixes, patches, and enhancements will only be available to you if you can upgrade to the latest development kernel. For some, this is acceptable. For others, it is not.

The packages hosted on this page are created in order to try and provide the user (you) with fixes and enhancements that affect *just* the wireless subsystem required for use with your hardware without requiring a full kernel upgrade.

As with any software, new changes may introduce new bugs. Upgrading from one version of the mac80211 subsystem to the next might regress a problem, or even introduce a new one -- if it does, and you find it, please let folks know by sending an email to the linux-wireless mailing list.

Getting the mac80211 subsystem package

Obtaining the mac80211 subsystem package is as easy as clicking on the link on the right of the page for the latest version of the mac80211 subsystem and following the steps on the HOWTO-mac80211.

last updated: Mar 05 2007 07:03:38 PDT