Broadcom Linux hybrid wireless driver Version 5.100.82.

1XX DISCLAIMER ---------This is an Official Release of Broadcom's hybrid Linux driver for use with Broadcom based hardware. WHERE TO GET THE RELEASE -----------------------http://www.broadcom.com/support/802.11/linux_sta.php IMPORTANT NOTE AND DISCUSSION OF HYBRID DRIVER ---------------------------------------------There are separate tarballs for 32 bit and 64 bit x86 CPU architectures. Make sure you use the appropriate tarball for your machine. Other than 32 vs 64 bit, the hybrid binary is agnostic to the specific versions (2.6.X) and distributions (Fedora, Ubuntu, SuSE, etc). It performs all interactions with the OS through OS specific files (wl_linux.c, wl_iw.c, osl_linux.c) that are shipped in source form. You compile this source on your system and link with a precompiled binary file (wlc_hybrid.o_shipped) which contains the rest of the driver. PRECOMPILED DRIVER ------------------Some distros (Ubuntu and Fedora at the least) already have a version of this driver in their repositories precompiled, tested and ready to go. You just use the package manager to install the proper package. If its available for your distro, this is usually an easier solution. See the end of this document for further discussion. ABOUT THIS RELEASE ------------------This is a rollup release. It includes and deprecates all previous releases and patches. At the time of release there are no existing patches for this release from Broadcom. SUPPORTED DEVICES ----------------The cards with the following PCI Device IDs are supported with this driver. Both Broadcom and and Dell product names are described. Cards not listed here may also work. BRCM PCI Product Name Vendor ID ------------- ---------4311 2.4 Ghz 0x14e4 4311 Dualband 0x14e4 4311 5 Ghz 0x14e4 4312 2.4 Ghz 0x14e4 4313 2.4 Ghz 0x14e4 4321 Dualband 0x14e4 4321 Dualband 0x14e4 4321 2.4 Ghz 0x14e4 4321 5 Ghz 0x14e4 4322 Dualband 0x14e4 4322 2.4 Ghz 0x14e4 4322 5 Ghz 0x14e4 43224 Dualband 0x14e4 PCI Device ID --------0x4311 0x4312 0x4313 0x4315 0x4727 0x4328 0x4328 0x4329 0x432a 0x432b 0x432c 0x432d 0x4353 Dell Product ID ----------Dell 1390 Dell 1490 Dell Dell Dell Dell 1395 1501 1505 1500

Dell 1510 Dell 1520

43225 2.4 Ghz 43227 2.4 Ghz 43228 Dualband

0x14e4 0x14e4 0x14e4

0x4357 0x4358 0x4359

Dell 1530

To find the Device ID's of Broadcom cards on your machines do: # lspci -n grep 14e4 NOTABLE CHANGES --------------Added Cfg80211 support (described below) Added Monitor mode (described below) REQUIREMENTS -----------Building this driver requires that your machine have the proper tools, packages, header files and libraries to build a standard a kernel module. This usually is done by installing the kernel developer or kernel source package and varies from distro to distro. Consult the documentation for your specific OS. If you cannot successfully build a module that comes with your distro's kernel developer or kernel source package, you will not be able to build this module either. If you try to build this module but get an error message that looks like this: make: *** /lib/modules/"release"/build: No such file or directory. Stop. Then you do not have the proper packages installed, since installing the proper packages will create /lib/modules/"release"/build on your system. On Fedora install 'kernel-devel' (Development Package for building kernel modules to match the kernel) from the Package Manager (System-> Administration-> Add/Remove Software). On Ubuntu, you will need headers and tools. Try these commands: # apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic # apt-get build-dep linux To check to see if you have this directory do this: # ls /lib/modules/`uname -r`/build BUILD INSTRUCTIONS -----------------1. Setup the directory by untarring the proper tarball: For 32 bit: For 64 bit: hybrid-portsrc.tar.gz hybrid-portsrc-x86_64.tar.gz

Example: # mkdir hybrid_wl # cd hybrid_wl # tar xzf <path>/hybrid-portsrc.tar or <path>/hybrid-portsrc-x86_64.tar.gz 2. Build the driver as a Linux loadable kernel module (LKM): # make clean # make (optional)

When the build completes, it will produce a wl.ko file in the top level directory. If your driver does not build, check to make sure you have installed the kernel package described in the requirements above. This driver now supports the new linux cfg80211 wireless configuration API in addition to the older Wireless Extensions (Wext). The makefile will automaticly build the right version for your system but it can be overridden if needed: # make API=WEXT or # make API=CFG80211 INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS -------------------Upgrading from a previous version: --------------------------------If you were already running a previous version of wl, you'll want to provide a clean transition from the older driver. (The path to previous driver is usually /lib/modules/<kernel-version>/kernel/net/wireless) # # # # # rmmod wl mv <path-to-prev-driver>/wl.ko <path-to-prev-driver>/wl.ko.orig cp wl.ko <path-to-prev-driver>/wl.ko depmod modprobe wl

The new wl driver should now be operational and your all done. Fresh installation: -----------------1: Remove any other drivers for the Broadcom wireless device. There are several other drivers (besides this one) that can drive Broadcom 802.11 chips such as b43, bcma and ssb. They will conflict with this driver and need to be uninstalled before this driver can be installed. Any previous revisions of the wl driver also need to be removed. Note: On some systems such as Ubuntu 9.10, the ssb module may load during boot even though it is blacklisted (see note under Common Issues on how to resolve this. Nevertheless, ssb still must be removed (by hand or script) before wl is loaded. The wl driver will not function properly if ssb the module is loaded. # lsmod grep "b43\ ssb\ bcma\ wl"

If any of these are installed, remove them: # rmmod b43 # rmmod ssb # rmmod bcma # rmmod wl To blacklist these drivers and prevent them from loading in the future: # echo "blacklist ssb" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf # echo "blacklist bcma" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf

# echo "blacklist b43" >> /etc/modprobe.d/blacklist.conf 2: Insmod the driver. Otherwise, if you have not previously installed a wl driver, you'll need to add a security module before using the wl module. Most newer systems use lib80211 while others use ieee80211_crypt_tkip. See which one works for your system. # modprobe lib80211 or # modprobe ieee80211_crypt_tkip If your using the cfg80211 version of the driver, then cfg80211 needs to be loaded: # modprobe cfg80211 Then: # insmod wl.ko wl.ko is now operational. It may take several seconds for the Network Manager to notice a new network driver has been installed and show the surrounding wireless networks. If there was an error, see Common issues below. Common issues: ---------------* After the insmod you may see this message: WARNING: modpost: missing MODULE_LICENSE() It is expected, not harmful and can be ignored. * If you see this message: "insmod: error inserting 'wl.ko': -1 Unknown symbol in module" Usually this means that one of the required modules (as mentioned above) is not loaded. Try this: # modprobe lib80211 or ieee80211_crypt_tkip (depending on your os) # modprobe cfg80211 Now re-try to insmod the wl driver: # insmod wl.ko * If the wl driver loads but doesn't seem to do anything: the ssb module may be the cause. Sometimes blacklisting ssb may not be enough to prevent it from loading and it loads anyway. (This is mostly seen on Ubuntu/Debian systems). Check to see if ssb, bcma, wl or b43 is loaded: # lsmod grep "ssb\ wl\ b43\ bcma" If any of these are installed, remove them: # rmmod ssb # rmmod bcma # rmmod wl # insmod wl Back up the current boot ramfs and generate a new one:

# cp /boot/initrd.img-`uname -r` somewheresafe # update-initramfs -u # reboot 3: Setup to always load at boot time. The procedure to make a module load at boot time varies from distro to distro. Consult the docs for your specific distro to see how. The following seems to work for my setup on Fedora and Ubuntu. Check your docs to see the procedure for your distro. Follow these steps to have the driver load as part of the boot process: # load driver as described above # cp wl.ko /lib/modules/`uname -r`/kernel/drivers/net/wireless # depmod -a # echo modeprobe wl >> /etc/rc.local (Fedora/SUSE) Ubuntu ships a version of wl.ko, so those need to be disabled. On my system the were several versions, so I searched and renamed the .ko's like this: # sh: for i in `find /lib /var -name wl\.ko`; do mv $i ${i}.orig; done TX POWER EXPLAINED -----------------'iwconfig eth1 txpower' & 'iwlist eth1 txpower' set and get the drivers user-requested transmit power level. This can go up to 32 dbm and allows the user to lower the tx power to levels below the regulatory limit. Internally, the actual tx power is always kept within regulatory limits no matter what the user request is set to. ISSUES FIXED AND WHAT'S NEW IN THIS RELEASE ------------------------------------------+ Added cfg80211 API support. The choice of API is done at compile time. If kernel version >= 2.6.32, cfg80211 is used, otherwise wireless extension is used. (End users should notice little difference.) + Supports Linux kernel 2.6.38 + Fix for problem with rebooting while wireless disabled via airline switch. + Fixed a kernel panic observed on some 64-bit systems HOW TO USE MONITOR MODE ----------------------To enable monitor mode: $ echo 1 > /proc/brcm_monitor0 Enabling monitor mode will create a 'prism0' network interface. Wireshark and other netwokk tools can use this new prism0 interface. To disable monitor mode: $ echo 0 > /proc/brcm_monitor0 ISSUES FIXED AND WHAT'S NEW IN RECENT RELEASES ------------------------------------------+ Supports monitor mode + Supports cfg80211

+ Supports hidden networks + Supports rfkill KNOWN ISSUES AND LIMITATIONS ---------------------------#72238 - 20% lower throughput on channels 149, 153, 157, and 161 #72324 - Ubuntu 8.04: cannot ping when Linux STA is IBSS creator with WEP enabled #72216 - Ubuntu 8.04: standby/resume with WPA2 and wpa_supplicant causes a continuous assoc/disassoc loop (issue with wpa_supplicant, restarting wpa_supplicant fixes the issue) #76739 Ubuntu9.04: unable to connect to hidden network after stdby/resume #76793 Ubuntu9.04: STA fails to create IBSS network in 5 Ghz band KNOWN ISSUES AND LIMITATIONS IN EXTERNAL COMPONENTS ---------------------------wpa_supplicant 0.6.3 + nl80211 + WEP - (Note: This would only affect you if you are using wpa_supplicant directly from the command line and specify nl80211 interface, e.g. "wpa_supplicant -Dnl80211 -ieth1 ..". If you are using network manager GUI to connect it should work file.) wpa_supplicant 0.6.3 might have a bug that affect WEP connections created through nl80211. Upgrade to wpa_supplicant to 0.7.3 would solve this problem. Ubuntu 10.10 kernel + nl80211 + WPA/WPA2 - (Note: This would only affect you if you are using wpa_supplicant directly from the command line and specify nl80211 interface, e.g. "wpa_supplicant -Dnl80211 -ieth1 ..". If you are using network manager GUI to connect it should work file.) Some kernel versions of Ubuntu such as 2.6.35-22 (released with Ubuntu 10.10) may have problems that affect WPA/WPA2 connections created through nl80211. Upgrade to 2.6.35-25 or later should solve this problem. HOW TO INSTALL A PRE-COMPILED DRIVER ----------------------------------Some of the major linux distros already supply a version of this driver, so you don't have to compile your own. Most of the distros keep this driver along with other proprietary or non-GPL drivers in a separate repository. For further information see the documentation for your specific distro. Fedora: -----su -c 'rpm -Uvh http://download1.rpmfusion.org/free/fedora/rpmfusion-free-release-stable.noarch. rpm http://download1.rpmfusion.org/nonfree/fedora/rpmfusion-nonfree-release-stable.n oarch.rpm' su yum update yum install kmod-wl Ubuntu: -----Go to System->Administration->Hardware Drivers Choose the Broadcom STA wireless driver Activate

Sometimes the driver does not show up in the Hardware Drivers choices. In this case, try reintalling the driver from the GUI or shell like this: From the GUI: Package Manager (System>Administration>Synaptic Package Manager). Click the Reload button in the upper left corner of Synaptic to refresh your index then search for and reinstall the package named bcmwl-kernel-source. From the shell: sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get --reinstall install bcmwl-kernel-source In either GUI or text case, after reinstalling, reboot your machine. Now go back to System->Administration->Hardware Drivers and you should see the driver enabled and working.