HOSTAPD(8) FreeBSD System Manager's Manual HOSTAPD(8)
NAME
hostapd - authenticator for IEEE 802.11 networks
SYNOPSIS
hostapd [-BdhKtv] [-P pidfile] config-file ...
DESCRIPTION
The hostapd utility is an authenticator for IEEE 802.11 networks. It
provides full support for WPA/IEEE 802.11i and can also act as an IEEE
802.1X Authenticator with a suitable backend Authentication Server
(typically FreeRADIUS). The hostapd utility implements the
authentication protocols that piggyback on top of the normal IEEE 802.11
protocol mechanisms. To use hostapd as an authenticator, the underlying
device must support some basic functionality such as the ability to set
security information in the 802.11 management frames. Beware that not
all devices have this support.
The hostapd utility is designed to be a "daemon" program that runs in the
background and acts as the backend component controlling the wireless
connection. It supports separate frontend programs such as the text-
based frontend, hostapd_cli(8).
The following arguments must be specified on the command line:
config-file
Use the settings in the specified configuration file; the name of
the specified wireless interface is contained in this file. See
hostapd.conf(5) for a description of the configuration file
syntax.
Changes to the configuration file can be reloaded by sending a
SIGHUP to the hostapd processor or with the hostapd_cli(8)
utility, using "hostapd_cli reconfigure".
OPTIONS
The options are as follows:
-d Enable debugging messages. If this option is supplied twice,
more verbose messages are displayed.
-h Show help text.
-t Include timestamps in debugging output.
-v Display version information on the terminal and exit.
-B Detach from the controlling terminal and run as a daemon process
in the background.
-K Include key information in debugging output.
-P pidfile
Store PID in pidfile.
SEE ALSO
ath(4), ipw(4), iwi(4), mwl(4), ral(4), rum(4), run(4), ural(4),
hostapd.conf(5), hostapd_cli(8), ifconfig(8)
HISTORY
The hostapd utility first appeared in FreeBSD 6.0.
AUTHORS
The hostapd utility was written by Jouni Malinen <
[email protected]>. This manual
page is derived from the README file included in the hostapd
distribution.
FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE-p8 July 18, 2012 FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE-p8