WPI(4) FreeBSD Kernel Interfaces Manual WPI(4)
NAME
wpi - Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG IEEE 802.11a/b/g wireless network device
SYNOPSIS
wpi* at pci?
DESCRIPTION
The wpi driver provides support for Intel PRO/Wireless 3945ABG Mini PCI
Express network adapters.
These are the modes the wpi driver can operate in:
BSS mode Also known as infrastructure mode, this is used when
associating with an access point, through which all
traffic passes. This mode is the default.
monitor mode In this mode the driver is able to receive packets without
associating with an access point. This disables the
internal receive filter and enables the card to capture
packets from networks which it wouldn't normally have
access to, or to scan for access points.
The wpi driver can be configured to use Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA1 and WPA2). WPA2 is currently the most
secure encryption standard for wireless networks supported by OpenBSD.
It is strongly recommended that neither WEP nor WPA1 are used as the sole
mechanism to secure wireless communication, due to serious weaknesses.
WPA1 is disabled by default and may be enabled using the option
"wpaprotos wpa1,wpa2". For standard WPA networks which use pre-shared
keys (PSK), keys are configured using the "wpakey" option. WPA-
Enterprise networks require use of the wpa_supplicant package. The wpi
driver offloads both encryption and decryption of unicast data frames to
the hardware for the CCMP cipher.
In BSS mode, the driver supports powersave mode, which can be enabled via
ifconfig(8).
The wpi driver can be configured at runtime with ifconfig(8) or on boot
with hostname.if(5).
FILES
The driver needs at least version 3.1 of the following firmware file,
which is loaded when an interface is brought up:
/etc/firmware/wpi-3945abg
This firmware file is not free because Intel refuses to grant
distribution rights without contractual obligations. As a result, even
though OpenBSD includes the driver, the firmware file cannot be included
and users have to download this file on their own.
A prepackaged version of the firmware can be installed using
fw_update(8).
EXAMPLES
The following example scans for available networks:
# ifconfig wpi0 scan
The following hostname.if(5) example configures wpi0 to join network
"mynwid", using WPA key "mywpakey", obtaining an IP address using DHCP:
join mynwid wpakey mywpakey
inet autoconf
DIAGNOSTICS
wpi0: device timeout A frame dispatched to the hardware for transmission
did not complete in time. The driver will reset the hardware. This
should not happen.
wpi0: fatal firmware error For some reason, the firmware crashed. The
driver will reset the hardware. This should not happen.
wpi0: Radio transmitter is off The radio transmitter is off and thus no
packet can go out. The driver will reset the hardware. Make sure the
laptop radio switch is on.
wpi0: error N, could not read firmware ... For some reason, the driver
was unable to read the firmware image from the filesystem. The file
might be missing or corrupted.
wpi0: firmware file too short: N bytes The firmware image is corrupted
and can't be loaded into the adapter.
wpi0: could not load firmware An attempt to load the firmware into the
adapter failed. The driver will reset the hardware.
SEE ALSO
arp(4), ifmedia(4), intro(4), netintro(4), pci(4), hostname.if(5),
ifconfig(8)
HISTORY
The wpi driver first appeared in OpenBSD 4.0.
AUTHORS
The wpi driver was written by Damien Bergamini
<
[email protected]>.
FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE-p8 March 25, 2025 FreeBSD 14.1-RELEASE-p8