Intel ipw3945/ iwlwifi

Switching from ipw3945 to the new iwlwifi

The advantage of iwlwifi over ipw3945 is that it doesn't depend on unredistributable components, to switch over you just need to install the new firmware/ ucode and prevent ipw3945d from starting. Please inform us about any regressions, as we can't test the hardware on our own.

apt-get update
apt-get install iwlwifi-3945-ucode
update-rc.d -f ipw3945d remove

Reverting back to ipw3945

In case iwlwifi doesn't work as expected, you can revert back to ipw3945:

apt-get update
echo "blacklist iwlwifi" > /etc/modprobe.d/mac80211
update-rc.d ipw3945d start 39 S . start 36 0 6 .
LANG= m-a a-i --text-mode ipw3945-source

RaLink rt2400, rt2500, rt2570 and rt61

Switching from RaLink-legacy to the new rt2x00

RaLink legacy drivers don't support wpasupplicant and require a special configuration over ioctls/ iwpriv calls (the alternative /etc/Wireless/RT*/rt*sta.dat configuration methods is deprecated and no longer an option for current driver versions like rt61), the new rt2x00 alternative does provide proper wpasupplicant integration. While this means that you can now configure these cards with /usr/sbin/netcardconfig, /usr/sbin/sidux-networkconfig or alternative tools, it also implies that existing user configurations need to be adapted for the new syntax. Initial testing with rt61 is promising, especially by using WPA2 which is very unstable using the legacy drivers, for other RaLink based drivers we need your feedback to determine which drivers are stable and for which the legacy drivers are still to be preferred.

Reverting back to RaLink-legacy

In case rt2x00 doesn't work as expected, you can revert back to the classic RaLink-legacy drivers:

apt-get update
for i in rt2400pci rt61pci rt2500pci rt2500usb; do
     echo "blacklist $i" >> /etc/modprobe.d/mac80211
done
for i in rt2400 rt2500 rt2570 rt61; do
     LANG= m-a a-i --text-mode ${i}-source
done

Τάρταρος

We intend to use this kind of kernel and mac80211 for the default Τάρταρος release kernel, please inform us about any regressions soon so they can be fixed in time.

On behalf of the sidux team:
   Stefan Lippers-Hollmann (slh)