$Id: README,v 1.1 2006/04/02 05:52:17 gdamore Exp $
Atheros Hardware Access Layer (HAL)
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* Copyright (c) 2002-2006 Sam Leffler.
* Copyright (c) 2002-2006 Atheros Communications, Inc.
* All rights reserved.
Read the file COPYRIGHT for the complete copyright.
This code manages much of the chip-specific operation of the Atheros
driver. The HAL is provided in a binary-only form in order to
comply with local regulatory agency rules. In the United States
the FCC requires that a radio transmitter only be operated at power
levels and on frequency channels for which it is approved. The FCC
requires that a software-defined radio cannot be configured by a
user to operate outside the approved power levels and frequency
channels. This makes it difficult to open-source code that enforces
limits on the power levels, frequency channels and other parameters
of the radio transmitter. See
http://ftp.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Engineering_Technology/Orders/2001/fcc01264.pdf
for the specific FCC regulation. Because the module is provided
in a binary-only form it is marked "Proprietary" on Linux; this
means when you load it you will see messages that your system is
now "tainted".
If you wish to use this driver on a platform for which an ath_hal
module is not already provided please contact the author. Note that
this is only necessary for new _architectures_; the HAL is not tied to
any specific version of your operating system.
Atheros Hardware
================
There are many generations of Atheros 802.11 wireless devices that
are typically referred to by their programming model:
5210 supports 11a only
5211 supports both 11a and 11b
5212 supports 11a, 11b, and 11g
These parts have been incorporated in a variety of retail products
including cardbus cards and mini-pci cards. In addition many laptop
vendors use Atheros mini-pci cards for their builtin wireless
support.
The Atheors PCI vendor id is 0x168c. The file ah_devid.h lists most
known PCI device id's but is not exhaustive. Some vendors program
their own vendor and/or device id's to aid in BIOS-locking mini-pci
cards in laptops.
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