freebsd/usr.sbin/wicontrol/wicontrol.8

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.\"	Bill Paul <wpaul@ctr.columbia.edu> All rights reserved.
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.Dd March 4, 2003
.Dt WICONTROL 8
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Nm wicontrol
.Nd "configure Lucent, Intersil, and Atheros wireless devices"
.Sh SYNOPSIS
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Op Fl o
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl l
(dump associated stations)
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl L
(list available access points)
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl t Ar tx_rate
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl n Ar network_name
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl s Ar station_name
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl c Cm 0 | 1
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl q Ar SSID
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl p Ar port_type
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl a Ar access_point_density
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl m Ar mac_address
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl d Ar max_data_length
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl e Cm 0 | 1
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl k Ar key
.Op Fl v Cm 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl T Cm 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl r Ar RTS_threshold
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl f Ar frequency
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl P Cm 0 | 1
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl S Ar max_sleep_duration
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl Z
(zero signal cache)
.Nm
.Op Fl i
.Ar iface Fl C
(display signal cache)
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Nm
utility controls the operation of Lucent, Intersil, and Atheros-based wireless
networking devices via
.Xr wi 4
or
.Xr ath 4
driver.
.Pp
You should not use this program to configure IEEE 802.11 parameters.
Use
.Xr ifconfig 8
instead to do those tasks (i.e., set SSID, WEP key, etc.).
.Pp
The
.Nm
utility can also be used to view the current settings of these parameters,
dump out the values of the card's statistics counters, list associated
stations (in HostAP mode), and scan for available access points.
.Pp
The
.Ar iface
argument given to
.Nm
should be the logical interface name associated with the Lucent, Intersil,
and Atheros device
.Li ( wi0 , wi1 , ath0 ,
etc.).
If none is specified then
.Dq Li wi0
is used as default.
.Sh OPTIONS
The options are as follows:
.Bl -tag -width indent
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Op Fl o
Display the current settings of the specified wireless interface.
This retrieves the current card settings from the driver and prints them
out.
Using the additional
.Fl o
flag will cause
.Nm
to print out the statistics counters instead of the card settings.
Encryption keys are only displayed if
.Nm
is run as root.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl a Ar access_point_density
Specify the
access point density
for a given interface.
Legal values are
.Cm 1
(low),
.Cm 2
(medium) and
.Cm 3
(high).
This setting influences some of the radio modem threshold settings.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl m Ar mac_address
Set the station address for the specified interface.
The
.Ar mac_address
is specified as a series of six hexadecimal values separated by colons,
e.g.,
.Dq Li 00:60:1d:12:34:56 .
This programs the new address into the card
and updates the interface as well.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl d Ar max_data_length
Set the maximum receive and transmit frame size for a specified interface.
The
.Ar max_data_length
can be any number from 350 to 2304.
The default is 2304.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl r Ar RTS_threshold
Set the RTS/CTS threshold for a given interface.
This controls the
number of bytes used for the RTS/CTS handshake boundary.
The
.Ar RTS_threshold
can be any value between 0 and 2347.
The default is 2347.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl Z
Clear the signal strength cache maintained internally by the
.Xr wi 4
driver.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl C
Display the cached signal strength information maintained by the
.Xr wi 4
driver.
The driver retains information about signal strength and
noise level for packets received from different hosts.
The signal
strength and noise level values are displayed in units of dBms.
The signal quality value is produced by subtracting the noise level
from the signal strength (i.e., less noise and better signal yields
better signal quality).
.El
.Sh DEPRECATED AND OBSOLETE OPTIONS
The
.Nm
utility has a number of options that are now deprecated or obsolete, as they
have been overtaken by extensions to
.Xr ifconfig 8
and changes to the driver.
The deprecated and obsolete options are as follows:
.Bl -tag -width indent
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl t Ar tx_rate
This flag is deprecated.
Use
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Cm mediaopt
instead.
.Pp
Set the transmit rate of the specified interface.
The legal values
for the transmit rate vary depending on whether the interface is a
standard WaveLAN/IEEE or a WaveLAN/IEEE Turbo adapter.
The standard
NICs support a maximum transmit rate of 2Mbps while the turbo NICs
support a maximum speed of 6Mbps.
The following table shows the
legal transmit rate settings and the corresponding transmit speeds:
.Bl -column ".Em TX\ rate" ".Em NIC\ speed" -offset indent
.Em "TX rate	NIC speed"
.It Cm 1 Ta "Fixed Low (1Mbps)"
.It Cm 2 Ta "Fixed Standard (2Mbps)"
.It Cm 3 Ta "Auto Rate Select (High)"
.It Cm 4 Ta "Fixed Medium (4Mbps)"
.It Cm 5 Ta "Fixed High (6Mbps)"
.It Cm 6 Ta "Auto Rate Select (Standard)"
.It Cm 7 Ta "Auto Rate Select (Medium)"
.El
.Pp
The default driver setting is
.Cm 3
(auto rate select).
The numbers vary from card to card.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl n Ar network_name
This flag is deprecated.
Use
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Cm ssid
or
.Cm nwid
instead.
.Pp
Set the name of the service set (IBSS) that this station wishes to
join.
The
.Ar network_name
can be any text string up to 30 characters in length.
The default name
is the string
.Dq Li ANY
which should allow the station to connect to the first
available access point.
The interface should be set for BSS mode using
the
.Fl p
flag in order for this to work.
.Pp
Note: the WaveLAN manual indicates that an empty string will allow the
host to connect to any access point, however I have also seen a reference
in another driver which indicates that the
.Dq Li ANY
string works as well.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl s Ar station_name
This flag is deprecated.
Use
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Cm stationname
or
.Cm station
instead.
.Pp
Sets the
station name
for the specified interface.
The
.Ar station_name
is used for diagnostic purposes.
The
.Tn "Lucent WaveMANAGER"
software can
poll the names of remote hosts.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl c Cm 0 | 1
This flag is deprecated.
IBSS networks are automatically created on those cards whose firmware
supports it while in IBSS mode.
.Pp
Allow the station to create a service set (IBSS).
Permitted values are
.Cm 0
(don't create IBSS) and
.Cm 1
(enable creation of IBSS).
The default is
.Cm 0 .
.Pp
Only newer versions of the Lucent firmware support this.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl q Ar SSID
This flag is deprecated.
The
.Cm ssid
setting from
.Xr ifconfig 8
is the current preferred way of setting this parameter.
.Pp
Specify the name of an IBSS (SSID) to create on a given interface.
The
.Ar SSID
can be any text string up to 30 characters long.
.Pp
Note: this option is provided for experimental purposes only: enabling
the creation of an IBSS on a host system doesn't appear to actually work.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl p Ar port_type
This flag is deprecated.
It should never be used.
Do not use this flag.
Its meaning depends on the type of card you are using, as well as the
firmware you have installed in the card in some cases.
Beware.
Danger.
Do not use.
Instead, use the
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Cm media
and
.Cm mediaopt
commands.
.Pp
Set the
port type
for a specified interface.
The legal values for
.Ar port_type
are
.Cm 1
(BSS mode) and
.Cm 3
(ad-hoc) mode.
In ad-hoc mode, the station can
communicate directly with any other stations within direct radio range
(provided that they are also operating in ad-hoc mode).
In BSS mode,
hosts must associate with a service set controlled by an access point,
which relays traffic between end stations.
The default setting is
.Cm 1
(BSS mode).
Lucent cards have one set of meanings.
Prism cards have another.
Symbol cards have a third.
Do not use this flag.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl e Cm 0 | 1
This flag is deprecated.
It has been replaced by the
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Cm wepmode
option.
.Pp
Enable or disable WEP encryption.
Permitted values are
.Cm 0
(encryption disabled) or
.Cm 1
(encryption enabled).
Encryption is off by default.
.Pp
Both 128-bit and 64-bit WEP have been broken.
See the
.Sx BUGS
section for details.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl k Ar key Op Fl v Cm 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
This flag is obsolete.
The
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Cm wepkey
should be used instead.
.Pp
Set WEP encryption keys.
There are four default encryption keys
that can be programmed.
A specific key can be set using
the
.Fl v
flag.
If the
.Fl v
flag is not specified, the first key will be set.
Encryption keys
can either be normal text (i.e.,
.Dq Li hello )
or a series of hexadecimal digits (i.e.,
.Dq Li 0x1234512345 ) .
For
WaveLAN Turbo Silver cards, the key is restricted to 40 bits, hence
the key can be either a 5 character text string or 10 hex digits.
For WaveLAN Turbo Gold cards, the key can also be 104 bits,
which means the key can be specified as either a 13 character text
string or 26 hex digits in addition to the formats supported by the
Silver cards.
.Pp
For maximum portability, hex keys are recommended;
the mapping of text keys to WEP encryption is usually driver-specific.
In particular, the
.Tn Windows
drivers do this mapping differently to
.Fx .
.Pp
Note: Both 128-bit and 64-bit WEP encryption have been broken.
See the
.Sx BUGS
section for details.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl T Cm 1 | 2 | 3 | 4
This flag is obsolete.
The
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Cm weptxkey
should be used instead.
.Pp
Specify which of the four WEP encryption keys will be used to
encrypt transmitted packets.
.Pp
Note: Both 128-bit and 64-bit WEP have been broken.
See the
.Sx BUGS
section for details.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl f Ar frequency
This flag is deprecated.
Use
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Cm channel
instead.
.Pp
Set the radio frequency of a given interface.
The
.Ar frequency
should be specified as a channel ID as shown in the table below.
The
list of available frequencies is dependent on radio regulations specified
by regional authorities.
Recognized regulatory authorities include
the FCC (United States), ETSI (Europe), France and Japan.
Frequencies
in the table are specified in MHz.
.Bl -column ".Em Channel\ ID" ".Em FCC" ".Em ETSI" ".Em France" ".Em Japan" -offset indent
.Em "Channel ID	FCC	ETSI	France	Japan"
.It Cm 1 Ta "2412	2412	-	2412"
.It Cm 2 Ta "2417	2417	-	2417"
.It Cm 3 Ta "2422	2422	-	2422"
.It Cm 4 Ta "2427	2427	-	2427"
.It Cm 5 Ta "2432	2432	-	2432"
.It Cm 6 Ta "2437	2437	-	2437"
.It Cm 7 Ta "2442	2442	-	2442"
.It Cm 8 Ta "2447	2447	-	2447"
.It Cm 9 Ta "2452	2452	-	2452"
.It Cm 10 Ta "2457	2457	2457	2457"
.It Cm 11 Ta "2462	2462	2462	2462"
.It Cm 12 Ta "-	2467	2467	2467"
.It Cm 13 Ta "-	2472	2472	2472"
.It Cm 14 Ta "-	-	-	2484"
.El
.Pp
If an illegal channel is specified, the
NIC will revert to its default channel.
For NICs sold in the United States
and Europe, the default channel is
.Cm 3 .
For NICs sold in France, the default channel is
.Cm 11 .
For NICs sold in Japan, the default channel is
.Cm 14 ,
and it is the only available channel for pre-11Mbps NICs.
Note that two stations must be set to the same channel in order to
communicate.
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl P Cm 0 | 1
This flag is obsolete.
The
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Cm powersave
should be used instead.
.Pp
Enable or disable power management on a given interface.
Enabling
power management uses an alternating sleep/wake protocol to help
conserve power on mobile stations, at the cost of some increased
receive latency.
Power management is off by default.
Note that power
management requires the cooperation of an access point in order to
function; it is not functional in ad-hoc mode.
Also, power management
is only implemented in Lucent WavePOINT firmware version 2.03 or
later, and in WaveLAN PCMCIA adapter firmware 2.00 or later.
Older
revisions will silently ignore the power management setting.
Legal
values for this parameter are
.Cm 0
(off) and
.Cm 1
(on).
.It Oo Fl i Oc Ar iface Fl S Ar max_sleep_interval
This flag is obsolete.
The
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Cm powersleep
should be used instead.
.Pp
Specify the sleep interval to use when power management is enabled.
The
.Ar max_sleep_interval
is specified in milliseconds.
The default is 100.
.El
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr ath 4 ,
.Xr awi 4 ,
.Xr ipsec 4 ,
.Xr wi 4 ,
.Xr ifconfig 8
.Sh BUGS
There are deprecated flags here that duplicate functionality of
.Xr ifconfig 8 .
These flags were deprecated in
.Fx 5.1
and will be removed in a future release.
.Pp
The WEP encryption method has been broken so that third parties
can recover the keys in use relatively quickly at distances that are
surprising to most people.
Do not rely on WEP for anything but the most basic, remedial security.
IPSEC will give you a higher level of security and should be used
whenever possible.
Do not trust access points or wireless machines that connect through
them as they can provide no assurance that the traffic is legitimate.
MAC addresses can easily be forged and should therefore not be used as
the only access control.
.Pp
The attack on WEP is a passive attack, requiring only the ability to
sniff packets on the network.
The passive attack can be launched at a distance larger, up to many
miles, than one might otherwise expect given a specialized antenna
used in point to point applications.
The attacker can recover the keys from a 128-bit WEP network with only
5,000,000 to 6,000,000 packets.
While this may sound like a large number of packets, empirical
evidence suggests that this amount of traffic is generated in a few
hours on a partially loaded network.
Once a key has been compromised, the only remedial action is to
discontinue it and use a new key.
.Pp
See
.Pa http://www.cs.rice.edu/~astubble/wep/wep_attack.html
for details of the attack.
Many programs to assist in cracking WEP keys are widely available.
.Pp
If you must use WEP, you are strongly encouraged to pick keys whose
bytes are random and not confined to
.Tn ASCII
characters.
Brute force attacks on WEP keys are also possible.
Experience has showns that
.Tn ASCII
keys can be cracked in less than a day.
Even random bytes can be cracked in less than two weeks.
.Pp
Signal cache is broken right now.
.Sh HISTORY
The
.Nm
utility first appeared in
.Fx 3.0 .
.Sh AUTHORS
The
.Nm
utility was written by
.An Bill Paul Aq wpaul@ctr.columbia.edu .