The
rtw driver supports PCI/CardBus 802.11b wireless adapters based on the Realtek RTL8180L.
A variety of radio transceivers can be found in these devices, including the Philips SA2400A, Maxim MAX2820, and GCT GRF5101, though not all of them are currently supported.
These are the modes the
rtw 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.
IBSS mode
Also known as IEEE ad-hoc mode or peer-to-peer mode. This is the standardized method of operating without an access point. Stations associate with a service set. However, actual connections between stations are peer-to-peer.
Host AP
In this mode the driver acts as an access point (base station) for other cards.
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.
rtw supports software WEP. Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) is the de facto encryption standard for wireless networks. It can be typically configured in one of three modes: no encryption; 40-bit encryption; or 104-bit encryption. Unfortunately, due to serious weaknesses in WEP protocol it is strongly recommended that it not be used as the sole mechanism to secure wireless communication. WEP is not enabled by default.