[ECOS] Re: eCos Wifi/WPA support

[Grant Edwards]

On 2008-09-16, Chris Zimman <czimman@bloomberg.com> wrote:
>>  1) Ignoring WPA/WEP, is writing a driver for a Wifi interface
>>     comparable to writing a driver for a 10/100 Ethernet
>>     interface?
>
> Not really.  In general, there's a lot more to it.  Depending
> on which part you use, you may or may not need to provide the
> MAC level interface in software.

Sorry to be dense, but I don't understand what you mean by
"provide the MAC level interface in software".  Does that mean
that the Wifi chipset basically replaces the PHY and you have
to do the equivalent of what a MAC does in software? Do you
mean that you have to handle the incoming/outgoing data in
real-time a nibble at a time rather than a frame at a time?

> There are a handful of newer parts with either open or reverse
> engineered interfaces one could start from, but it's a
> non-trivial effort.

I think we can assume that the interface spec for the Wifi chip
would be available from the manufacturer.  I can't imagine a
vendor expecting to get a design win without providing specs
for the part in question.

> A lot of the embedded capable parts hook up via SPI or SDIO,
> so there is a somewhat platform specific element in many cases
> as well.

>>  2) Any comments on the additional work required to support
>>     WEP/WPA?
>
> A lot of the chips include it in their internal firmware.

That's good to know.

-- 
Grant Edwards                   grante             Yow! Jesuit priests are
                                  at               DATING CAREER DIPLOMATS!!
                               visi.com            


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