RUM(4)                  NetBSD Kernel Interfaces Manual                 RUM(4)

NAME
     rum -- Ralink Technology USB IEEE 802.11a/b/g wireless network device

SYNOPSIS
     rum* at uhub? port ?

DESCRIPTION
     The rum driver supports USB 2.0 wireless adapters based on the Ralink
     RT2501USB and RT2601USB chipsets.

     The RT2501USB chipset is the second generation of 802.11a/b/g adapters
     from Ralink.  It consists of two integrated chips, an RT2571W MAC/BBP and
     an RT2528 or RT5226 radio transceiver.

     The RT2601USB chipset consists of two integrated chips, an RT2671 MAC/BBP
     and an RT2527 or RT5225 radio transceiver.  This chipset uses the MIMO
     (multiple-input multiple-output) technology with multiple antennas to
     extend the operating range of the adapter and to achieve higher through-
     put.  MIMO is the basis of the forthcoming IEEE 802.11n standard.

     These are the modes the rum driver can operate in:

     BSS mode       Also known as infrastructure mode, this is used when asso-
                    ciating 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 sta-
                    tion) 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.

     rum 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 pro-
     tocol it is strongly recommended that it not be used as the sole mecha-
     nism to secure wireless communication.  WEP is not enabled by default.

CONFIGURATION
     The rum driver can be configured at runtime with ifconfig(8) or on boot
     with ifconfig.if(5) using the following parameters:

     bssid bssid
             Set the desired BSSID.

     -bssid  Unset the desired BSSID.  The interface will automatically select
             a BSSID in this mode, which is the default.

     chan n  Set the channel (radio frequency) to be used by the driver based
             on the given channel ID n.

     -chan   Unset the desired channel to be used by the driver.  The driver
             will automatically select a channel in this mode, which is the
             default.

     media media
             The rum driver supports the following media types:

             autoselect  Enable autoselection of the media type and options.
             DS1         Set 802.11b DS 1Mbps operation.
             DS2         Set 802.11b DS 2Mbps operation.
             DS5         Set 802.11b DS 5.5Mbps operation.
             DS11        Set 802.11b DS 11Mbps operation.
             OFDM6       Set 802.11a/g OFDM 6Mbps operation.
             OFDM9       Set 802.11a/g OFDM 9Mbps operation.
             OFDM12      Set 802.11a/g OFDM 12Mbps operation.
             OFDM18      Set 802.11a/g OFDM 18Mbps operation.
             OFDM24      Set 802.11a/g OFDM 24Mbps operation.
             OFDM36      Set 802.11a/g OFDM 36Mbps operation.
             OFDM48      Set 802.11a/g OFDM 48Mbps operation.
             OFDM54      Set 802.11a/g OFDM 54Mbps operation.

     mediaopt opts
             The rum driver supports the following media options:

             hostap   Select Host AP operation.
             ibss     Select IBSS operation.
             monitor  Select monitor mode.

     -mediaopt opts
             Disable the specified media options on the driver and return it
             to the default mode of operation (BSS).

     mode mode
             The rum driver supports the following modes:

             11a  Force 802.11a operation.
             11b  Force 802.11b operation.
             11g  Force 802.11g operation.

     nwid id
             Set the network ID.  The id can either be any text string up to
             32 characters in length, or a series of hexadecimal digits up to
             64 digits.  An empty id string allows the interface to connect to
             any available access points.  By default the rum driver uses an
             empty string.  Note that network ID is synonymous with Extended
             Service Set ID (ESSID).

     nwkey key
             Enable WEP encryption using the specified key.  The key can
             either be a string, a series of hexadecimal digits (preceded by
             `0x'), or a set of keys of the form ``n:k1,k2,k3,k4'', where `n'
             specifies which of the keys will be used for transmitted packets,
             and the four keys, ``k1'' through ``k4'', are configured as WEP
             keys.  If a set of keys is specified, a comma (`,') within the
             key must be escaped with a backslash.  Note that if multiple keys
             are used, their order must be the same within the network.  rum
             is capable of using both 40-bit (5 characters or 10 hexadecimal
             digits) or 104-bit (13 characters or 26 hexadecimal digits) keys.

     -nwkey  Disable WEP encryption.  This is the default mode of operation.

FILES
     The following firmware file is loaded when an interface is brought up:

           /libdata/firmware/rum/rum-rt2573
     See firmload(9) for how to change this.

HARDWARE
     The following adapters should work:

           Airlink101 AWLL5025
           ASUS WL-167g ver 2
           Belkin F5D7050 ver 3
           Belkin F5D9050 ver 3
           CNet CWD-854 ver F
           Conceptronic C54RU ver 2
           D-Link DWL-G122 rev C1
           D-Link WUA-1340
           Edimax EW-7318USG
           Gigabyte GN-WB01GS
           Hawking HWUG1
           LevelOne WNC-0301USB
           Linksys WUSB54G rev C
           Planex GW-USMM
           Senao NUB-3701
           Sitecom WL-113 ver 2
           Sitecom WL-172
           TP-LINK TL-WN321G

EXAMPLES
     The following ifconfig.if(5) example configures rum0 to join whatever
     network is available on boot, using WEP key ``0x1deadbeef1'', channel 11:

           inet 192.168.1.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 nwkey 0x1deadbeef1 chan 11

     The following ifconfig.if(5) example creates a host-based access point on
     boot:

           inet 192.168.1.1 netmask 255.255.255.0 media autoselect \
                   mediaopt hostap nwid my_net chan 11

     Configure rum0 for WEP, using hex key ``0x1deadbeef1'':

           # ifconfig rum0 nwkey 0x1deadbeef1

     Return rum0 to its default settings:

           # ifconfig rum0 -bssid -chan media autoselect \
                   nwid "" -nwkey

     Join an existing BSS network, ``my_net'':

           # ifconfig rum0 192.168.1.1 netmask 0xffffff00 nwid my_net

DIAGNOSTICS
     rum%d: failed loadfirmware of file %s  For some reason, the driver was
     unable to read the microcode file from the filesystem.  The file might be
     missing or corrupted.

     rum%d: could not load 8051 microcode  An error occurred while attempting
     to upload the microcode to the onboard 8051 microcontroller unit.

     rum%d: device timeout  A frame dispatched to the hardware for transmis-
     sion did not complete in time.  The driver will reset the hardware.  This
     should not happen.

SEE ALSO
     arp(4), ifmedia(4), netintro(4), usb(4), ifconfig.if(5), hostapd(8),
     ifconfig(8), firmload(9)

     Ralink Technology: http://www.ralinktech.com

HISTORY
     The rum driver first appeared in NetBSD 4.0 and OpenBSD 4.0.

AUTHORS
     The rum driver was written by Niall O'Higgins <niallo@openbsd.org> and
     Damien Bergamini <damien@openbsd.org>.

CAVEATS
     The rum driver supports automatic control of the transmit speed in BSS
     mode only.  Therefore the use of a rum adapter in Host AP mode is dis-
     couraged.

NetBSD 5.0_STABLE              February 7, 2007              NetBSD 5.0_STABLE
