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From: Bodo Eggert <harvested.in.lkml@7eggert.dyndns.org>
Subject: Re: [Bcm43xx-dev] [Fwd: State of the Union: Wireless]
To: Michael Buesch <mbuesch@freenet.de>, jgarzik@pobox.com,
       bcm43xx-dev@lists.berlios.de, netdev@vger.kernel.org,
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Date: Fri, 06 Jan 2006 23:57:59 +0100
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Michael Buesch <mbuesch@freenet.de> wrote:

> How would the virtual interfaces look like? That is quite easy to answer.
> They are net_devices, as they transfer data.
> They should probaly _not_ be on top of the ethernet, as 80211 does not
> have very much in common with ethernet. Basically they share the same
> MAC address format. Does someone have another thing, which he thinks
> is shared?

<brainstorming>

It has a connection status.
It has a connection speed, which is less static than on a LAN.
(Maybe it can be asynchronous in the next version.)
It can't yet be full duplex, but who knows ...
It can be in promiscious mode (wardriving).

> The virtual interface is then configured though /dev/wlan0 using write()
> (no ugly ioctl anymore, you see...). Config data like TX rate,
> current essid,.... basically everything + xyz which is done by WE today,
> is written to /dev/wlan0.

In ASCII parsed by an in-kernel library? Did you consider sysfs?

What would a connection manager look for if it's supposed to act on
* plugging in the WLAN card
* finding/losing a (better) network

-- 
Ich danke GMX daf?r, die Verwendung meiner Adressen mittels per SPF
verbreiteten L?gen zu sabotieren.
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