Documentation: WIFI-N-USB Manual - Technologic Systems

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http://www.embeddedarm.com/about/resource.php?item=528

16525 East Laser Drive

Fountain Hills, AZ 85268
Phone (480) 837-5200

WIFI-N-USB Manual
Documentation from June-2011

Table of Contents
1 Introduction
2 Downloading Necessary Drivers and Tools
3 Setting up the WIFI Interface Connection
3.1 Unencrypted
3.2 WEP Encryption
3.3 WPA Personal - TKIP
3.4 WPA2 Personal - AES
3.5 Adhoc Mode
Appendix A: Document History
Appendix B: Troubleshooting
1 Introduction

In June 2011, Technologic Systems released the WIFI-N-USB adapter (Asus

USB-N13) to replace the existing two adapters: WIFI-G-USB and WIFI-G-USB-2
both of which have gone end of life. The new adapter has different dimensions and
new drivers which are detailed below.
Dimensions:
WIFI-G-USB (IOGear): 6.0 cm L* 2.5 cm W* 1.0 cm H (Unavailable)
WIFI-G-USB-2(Asus):
7.5 cm L* 2.5 cm W* 0.9 cm H (Unavailable)
WIFI-N-USB (Asus):
7.0 cm L* 2.2 cm W* 1.0 ccm H (Weight 12 gm)
Chipset:
WIFI-G-USB
(IOGear): Zydas1211
WIFI-G-USB-2 (Asus):
rt2501usb
WIFI-N-USB
(Asus):
rt3070L

(Unavailable)
(Unavailable)

Other areas of interest of differences between the devices include (specs taken from
manufactures product page):
Temp Range:
WIFI-G-USB
(IOGear):
0 - 55C (Unavailable)
WIFI-G-USB-2 (Asus):
-10 - 55C (Unavailable)
WIFI-N-USB
(Asus):
0 - 45C
RF Output Power:
WIFI-G-USB
(IOGea): 17 dBm (Unavailable)
WIFI-G-USB-2 (Asus): -14 ~ 17 dBm (Unavailable)
WIFI-N-USB
(Asus): B: 18 dBm G: 15 dBm N: 15 dBm
Antennae Option:
WIFI-G-USB
(IOGear): None
WIFI-G-USB-2 (Asus):
One on-board Inverted-F antenna to support diversity (Gain: 1.77 dBi)
WIFI-N-USB
(Asus):
Two on-board
Range:
WIFI-G-USB
(IOGear): 100 - 400m, depending on surrounding environment
WIFI-G-USB-2 (Asus):
Indoor 130 ft (40 m), outdoor (LOS, Line-Of-Sight) 1000 ft (330 m)
WIFI-N-USB
(Asus):
Up to 490 ft (150m)
Accessories:
WIFI-G-USB (IOGear): None
WIFI-G-USB-2 (Asus): USB 2.0 Universal Joint
USB 2.0 extension cable (type A to type A)
Neck lace
WIFI-N-USB
(Asus): None
Includes a flexible extension cable, approximately 5 inches (13 cm) in length
with a flexible joint approximately 2 inches (5 cm) in length.

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2 Downloading Necessary Drivers and Tools

WPA support (wpa_supplicant) has to be obtained

separately, it is not included or compiled with the ralink sources
for this driver. Code for this device is available here:

ftp://ftp.embeddedarm.com/misc/wifi-n-usb-binaries.tar.gz
ftp://ftp.embeddedarm.com/misc/wifi-n-usb-sources.tar.gz

3 Setting up the WIFI Interface Connection

This section gives step by step instructions for how to connect to wireless
Access Points (AP) using the rt2870sta and RT3070L chipset. It was tested
using a Linksys WRT54GC Wireless Router as an AP. Master mode is not supported
by this driver, but Adhoc is. As a note, WPA is generally disabled by default
on startup, but can be enabled (see /etc/init.d/wpasupplicant).

The first step should be to locate the appropriate driver for the TS product
in use, download it to the board, and then use the insmod command
(ie. insmod rt2870sta-tsXXXX.ko). When inserted properly, you will see
the device in /proc/net/wireless. Use cat /proc/net/wireless
to verify:

root@ts7000:root# cat /proc/net/wireless

Inter-| sta-|
Quality
|
Discarded packets
face | tus | link level noise | nwid crypt
frag
ra0: 0000 100. 220
177
0
0
0

retry
0

| Missed | WE
misc | beacon | 16
0
0

Wireless connections tested:

Unencrypted

WEP

WPA Personal (TKIP)

WPA2 Personal (TKIP or AES)

Adhoc Mode

Useful Commands:

iwconfig -- use to check status such as associations

iwlist scan -- reports wireless networks available

pump OR dhclient OR udhcpc -- assign a dynamic IP address

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3.1 Unencrypted

1) Bring the ra0 interface up

* ifconfig ra0 up
2) Associate with the AP
* iwconfig ra0 essid the_essid
3) Assign a static IP
* ifconfig ra0 192.168.1.101

3.2 WEP Encryption

1) Bring the ra0 interface up

* ifconfig ra0 up
2) Associate with AP
* iwconfig ra0 essid the_essid key the_key
3) Assign a static IP
* ifconfig ra0 192.168.1.101

3.3 WPA Personal - TKIP

1) Bring the ra0 interface up

* ifconfig ra0 up
2) Generate a configuration file for wpa_supplicant to use
* ./wpa_passphrase the_essid the_password > /etc/wpa_supplicant_custom.conf
3) Use wpa_supplicant to associate with AP and run it in the background (-B)
* ./wpa_supplicant -ira0 -Dralink -c/etc/wpa_supplicant_custom.conf -B
4) Assign a static IP
* ifconfig ra0 192.168.1.101

3.4 WPA2 Personal - TKIP or AES

1) Bring the ra0 interface up

* ifconfig ra0 up
2) Generate a configuration file for wpa_supplicant to use
* ./wpa_passphrase the_essid the_password > /etc/wpa_supplicant_custom.conf
3) Insert "proto=RSN" into "network" block in /etc/wpa_supplicant_custom.conf
4) Use wpa_supplicant to associate with AP and run it in the background (-B)
* ./wpa_supplicant -ira0 -Dralink -c/etc/wpa_supplicant_custom.conf -B
5) Assign a static IP
* ifconfig ra0 192.168.1.101

3.5 Adhoc Mode

1) Bring the ra0 interface up

* ifconfig ra0 up
2) Setup ra0 for Adhoc mode
* iwconfig ra0 mode ad-hoc channel 3 enc off essid the_essid
3) Assign a static IP
* ifconfig 169.254.114.101 netmask 255.255.0.0
4) Add default gateway to route (optional)
* route add default gw 169.254.114.100

Appendix A: Document History

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Date of Issue/Revision Revision Number

06/08/2011

1.0

http://www.embeddedarm.com/about/resource.php?item=528

Comments
Created as "WIFI-N-USB-2 Manual Based on the WIFI-G-USB-2
manual"

Appendix B: Troubleshooting

If you are having difficulties in pinging your AP, try to disconnect eth0 by
using the command ifconfig eth0 down.

The message rt2870sta: Unknown symbol x means that the module

dependencies have not been satisfied. Use the following as a guide as a basic
checklist to insure the correct modules are loaded:

ts7000:~#
ts7000:~#
ts7000:~#
ts7000:~#
ts7000:~#
ts7000:~#

depmod
modprobe
modprobe
modprobe
modprobe
modprobe

hid
usbcore
usb_storage
scsi_mod
ohci_hcd

The message insmod: error inserting 'rt2870sta_tsXXXX.ko': -1 Invalid module format

will occur if you are trying to insert a module into a kernel that it was not
compiled for. Verify that you have the correct module for your board. If
you're sure the module should work, try using the insmod command
with the -f option (ie. insmod -f rt2870sta_tsXXXX.ko).

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