Comparison of open-source wireless drivers
Driver 802.11 Bus interface WEP WPA WPA2 Monitor mode Master mode Ad-Hoc mode
acx 802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g Cardbus , PCI Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
an 802.11b PC Card , PCI , ISA Yes No No Yes No Yes
ath 802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g Cardbus , PCI Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
athn 802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g , 802.11n Cardbus , PCI-E , Mini PCIE Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No
atu 802.11b USB Yes No No No No Yes
atw 802.11b Cardbus , PCI No No No No No Yes
bwi 802.11b , 802.11g Cardbus , PCI Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
cnw N/A PC Card No No No No No No
ipw 802.11b PCI Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
iwi 802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g PCI Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes
iwn 802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g , 802.11n PCI-E , Mini PCIE Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
iwm 802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g , 802.11n PCI-E , Mini PCIE Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
malo 802.11b , 802.11g Cardbus , PC Card , PCI Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
otus 802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g USB Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
pgt 802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g Cardbus , PCI Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
ral 802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g Cardbus , PCI , Mini PCI Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
ray N/A PC Card No No No No No Yes
rtw 802.11b Cardbus , PCI Yes No No Yes Yes Yes
rtwn 802.11b , 802.11g Mini PCIE Yes Yes Yes Yes No No
rum 802.11a , 802.11b , 802.11g USB Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
OpenBSD -- Driver capabilities
Wireless network cards for computers require control software to make them function (firmware, device drivers). This is a list of the status of some open-source drivers for 802.11 wireless network cards.