Linux UWB + Wireless USB + WiNET
- This site hosts the effort to develop a Linux Ultra-Wide-Band stack, as well as drivers for Wireless USB Host Controller drivers, UWB Radio Controllers and associated hardware. UWB is a high-bandwidth, low-power, point-to-point radio technology using a wide spectrum (3.1-10.6GHz). It is optimized for in-room use (480Mbps at 2 meters, 110Mbps at 10m). It serves as the transport layer for other protocols, such as Wireless USB (WUSB), IP (WiNET) and upcoming Bluetooth and 1394. UWB is uniquely qualified to meet the needs of high-speed WPAN applications. The drivers follow the published specifications (all links below will open in new windows):
Ultra Wideband standards from shared members of WiMedia Alliance and Ecma
ECMA-368 - High Rate Ultra Wideband PHY and MAC Standard
ECMA-369 - MAC-PHY Interface for ECMA-368
WiNET (standard to be finalized)
The above websites are great resources to learn more about these technologies. Please refer to these websites for accurate documentation. Read about the design of this stack in the Linux UWB Design Overview. No special tools are required to manipulate the stack (simple Unix commands suffice to control it). This is supported with the ability of user space commands to control all UWB operation parameters.
Slideware on the technology and implementation:
Bossa Conference 2007 slides: Browse through Chopping cables-UWB and Wireless USB in Linux.odp.
Ottawa Linux Symposium 2007 slides: My bandwidth is wider than yours (very similar to the ones from Bossa, but with some new stuff, mainly encryption).
User space components: first design meeting (March 2007)
We held an informal design meeting for UWB user space components and desktop integration during the Bossa Conference between different people and the result is here.
Download
- The current code base is being merged into the Linux kernel. Please contact the mailing list for a check on status.
The old tree
Our current release is luwb-1.8.9 (release notes, hg clone -t luwb-1.8.9 http://bughost.org/repos.hg/uwb.hg, luwb-1.8.9.tar.bz2 ), with WHCI UWB Radio Control support, Linux kernel 2.6.21, more beacon IE management, LQE and RSSI querying and more (albeit incomplete) WUSB security features.
Remember you can access the Mercurial tree at http://bughost.org/repos.hg/uwb.hg. Release notes for the current tip (modified as we go) are here.
Status: All code is work in progress at this time, although the limited functionality currently implemented is fairly stable. Code currently supports
- UWB Radio Control:
- HWA (USB dongle)
- WHCI
- WUSB:
- Host Control: HWA (USB dongle)
- Cable Based Association
- WLP (IP over UWB): for Intel 1480 Wireless UWB Link
- UWB Radio Control:
Update 7/10/7: Current crypto code in WUSB requires 2.6.21+ in order to compile; for lower kernels, you won't be able to compile WUSB (unless you find the time to back port the crypto changes :). See the new quilt patchset, as WUSB support requires it. 2.6.22 is recommended.
Update 18/3/7: Many comments in the code still reference the old UWB Spec, MBOA MAC; we are kind of behind in updating this, so they refer to ECMA-368.
Update 11/04/06: Note that for current WUSB code to work, you will need linux kernel 2.6.18-rc6 and kernel patches to the USB core (get them from the source distribution; see Patching your kernel for Linux UWB/WUSB for more information).
Support / Mailing list
Current discussion about the driver is being hosted in the linux-usb@vger.kernel.org mailing list (http://www.linux-usb.org/mailing.html).
- IRC channel at irc.freenode.net, #uwb.
The old mailing list and bugzilla
- Please don't use these any more.
We had a mailman-managed list at linux-uwb@bughost.org for discussions on development, etc.
Compatibility / Interoperability
Alereon's AL4500 Development Kit (DVK) (Wireless USB mass storage device)
Intel Wireless UWB Link 1480 (UWB radio, WiNET IP over UWB, Wireless USB Host Constroller); download firmware here.
Ellisys Wireless USB Explorer 300 (UWB and Wireless USB protocol analyzer)
USB-IF's WHCI PDK
Contact
Iñaky Pérez-González < inaky.perez-gonzalez@intel.com >
Reinette Chatre < reinette.chatre@intel.com >
The mailing list < linux-uwb@bughost.org >