Re: [RFC] {cfg,nl}80211 API

[Michael Wu <flamingice@sourmilk.net>]

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On Tuesday 12 June 2007 10:01, Mark Powell wrote:
> This is to do with the operation of the "Controlled Port" as specified
> by 802.1x, which is handled by the driver. When the key exchanges are
> complete and the link is secure, then data is allowed to flow. With
> wext, the driver has to guess when this state is reached, based on
> knowledge of how wpa_supplicant uses wext.
>
From Documentation/networking/operstates.txt:

However, an interface is not usable just because the admin enabled it
- ethernet requires to be plugged into the switch and, depending on
a site's networking policy and configuration, an 802.1X authentication
to be performed before user data can be transferred. Operational state
shows the ability of an interface to transmit this user data.

Thanks to 802.1X, userspace must be granted the possibility to
influence operational state. To accommodate this, operational state is
split into two parts: Two flags that can be set by the driver only, and
a RFC2863 compatible state that is derived from these flags, a policy,
and changeable from userspace under certain rules.
----

Dormant state allow userspace to control the state of an interface well enough 
to do 802.1x properly, regardless of whether it is wired or wireless. 
wpa_supplicant already uses this AFAIK. Drivers don't need to do anything.

-Michael Wu

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