These functions are used to manage node lists within the software
802.11 stack.
These lists are typically used for implementing host-mode AP functionality,
or providing signal quality information about neighbouring nodes.
The
ieee80211_node_attach
function is called from
ieee80211_ifattach(9)
to initialize node database management callbacks for the interface
ifp
(specifically for memory allocation, node copying and node
signal inspection).
These functions may be overridden in special circumstances,
as long as this is done after calling
ieee80211_ifattach(9)
and prior to any other call which may allocate a node.
The
ieee80211_node_lateattach
function initialises the
ic_bss
node element of the interface
ifp
during
ieee80211_media_init(9).
This late attachment is to account for certain special cases described under
ieee80211_node_attach.
The
ieee80211_node_detach
function destroys all node database state associated with the interface
ifp,
and is usually called during device detach.
The
ieee80211_begin_scan
function initialises the node database in preparation of an active
scan for an access point on the interface
ifp.
The scan begins on the next radio channel by calling
ieee80211_next_scan
internally.
The actual scanning for an access point is not automated;
the device driver itself only handles setting the radio frequency
of the card and stepping through the channels.
The
ieee80211_next_scan
function is used to inform the
ieee80211(9)
layer that the interface
ifp
is now scanning for an access point on the next radio channel.
A device driver is expected to first call
ieee80211_begin_scan,
to initialize the node database,
then set the radio channel on the device;
then, after a certain time has elapsed (200ms for example), call
ieee80211_next_scan
to move to the next channel.
Typically, a callout is used to automate this process; see
callout_init(9)
for more information on how to use callouts.
The
ieee80211_create_ibss
function sets up the net80211-specific portion of an interfaces softc,
ic,
for use in IBSS mode.
The
ieee80211_end_scan
function is called by
ieee80211_next_scan
when the state machine has peformed a full cycle of scanning on
all available radio channels.
Internally,
ieee80211_end_scan
will inspect the node cache associated with the interface
ifp
for suitable access points found during scanning, and associate with one,
should the parameters of the node match those of the configuration
requested from userland.
The
ieee80211_alloc_node
function allocates an instance of
.Vt struct ieee80211_node
for a node having the MAC address
macaddr,
and associates it with the interface
ic.
If the allocation is successful, the node structure is initialised by
ieee80211_setup_node;
otherwise,
NULL
is returned.
The
ieee80211_dup_bss
function is similar to
ieee80211_alloc_node,
but is instead used to create a node database entry for the BSSID
macaddr
associated with the interface
ic.
If the allocation is successful, the node structure is initialised by
ieee80211_setup_node;
otherwise,
NULL
is returned.
The
ieee80211_find_node
function will iterate through the node list associated with the interface
ic,
searching for a node entry which matches
macaddr.
If the entry is found, its reference count is incremented, and
a pointer to the node is returned; otherwise,
NULL
will be returned.
The
ieee80211_lookup_node
function is similar to
ieee80211_find_node,
with an additional argument
chan
which is used to specify a channel for the match.
If the entry is found, its reference count is incremented, and
a pointer to the node is returned; otherwise,
NULL
will be returned.
The
ieee80211_free_node
function will remove the node
ni
from the node database entries associated with the interface
ic,
and free any memory associated with the node.
This private method can be overridden in
ieee80211_node_attach.
The
ieee80211_free_allnodes
function will iterate through the node list calling
ieee80211_free_node
for all nodes associated with the interface
ic.
The
ieee80211_timeout_nodes
checks if the inactivity timer of each node associated with the interface
ic
has exceeded the pre-defined constant
IEEE80211_INACT_MAX.
If so, then the node is freed, after sending a deauthentication message.
The
ieee80211_iterate_nodes
function will call the user-defined callback function
f
for all nodes in the node database associated with the interface
ic.
The callback is invoked with the with the user-supplied value
arg
and a pointer to the current node.