NOTE: This information relates to using the Planet WL-3552 with 2.6 kernels. For information about using it with 2.4 kernels click here.
Image of the front.
Image of the back.
Although this card is not actually advertised as Linux compatable by Planet it it is an Atmel card underneath the Planet branding and the drivers can be found in the main 2.6 kernel tree (I've had it working with 2.6.8.1 but it may have workd with earlier versions too). In the config file (normally .config in the kernel source directory) you need to look for CONFIG_ATEML and either set it to be modular or built-in. e.g.
CONFIG_ATMEL=m
or
CONFIG_ATMEL=y
You will also probably need to make sure that hotplug support is enabled in the kernel,
CONFIG_HOTPLUG=y
and that the hotplug subsystem is working properly and that it is sufficiently recent enough (more information about this part can be found in http://thekelleys.org.uk/atmel/READ-ME). This is because the Planel WL-3552 does not have the firmware built-in and needs to have it uploaded to it each time it is inserted. This can be done manually (again see the READ-ME file linked to above) but is it is easiest if you leave hotplug to do it for you. The firmware for the Atmel cards can be downloaded from http://thekelleys.org.uk/atmel/ and many thanks go to Simon Kelley for his work on the drivers for this card.
After rebooting to take advantage of the new kernel settings you will need to teach the PCMCIA subsystem how to recognise the card and which driver to use for it. As root run the command
cardctl ident
, the output from which I have included below.# cardctl ident
Socket 0:
product info: "Wireless", "PC_CARD", "", ""
manfid: 0x0000, 0x0000
function: 6 (network)
This is the output from my card and gives two lines that need adding to the configuration file for the drivers. Open
/etc/pcmcia/planet.conf
in your favourite text editor (create it if necessary) and scroll to the bottom. Now add the following lines to the file:device "atmel_cs"
class "network" module "atmel_cs"
card "Wireless"
manfid 0x00, 0x00
bind "atmel_cs"
This is made up from two main parts. The first block is the lines necessary to tell the PCMCIA subsystem about the atmel_cs kernel driver. In the second bloack the first line is a partial match for the card's identifying name, the second line is the manufacturer's ID and the third line says which driver should be loaded. Now save the file, eject the card and restart the pcmcia drivers again. This time when you insert the card you will hopefully get two high pitched beeps which signifies that the card was detected and installed correctly. If you don't get two high pitched beeps then check your log files to try to locate the problem. If you did get two beeps you are ready to progress to the next section.
Configuring the card
The card seems to work fine with most of the wireless-tools (http://www.hpl.hp.com/personal/Jean_Tourrilhes/Linux/Tools.html) so all configuration should be possible via iwconfig and its friends, command line scripts and GUIs.
I hope that you find these instructions useful and that you are able to get your card working as well as I have. If you have any specific queries then please drop me a line or send an e-mail to one of the mailing lists that are used for discussing these drivers.