Using iwpriv linux tools

iwpriv is the companion tool to iwconfig. Again, you use iwpriv to configure
optional (private) parameters for a wireless network interface. You use
iwpriv for parameters and settings specific to each driver, as opposed to
iwconfig, which deals with generic ones. The syntax is as follows:
iwpriv interface private-command [I] [private-parameters]
iwpriv interface –all
iwpriv interface roam {on,off}
iwpriv interface port {ad-hoc,managed,N}
Using the iwpriv command without any parameters lists the available private
commands for each interface and the parameters required.
Let’s look at each one of the parameters.
private-command [I] [private-parameters]: Use the specified
private-command on the interface. The I parameter, which stands for
an integer, is the integer to pass to the command as a Token Index. Your
driver documentation should specify the value for the integer, otherwise
leave the value out.
The command may optionally take or require arguments, and may display
information. The following paragraphs provide information on the
arguments.
-a/--all: Use this parameter to execute and display all the private
commands that don’t require any arguments, for example, read only.
roam: Use this parameter to enable or disable roaming, when supported.
port: Use this parameter to read or configure the port type.
Using iwlist
iwlist allows you to display more detailed information from a wireless interface
than you can get with iwconfig. For instance, you can get the ESSID,
node name, frequency, signal quality and strength and bit data and error rate.
The syntax is as follows:
iwlist interface scanning
iwlist interface frequency
iwlist interface rate
iwlist interface key
iwlist interface power
iwlist interface txpower
iwlist interface retry
iwlist –-help
iwlist –version
Let’s look at each one of the parameters.
scan[ning]: Use this parameter to specify the access points and ad-hoc
cells in range. For example, the following enables scanning.
iwlist wlan0 scan
Run this command and you may see something like the following:
wlan0 Scan completed:
Cell 01 – Address: 00:02:2D:8F:09:8D
ESSID:”pdaconsulting”
Mode:Master
Frequency:2.462GHz
Quality:0/88 Signal level:-50 dBm Noise level:-
092 dBm
Encryption key:off
Bit Rate:1Mb/s
Bit Rate:2Mb/s
Bit Rate:5.5Mb/s
Bit Rate:11Mb/s
freq[uency]/channel: Use this parameter to specify the list of available
frequencies for the device and the number of defined channels.
rate/bit[rate]: Use this parameter to list the bit-rates supported by
the device.
key/enc[ryption]: Use this parameter to list the supported encryption
key sizes and to display all the available encryption keys.
power: Use this parameter to list the various Power Management attributes
and modes of the device.
txpower: Use this parameter to list the various Transmit Powers available
on the device.
retry: Use this parameter to list the transmit retry limits and retry lifetime
on the device.
--version: Use this parameter to display the version of the tools, as
well as the recommended and current Wireless Extensions version for
the tool and the various wireless interfaces.