user space IEEE 802.11 AP and IEEE 802.1X/WPA/WPA2/EAP Authenticator Originally, hostapd was an optional user space component for Host AP driver. It adds more features to the basic IEEE 802.11 management included in the kernel driver: using external RADIUS authentication server for MAC address based access control, IEEE 802.1X Authenticator and dynamic WEP keying, RADIUS accounting, WPA/WPA2 (IEEE 802.11i/RSN) Authenticator and dynamic TKIP/CCMP keying. . The current version includes support for other drivers, an integrated EAP authenticator (i.e., allow full authentication without requiring an external RADIUS authentication server), and RADIUS authentication server for EAP authentication. . hostapd works with the following drivers: . * mac80211 based drivers with support for master mode * Host AP driver for Prism2/2.5/3, * madwifi driver for cards based on Atheros chip set (ar521x), * Any wired Ethernet driver for wired IEEE 802.1X authentication. Manual and Help Documents