The
hostapd
utility
is an authenticator for IEEE 802.11 networks.
It provides full support for WPA/IEEE 802.11i and
can also act as an IEEE 802.1X Authenticator with a suitable
backend Authentication Server (typically
FreeRADIUS).
The
hostapd
utility
implements the authentication protocols that piggyback on top
of the normal IEEE 802.11 protocol mechanisms.
To use
hostapd
as an authenticator, the underlying device must support some
basic functionality such as the ability to set security information
in the 802.11 management frames.
Beware that not all devices have this support.
The
hostapd
utility
is designed to be a
"daemon"
program that runs in the
background and acts as the backend component controlling
the wireless connection.
It supports separate frontend programs such as the
text-based frontend,
hostapd_cli(8).
The following arguments must be specified on the command line:
config-file
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Use the settings in the specified configuration file; the name of
the specified wireless interface is contained in this file.
See
hostapd.conf(5)
for a description of the configuration file syntax.
Changes to the configuration file can be reloaded by sending a
SIGHUP
to the
hostapd
processor or with the
hostapd_cli(8)
utility, using
"hostapd_cli reconfigure".
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