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HOSTAPD(8)		    System Manager's Manual		    HOSTAPD(8)

NAME
       hostapd -- authenticator	for IEEE 802.11	networks

SYNOPSIS
       hostapd [-BdhKtv] [-P pidfile] config-file ...

DESCRIPTION
       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 authentica-
       tion 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 secu-
       rity 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	 wire-
       less  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
	       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".

OPTIONS
       The options are as follows:

       -d      Enable debugging	messages.  If this option is  supplied	twice,
	       more verbose messages are displayed.

       -h      Show help text.

       -t      Include timestamps in debugging output.

       -v      Display version information on the terminal and exit.

       -B      Detach  from  the  controlling  terminal	 and  run  as a	daemon
	       process in the background.

       -K      Include key information in debugging output.

       -P pidfile
	       Store PID in pidfile.

SEE ALSO
       ath(4),	ipw(4),	 iwi(4),  mwl(4),  ral(4),  rum(4),  run(4),  ural(4),
       hostapd.conf(5),	hostapd_cli(8),	ifconfig(8)

HISTORY
       The hostapd utility first appeared in FreeBSD 6.0.

AUTHORS
       The  hostapd utility was	written	by Jouni Malinen <j@w1.fi>.  This man-
       ual page	is derived from	the README file	included in the	 hostapd  dis-
       tribution.

FreeBSD	13.2			 July 18, 2012			    HOSTAPD(8)

NAME | SYNOPSIS | DESCRIPTION | OPTIONS | SEE ALSO | HISTORY | AUTHORS

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