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HOSTAPD(8)		FreeBSD	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	(typi-
     cally FreeRADIUS).	 The hostapd utility implements	the authentication
     protocols that piggyback on top of	the normal IEEE	802.11 protocol	mecha-
     nisms.  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
	     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 syn-
	     tax.

	     Changes to	the configuration file can be reloaded by sending a
	     SIGHUP to the hostapd processor or	with the hostapd_cli(8)	util-
	     ity, 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), wi(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 manual
     page is derived from the README file included in the hostapd distribu-
     tion.

FreeBSD	11.1			 July 18, 2012			  FreeBSD 11.1

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

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