SDIO WLAN

The term SDIO WLAN refers to the SD-Card interface extension called SDIO in the functionality variant WLAN (wireless LAN). This techonlogy can be used to bring wireless networking to existing TI processors running Linux or Windows CE (WCE) or Windows Mobile (WM) in a relatively straight forward plug-and-play way.

The seemingly defined functionalities for SDIO are:

• mass storage (most often in form of a solid state device, anyways the classical device type)
• WLAN (aka WiFi or IEEE-802.11b/g)
• GPS
• BlueTooth
• TV-Receiver/Camera/Scanner
• Sound Card
• Fingerprint Sensor

Web links

• initial announcement from EmbWise for the first free SDIO communications stack
• SDIO system block diagrams from EbmWise
• Linux Weekly News with comments on the subject and an outlook on the code introduction process
• very brief patching HowTo at SilexEurope.com
• latest released patch set at SourceForge.net
• overview on the misc branches of Atheros drivers at wireless.kernel.org
• openmoko developers hinting for 2.6.29-rc3 compatible drivers and stack
• developer enhanced SDIO codes from kernel of the openmoko.org project
• SDIO standard at the SD Card Association home page
• Atheros AR6000 product family page
• E2E discussion about DM365, Broadcom hardware and SDIO patches