working fine with the madwifi drivers . .requires tinkering to get the card up but if you can read man pages you should be okay . .

It appears that Netgear has released a version 2 of this card with a different and incompatible Texas Instruments chip. Check for the 'v2' in small print on the box.

There seems to be some work going on to get a driver for the TI chip at http:acx100.sourceforge.net. In the meantime, beware!

Added later: according to the model no. on the TI chip (TNETW1130GVF), the proprietry driver loader supplied by Linuxant

http://www.linuxant.com/driverloader/

may work with the v2 card. Haven't tried it myself.

Update: Netgear provide helpful field guide for the sharp-eyed to distinguish the v1 from the linux unfriendly v2:

http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/WG311.asp

Update 2: There is now a v3 on the same page. Incompatible with v1 and v2, but no indication of what hardware they are now using.

Works fine with Linuxant driverloader on Slackware Linux

linuxant.com - Linuxant driverloader

I just got this card, and with very little hassle was able to have this card browsing the net (via my Netgear WGR646 Router).

You will definitely need to make sure you have a version 1 of this wireless card, because the other ones may not be atheros. On the box of the card, there should not be any "v2" stated anywhere, or the label should say "v1" or "NA". Another way to find out is to do lspci (as root) and look for:
00:0f.0 Ethernet controller: Unknown device **168c**:0013 (rev 01)

Madwifi are the drivers you need. They are currently still in the experimental state, and no true release is available. You have to download the drivers via cvs. The sourceforge page is
http://sourceforge.net/projects/madwifi/
Download from cvs by doing
cvs -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/madwifi login (leave password blank)
cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/madwifi co madwifi
This will create a directory named "madwifi".
(Needless to say, if you don't have internet access on your box with this card, download with another computer, tar and gzip the contents to reduce the size from 3.1 megs to 1.1 megs so that you can use a simple floppy.)

You will most likely have to recompile your kernel to get support form Wireless lan (non-hamradio). The 2.6.x series works just fine.
Compile the madwifi drivers (make, make install). By doing make install, all you have to do is modrobe ath_pci, and the dependecies will also be loaded (wlan and ath_hal). Check dmesg for any errors.

It is stated in the readme that Ad-hoc (direct computer to computer wireless without an access point) is not reliable, and I have only tested with a typical router setup. There are guides on the net that have info on making a computer an internet gateway with this card.

Getting this card running isn't too difficult. I was able to do so without having to turn off WEP encryption (like I had to do in Windows).
Do these commands (as root)
ifconfig ath0 up
iwconfig (make sure ath0 is listed)
iwconfig ath0 key XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX (if you have a wep key)
iwlist ath0 scan (make sure you can see your access point; if not, then you need to send out a new signal from your router, or it means that the wireless card isn't working; if you can your access point, then your card is working perfectly)
iwconfig ath0 ap XX:XX:XX:XX:XX:XX (if you have more than 1 access point to choose from)
iwconfig ath0 channel XX (whatever channel your signal is broadcasted on)
iwconfig ath0 essid XXXXX (whatever is listed in the above iwlist command; type it in exactly as it appeared)
iwconfig (make sure ath0 is listed with all the option you just set)

now, to get this card on the network (ie, communicating with the router)
ifconfig ath0 XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX (assign this card an ip that is not already used; it can't do it automatically)
ifconfig (check to make sure ath0 now has an ip)
dhcpcd ath0 (if it hangs, something is wrong; if no messages appear, you are good to go)

Test your card out by going online or just do a simple ping to your router or another computer on the network.

Now, you will probably want to add all this to your system's startup (so you don't have to do it every time your reboot your computer).

In Slackware, edit your /etc/rc.d/rc.local file and add
/sbin/modprobe ath_pci
iwconfig ath0 key XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
iwconfig ath0 channel XX
ifconfig ath0 XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX
dhcpcd ath0

(you don't need to reenter your access point or essid, it should be reused as long as the same wep key is used)

So far, with these pre-production release drivers, I have had better performance in linux (haven't lost a connection yet) whereas in Windows I get constant signal losses. You can check your signal status with iwconfig. While in windows xp I do get a stronger signal (often very constant 48 mbs) I would rather take my 24-36 mbs connection in linux as long as I don't have to constantly reboot my router.
There is a command to lock at a certain rate:
iwconfig ath0 rate XXMB
but it may only cause problems if for some reason the card cannot keep that specific rate.

For more help, read the README in the madwifi drivers, use google (you will have to sift through lots of fluff), read the manpages for the iw tools, or just post a message here at LQ!

*Edit: please note the security risks
If you did everything as root, and no one has your root password, then you don't have to worry about someone looking to see what your wep key is or your ssid. If by accident you used these commands as a user, they will be saved in your bash_history. In any case, DELETE your ~/.bash_history (or at least remove the offending lines). As long as your startup scripts are readable and writable only by root, then you don't have to worry about someone stealing information from there, either.

*Edit 2: new, easier way to get the card up for slackware

*Edit: also, in slackware 10 (or if you have the latest sysinit package), you can use your /etc/rc.d/rc.wireless.conf file to bring up the card; here is what I have done:

## --------- START SECTION TO REMOVE -----------
## Pick up any Access Point, should work on most 802.11 cards
00:09:5B*)
INFO="WG311"
ESSID="PENGUINITE"
CHANNEL="11"
KEY="11111111111111111111111111"
;;
## ---------- END SECTION TO REMOVE ------------

You can put it anywhere as long as you comment out the "section to remove", but i just used the section itself; that MAC address should be valid for most atheros-based cards too

run /etc/rc.d/rc.wireless ath0 , do dhcpcd ath0 , and you're up

WG311 V2 (with TI chip "TNET W 1130 GVF" aka ACX111) works fine with Ndiswrapper (http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net) and the Windows drivers from Netgear. Setup is quick & easy, but no WAP encryption (WEP only).

Used the linuxant driver and worked no problem.


http://www.linuxant.com/driverloader/

Tried for two weeks to compile 2.6.7 kernel to no avail. Tried to install the prism4 drivers into working kernel to no avail. Just grab the Linuxant Driver until Slack jumps to 2.6.5 or higher.

yast in suse identyfied the card, but the card didint work after yast so i had to try something else, but the madwifi solution didint work maybe becuse i got the v2 verision. but when i tryed to install it with ndiswrapper and windowsdrivers it worked perfectly!

but i can stil not use the internet but i tink thats becouse the net admin have used the letter "ö" (the last letter in the swedish alphabeth) in the essid and when i use iwconfig it cant display that letter :)

Got the V2 working with NDiswrapper, using WEP. I found that i only got it to work using the very old windows drivers from Netgear, but others may have luck with the new ones.

This is probably old news, but I got the WG311 V2 (with TI chip ACX111) working in April using the sourceforge drivers in acx100-0.2.0pre8_plus_fixes_51.tar.bz2 and the corresponding firmware acx_firmware.tar.bz2 (see the invaluable 'Hourse of Craig' pages at www.houseofcraig.net/acx100_howto.php for instructions and links). This driver finally adds WEP functionality.

I have the V2. with the TI chipset. Used NDISWrapper and have limited functionality. I haven't been able to get it to connect on boot. It is a stuggle to get it to connect after login from the command prompt. I sometimes repeated attempts are needed. If I watch the link quality applet after attempting it cycles from my essid to nothing. I think I am able to link when i use pump -i wlan0 coordinated with the essid switching back to my essid. I have also had instances where I tell the card iwconfig "my key" and "my essid" and if I return later it will seem to have finally decided to switch to my essid. Nothing consistant. Has anyone else had better luck?

Very similar to the experience Hahnson had in Suse 9.1.

How I got mine working.
Install NDISWRAPPER using YAST

Copy WG311v3XP.sys, WG311v3.sys, WG311v3.cat, WG311v3.INF, TRANS.TBL,off the driver cd onto HardDisk

Open root shell

Install Driver
ndiswrapper -i WG311v3.INF
ndiswrapper -m
modprobe ndiswrapper

Disable improper Suse configuration in Yast
Network Devices
Delete Netgear entry

Configure the new hardware with Yast
Network Devices
Network Card
Add
Device Type: Wireless
Module Name: ndiswrapper
On next several pages enter your networks information

Reboot

More info on the WG311 v3

From http://ndiswrapper.sourceforge.net/mediawiki/index.php/List#N


# Netgear WG311 v3 (Marvell 88w8335 Libertas)

* Chipset: Marvell 88w8335 Libertas 54Mbps Wireless Interface
* pciid: 11ab:1faa
* Driver: Copied WG311v3.INF and WG311v3XP.sys from Netgear CD to local ad hoc directory and ran ndiswrapper 1.2 there. Please see hint at http://linuxcompatible.org/Netgear_WG311v3_WLAN_PCI_Card_with_Debian_Linux_Testing_t33271.html
* Other: Running SuSE 10.0 - needed some tweeking in YaST - threw out old card from Network Devices / Network Card configuration and installed new card with Module Name as "ndiswrapper" in Manual Network Card Configuration. Runs 128 bit WEP at 54Mbps.

Addendum:

The WG311 V3 is essentially a separate product!

lspci:
00:0b.0 Ethernet controller: Marvell Technology Group Ltd. 88w8335 [Libertas] 802.11b/g Wireless (rev 03)

I had success with ndiswrapper and the winXP drivers...

The path I took involved
Download from Netgear drivers and unzip them into /usr/lib/hotplug/firmware/netgear/

urpmi ndiswrapper

ndiswrapper -i /usr/lib/hotplug/firmware/netgear/wg311v3V1.0/Driver/winXP/WG311v3.INF

I then ran 'mcc' and proceeded to configure a wireless point.

A reboot was necessary too...

Cheers
HoOLi

wg311 v3

This product seems to have very poor WPA support(average speed under 12mb/s) and I find the XP driver with ndiswrapper very unstable even while connected to unencrypted networks. In general theres random crashes, I often either loose the internet or the driver *completely* locks up linux.