hostapd with only virtual interfaces for BSSs possible?

[David Martin]

Hey,

I'm running the latest hostapd stable release 0.7.3 and I have got a
question regarding the use of virtual interfaces for BSSs.

Is it possible to run hostapd with only BSSs on virtual interfaces?
The ideapad netbooks I'm using are running with the nl80211 driver
interface and support a maximum of 4 distinct BSSs (i.e. in hostapd
configuration terms one network on the main interface wlan0 and three
additional BSSs on virtual interfaces).
I did some modifications in hostapd for the BSS handling (basically to
add and remove BSSs on the fly) and I would like to solely use this
functionality. My goal for hostapd is basically:

- do not spawn the main interface in AP mode (basically do not
establish the main wireless network)
- instead spawn the main interface neutrally (station mode?), the
monitoring interface as usual and up to 4 virtual interfaces for BSSs

This surely won't be possible without further modifications of the
code but that's ok. In general:
Is this possible at all?
How would I best go about it? Any hints or directions are greatly
appreciated. The closer it gets to netlink communication the less
familiar I'm with the code. :)

Cheers,
David