why is an interfcae in monitor mode (mon.wlan0) needed

[Christian Lamparter]

Hello,

On Saturday 13 October 2012 17:21:34 Kevin Wilson wrote:
> I am running hostapd under backfire.
> I use b43 kernel module.
> I have a very basic hostapd.conf file. (see at the end of this mail)
> [...]
> My question is:
> for what do we need an interface in monitor mode?
Don't worry, in recent kernels (and hostapd) the
monitor interface will be a thing of the past.
If it really bothers you, you should think
about updating.

Previously, the monitor interface was necessary simply
because mac80211 will not implement most of the basic
AP functionality (apart form the most basic stuff, which
is however not enough for clients to assoc). Hostapd
needs to be able to listen for some "raw" 802.11 frames
from clients and other APs in the neighborhood.

Regards,
	Chr