How To Install hostapd on Debian 10
Introduction
In this tutorial we learn how to install hostapd on Debian 10.
What is hostapd
hostapd is:
Originally, hostapd was an optional user space component for Host AP driver. It adds more features to the basic IEEE 802.11 management included in the kernel driver: using external RADIUS authentication server for MAC address based access control, IEEE 802.1X Authenticator and dynamic WEP keying, RADIUS accounting, WPA/WPA2 (IEEE 802.11i/RSN) Authenticator and dynamic TKIP/CCMP keying.
The current version includes support for other drivers, an integrated EAP authenticator (i.e., allow full authentication without requiring an external RADIUS authentication server), and RADIUS authentication server for EAP authentication.
hostapd works with the following drivers:
- mac80211 based drivers with support for master mode [linux]
- Host AP driver for Prism2/2.5/3 [linux]
- Driver interface for FreeBSD net80211 layer [kfreebsd]
- Any wired Ethernet driver for wired IEEE 802.1X authentication.
There are three methods to install hostapd on Debian 10. We can use apt-get, apt and aptitude. In the following sections we will describe each method. You can choose one of them.
Install hostapd Using apt-get
Update apt database with apt-get using the following command.
sudo apt-get update
After updating apt database, We can install hostapd using apt-get by running the following command:
sudo apt-get -y install hostapd
Install hostapd Using apt
Update apt database with apt using the following command.
sudo apt update
After updating apt database, We can install hostapd using apt by running the following command:
sudo apt -y install hostapd
Install hostapd Using aptitude
If you want to follow this method, you might need to install aptitude first since aptitude is usually not installed by default on Debian. Update apt database with aptitude using the following command.
sudo aptitude update
After updating apt database, We can install hostapd using aptitude by running the following command:
sudo aptitude -y install hostapd
How To Uninstall hostapd on Debian 10
To uninstall only the hostapd package we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get remove hostapd
Uninstall hostapd And Its Dependencies
To uninstall hostapd and its dependencies that are no longer needed by Debian 10, we can use the command below:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove hostapd
Remove hostapd Configurations and Data
To remove hostapd configuration and data from Debian 10 we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y purge hostapd
Remove hostapd configuration, data, and all of its dependencies
We can use the following command to remove hostapd configurations, data and all of its dependencies, we can use the following command:
sudo apt-get -y autoremove --purge hostapd
Dependencies
hostapd have the following dependencies:
References
Summary
In this tutorial we learn how to install hostapd package on Debian 10 using different package management tools: apt, apt-get and aptitude.