The Intel PRO/Wireless (IPW) cards are Intel's WiFi hardware for the Centrino platforms. The cards come in various formats (mini-PCI, mini-PCIe), and capabilities (802.11b, 802.11b/g, 802.11a/b/g, 802.11a/g/n...).

The cards have built-in RISC CPUs (used as MAC processors) and a firmware that does all of the stuff that the USA FCC regulations won't allow a vendor to distribute in a way the user could easily modify and run). This makes them Linux-friendly since it allows the vendor to publish GPL drivers without risking any issues with the FCC.

The driver provided support for a series of Intel wireless cards: