ENUM HWSIM_TX_RATE_FLAGS(9)

✨ enum hwsim_tx_rate_flags(9) ✨

okay so real talk, bestie — this is from the Kernel API Manual, and it's literally the enum that holds all the per-rate flags that the rate control algorithm sets. 💅 And before you ask: yeah, it's inspired by struct mac80211_rate_control_flags. the rules are simple, queen — new flags may be appended, but old flags not deleted, because that's what keeps compatibility for userspace. no cap, that's the whole vibe. 🫶

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

enum hwsim_tx_rate_flags {
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_USE_RTS_CTS ,
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_USE_CTS_PROTECT ,
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_USE_SHORT_PREAMBLE ,
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_MCS ,
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_GREEN_FIELD ,
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_40_MHZ_WIDTH ,
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_DUP_DATA ,
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_SHORT_GI ,
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_VHT_MCS ,
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_80_MHZ_WIDTH ,
    MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_160_MHZ_WIDTH

};

🎀 Constants 🎀

okay so here's the whole cast, and every single one of them is a main character in their own right:

• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_USE_RTS_CTS — use an RTS/CTS exchange for this rate. handshake first, transmit second, etiquette icon. 🤝
• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_USE_CTS_PROTECT — CTS-to-self protection is required. it gets set when the current BSS requires ERP protection. protective queen behavior 💅
• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_USE_SHORT_PREAMBLE — use short preamble. short and sweet, literally. ✨
• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_MCS — HT rate. that's it, that's the whole flag. 🦋
• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_GREEN_FIELD — tells you whether this rate should be used in Greenfield mode 🌱 (yes the name is adorable, yes it's real)
• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_40_MHZ_WIDTH — says whether the Channel Width should be 40 MHz. big channel energy 📶
• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_DUP_DATA — the frame should be transmitted on both of the adjacent 20 MHz channels, but only if the current channel type is NL80211_CHAN_HT40MINUS or NL80211_CHAN_HT40PLUS. sooo conditional, we love a flag with boundaries 🫶
• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_SHORT_GI — Short Guard interval should be used for this rate. get in, get out, no guard-interval loitering 🏃‍♀️
• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_VHT_MCS — VHT MCS rate. and here's the lore: in this case the idx field is split into a higher 4 bits (Nss) and lower 4 bits (MCS number). bit-splitting? iconic. 🔥
• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_80_MHZ_WIDTH — indicates 80 MHz transmission 📡
• MAC80211_HWSIM_TX_RC_160_MHZ_WIDTH — indicates 160 MHz transmission. and ngl, a lil caveat: 80+80 isn't supported yet 🙈 (she said "yet", so watch this space)

🌈 Description 🌈

so basically these flags get set by the Rate control algorithm for each rate during tx, and they live in the flags member of struct ieee80211_tx_rate. that's the tea ☕ — per rate, during tx, in flags, every time.

👑 SEE ALSO 👑

go read these next, bestie, they're all in the kernel file ./drivers/net/wireless/virtual/mac80211_hwsim.h unless noted:

• enum hwsim_tx_control_flags(9)
• Frame transmission/registration support(9)
• enum hwsim_commands(9)
• enum hwsim_attrs(9)
• struct hwsim_tx_rate(9)
• struct hwsim_tx_rate_flag(9)
• Frame transmission support over virtio(9)
• enum hwsim_vqs(9)
• enum hwsim_rate_info_attributes(9)

and that's the whole page, babes 💖 this one comes from ./drivers/net/wireless/virtual, dated October 2026, and it's filed under enum hwsim_tx_rate_flags(9) — go off, kernel docs, periodt 🎀🦋⭐