Wi-Fi operating system support usually consists of two pieces: driver level support, and configuration and management support.
Driver support is usually provided by multiple manufacturers of the chip set hardware or end manufacturers. Also available are Unix clones such as Linux and FreeBSD, sometimes through open source projects.
Configuration and management support consists of software to enumerate, join, and check the status of available Wi-Fi networks. This also includes support for various encryption methods. These systems are often provided by the operating system backed by a standard driver model. In most cases, drivers emulate an Ethernet device and use the configuration and management utilities built into the operating system. In cases where built in configuration and management support is non-existent or inadequate, hardware manufacturers may include their own software to handle the respective tasks.
Read more about Wi-Fi Operating System Support: Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Classic Mac OS, Open Source Unix-like Systems, See Also
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