At a very basic level, HostAP is simply turning a Linux box (with a Prism2/2.5/3 card) into an Access Point. i.e., it takes care of IEEE 802.11 management functions in the host computer and acts as an AP without requiring any special firmware for the wireless LAN card.





The Official page is (http://hostap.epitest.fi/ Here) and has all the information you need to get it configured.