I have a laptop with a wireless PCMCIA card which connects to my home network. This relies on a set of fixed parameters supplied by /etc/network/interfaces.
I went away recently to a hotel that provided a wireless internet facility. It was then that I realised that I couldn't use it because I didn't know how to even though they gave me an access code - a single string of numerical digits.
I assume that there must be a way of setting up my laptop to scan for wireless access points and connect to any available ones. How would the access code provided by the hotel fit in?
What about things like machine hostname, IP address etc?
Any pointers please?
Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain
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Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
I have a laptop with a wireless PCMCIA card which connects to my home network. This relies on a set of fixed parameters supplied by /etc/network/interfaces.
Ah, clear access point, then? No DHCP setup?!
I went away recently to a hotel that provided a wireless internet facility. It was then that I realised that I couldn't use it because I didn't know how to even though they gave me an access code - a single string of numerical digits.
That's probably a WEP key.
I assume that there must be a way of setting up my laptop to scan for wireless access points and connect to any available ones. How would the access code provided by the hotel fit in?
iwconfig <interface> key <stringofdigits>
What about things like machine hostname, IP address etc?
That's what DHCP is for, it throws you DNS servers, IP addresses and default gateways.
Personally, at the moment, I use waproamd to move between wireless networks, it scans around, when it detects an accesspoint it goes "ohhh, an access point" and then depending on some files either tries (1) to connect unencryted (no WEP), or (2) authenticate to the access point with WEP. It's very simple to setup, and can just use ESSIDs to set up the notwork.
Cheers, - -- Brett Parker web: http://www.sommitrealweird.co.uk/ email: iDunno@sommitrealweird.co.uk
Let's try again.
The last reply I sent to Brett by mistake. Sorry!
On 2005.05.28 13:05, Brett Parker wrote:
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Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
I have a laptop with a wireless PCMCIA card which connects to my
home
network. This relies on a set of fixed parameters supplied by /etc/network/interfaces.
Ah, clear access point, then? No DHCP setup?!
That was right but I've since installed DHCP and have got it working after a few hiccoughs.
I went away recently to a hotel that provided a wireless internet facility. It was then that I realised that I couldn't use it because
I
didn't know how to even though they gave me an access code - a
single
string of numerical digits.
That's probably a WEP key.
I assume that there must be a way of setting up my laptop to scan
for
wireless access points and connect to any available ones. How would
the
access code provided by the hotel fit in?
iwconfig <interface> key <stringofdigits>
What about things like machine hostname, IP address etc?
That's what DHCP is for, it throws you DNS servers, IP addresses and default gateways.
Personally, at the moment, I use waproamd to move between wireless networks, it scans around, when it detects an accesspoint it goes "ohhh, an access point" and then depending on some files either tries (1) to connect unencryted (no WEP), or (2) authenticate to the access point with WEP. It's very simple to setup, and can just use ESSIDs to set up the notwork.
Cheers,
Brett Parker
I seem to have waproamd working now. All I need to do is provide the encryption key via iwconfig and it connects.
Now I have another problem. As my laptop now doesn't have a fixed IP address how do I find out what that address is so that other machines on my network can contact it?
The other thing I've discovered is that I cant't ping the laptop, using it's assigned IP taken from the output of dhclient, even from the laptop???
Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain
On 28-May-05 Barry Samuels wrote:
Now I have another problem. As my laptop now doesn't have a fixed IP address how do I find out what that address is so that other machines on my network can contact it?
There are two possibilities I know of:
1. Run '/sbin/ifconfig' locally and look for the entry corresponding to your wireless connection.
2. If there's a remote machine (i.e. on the other side of the wireless connection) that you can log in to, then log in to it and run 'who am i'.
Example showing both the above (but using my dialup PPP connection):
Local: ====== ted@brandy:~ > /sbin/ifconfig [stuff snipped] ppp0 Link encap:Point-to-Point Protocol inet addr:213.122.95.10 P-t-P:213.120.208.150 Mask:255.255.255.255 UP POINTOPOINT RUNNING NOARP MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1 RX packets:4 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0 TX packets:5 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0 collisions:0 txqueuelen:3 RX bytes:40 (40.0 b) TX bytes:61 (61.0 b)
Remote (nessie.mcc.ac.uk): ========================== FreeBSD 4.5-STABLE (NESSIE) #3: Mon Feb 11 14:27:21 GMT 2002 bash$ who am i efh ttyp5 May 28 20:17 (213.122.95.10)
So you can see that my local "ppp0" interface has "inet addr:" 213.122.95.10, and this is also the IP address returned by the remote machine to 'who am i'.
Of course your wireless interface will not be called "ppp0" (and I don't know what it should be called), but it should be pretty obvious which it is.
(The 213.120.208.150 in "ppp0" at "P-t-P:" is the IP address of the machine at the other end of the ppp connection, i.e. the dialup server).
So in that case 213.122.95.10 would be the IP address of my local machine as seen from the internet, and it should respond to ping, telnet, etc.
Hoping this helps, Ted.
-------------------------------------------------------------------- E-Mail: (Ted Harding) Ted.Harding@nessie.mcc.ac.uk Fax-to-email: +44 (0)870 094 0861 Date: 28-May-05 Time: 20:33:57 ------------------------------ XFMail ------------------------------
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Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
I have a laptop with a wireless PCMCIA card which connects to my
home
network. This relies on a set of fixed parameters supplied by /etc/network/interfaces.
Ah, clear access point, then? No DHCP setup?!
That was right but I've since installed DHCP and have got it working after a few hiccoughs.
I seem to have waproamd working now. All I need to do is provide the encryption key via iwconfig and it connects.
If you drop a file in /etc/waproamd/keys/accesspointmacaddress.wep containing just the wep key then it'll automagically do that step for you.
Now I have another problem. As my laptop now doesn't have a fixed IP address how do I find out what that address is so that other machines on my network can contact it?
I'm assuming that you're running the DHCP server on your network? If so, assign a static IP to the mac address for your laptop, it's certainly how I've got mine configured (the laptop always gets 192.168.0.2 from my DHCP server at home)/
The other thing I've discovered is that I cant't ping the laptop, using it's assigned IP taken from the output of dhclient, even from the laptop???
Hmmm, got some form of firewall on the laptop? I can't think of any other reason for it... Certainly seems to work for me.
Cheers, - -- Brett Parker web: http://www.sommitrealweird.co.uk/ email: iDunno@sommitrealweird.co.uk
On 2005.05.29 09:39, Brett Parker wrote:
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Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
I have a laptop with a wireless PCMCIA card which connects to my
home
network. This relies on a set of fixed parameters supplied by /etc/network/interfaces.
Ah, clear access point, then? No DHCP setup?!
That was right but I've since installed DHCP and have got it working
after a few hiccoughs.
I seem to have waproamd working now. All I need to do is provide the
encryption key via iwconfig and it connects.
If you drop a file in /etc/waproamd/keys/accesspointmacaddress.wep containing just the wep key then it'll automagically do that step for you.
That could be very useful - thanks. I can't confirm that it works at the moment as I now can't get into my wireless access point via browser. It says 'access refused' or similar. I've even tried the reset button to start from the factory settings again but with the same result. I'll have to contact my supplier tomorrow about that.
Now I have another problem. As my laptop now doesn't have a fixed IP
address how do I find out what that address is so that other
machines
on my network can contact it?
I'm assuming that you're running the DHCP server on your network? If so, assign a static IP to the mac address for your laptop, it's certainly how I've got mine configured (the laptop always gets 192.168.0.2 from my DHCP server at home)/
I have two network cards for the laptop one of which is wired (not wireless) and your suggestion works with that - thanks again. Can I include two sections in the DHCP config for the same hostname but with different MAC addresses so that it would work with either card?
The other thing I've discovered is that I cant't ping the laptop,
using
it's assigned IP taken from the output of dhclient, even from the laptop???
Hmmm, got some form of firewall on the laptop? I can't think of any other reason for it... Certainly seems to work for me.
Pinging now works ???
One more problem has me stumped. I use Privoxy as a proxy with my web browser. Once dhclient3 has been started and the IP address etc. set I cannot access the web via Privoxy. If I disconnect Privoxy then I can get out. The problem exists whether I use domain names or IP addresses so it doesn't seem to be DNS related.
If I stop dhclient3 and set the network settings manually it still won't work with Privoxy connected. If I try it by assigning network settings manually first before I run dhclient3 for the first time then it works using Privoxy.
Cheers,
Brett Parker
Barry Samuels (Baffled of Maldon) http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain
I now seem to have most things sorted out now except passing the encryption key automatically.
If you drop a file in /etc/waproamd/keys/accesspointmacaddress.wep containing just the wep key then it'll automagically do that step for you.
I have to admit that I took that filename literally at first (blush) but realisation dawned later. However now that I have a file of the format 00:00:00:ab:cd:00.wep, containing the *correct key*, in /etc/waproamd/keys it still doesn't work until I type iwconfig wlan0 key blahblahblah
Any ideas please?
Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain
I now seem to have most things sorted out now except passing the encryption key automatically. The link is made but I am unable to access the network.
If you drop a file in /etc/waproamd/keys/accesspointmacaddress.wep containing just the wep key then it'll automagically do that step for you.
I have to admit that I took that filename literally at first (blush) but realisation dawned later. However now that I have a file of the format 00:00:00:ab:cd:00.wep, containing the *correct key*, in /etc/ waproamd/keys it still doesn't work until I type iwconfig wlan0 key blahblahblah
Any ideas please?
Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain
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Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
I now seem to have most things sorted out now except passing the encryption key automatically. The link is made but I am unable to access the network.
If you drop a file in /etc/waproamd/keys/accesspointmacaddress.wep containing just the wep key then it'll automagically do that step for you.
I have to admit that I took that filename literally at first (blush) but realisation dawned later. However now that I have a file of the format 00:00:00:ab:cd:00.wep, containing the *correct key*, in /etc/ waproamd/keys it still doesn't work until I type iwconfig wlan0 key blahblahblah
Hmm, well, looking at my system, I've got a file called 00:0f:b5:15:5e:6c.wep, the script reads it and through magic I get a connection. The wep key needs to be formatted with no spaces and followed by a blank line, AFAICT, in the file.
So, for example...
- ---Start 00:00:00:ab:cd:00.wep--- 1A2B3C4D5E6F7A8B9C0D1E2F34
- --- End 00:00:00:ab:cd:00.wep---
Hope that helps, - -- Brett Parker web: http://www.sommitrealweird.co.uk/ email: iDunno@sommitrealweird.co.uk
On 2005.05.31 18:49, Brett Parker wrote:
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Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
I now seem to have most things sorted out now except passing the encryption key automatically. The link is made but I am unable to access the network.
If you drop a file in /etc/waproamd/keys/accesspointmacaddress.wep containing just the wep key then it'll automagically do that step for you.
I have to admit that I took that filename literally at first (blush) but realisation dawned later. However now that I have a file of the format 00:00:00:ab:cd:00.wep, containing the *correct key*, in /etc/ waproamd/keys it still doesn't work until I type iwconfig wlan0 key blahblahblah
Hmm, well, looking at my system, I've got a file called 00:0f:b5:15:5e:6c.wep, the script reads it and through magic I get a connection. The wep key needs to be formatted with no spaces and followed by a blank line, AFAICT, in the file.
So, for example...
- ---Start 00:00:00:ab:cd:00.wep---
1A2B3C4D5E6F7A8B9C0D1E2F34
- --- End 00:00:00:ab:cd:00.wep---
Hope that helps,
Brett Parker
I knew someone would say that :-)
Mine is exactly the same but doesn't work. I wonder where I go from here. Is there any way of telling if the script actually reads the key file?
Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain
I'm still trying to get my laptop wireless networking to start and stop automatically with ndiswrapper.
I gather that inserting/removing the card (Netgear WG511) should generate a PCI event. Can anyone tell me if that is the case? I don't appear to see any PCI event for that card only for the on-board nm256_audio chip.
I do see 'kernel: cs: cb_alloc(bus 6): etc. which looks like a PCMCIA event.
Barry Samuels http://www.beenthere-donethat.org.uk The Unofficial Guide to Great Britain
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Barry Samuels bsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
I'm still trying to get my laptop wireless networking to start and stop automatically with ndiswrapper.
I gather that inserting/removing the card (Netgear WG511) should generate a PCI event. Can anyone tell me if that is the case? I don't appear to see any PCI event for that card only for the on-board nm256_audio chip.
Which WG511? and have you got hotplug installed? The only working WG511 is the WG511 v2 Made In Taiwan card, that I know of, and it's prism54 based, and you need the firmware. There's also the WG511T, which is atheros based, and works with the madwifi driver.
If you haven't got hotplug running, you probably won't see the pcmcia events.
Thanks, - -- Brett Parker web: http://www.sommitrealweird.co.uk/ email: iDunno@sommitrealweird.co.uk
On 2005.06.20 19:46, Brett Parker wrote:
Barry Samuels bsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
I'm still trying to get my laptop wireless networking to start and
stop automatically with ndiswrapper.
I gather that inserting/removing the card (Netgear WG511) should generate a PCI event. Can anyone tell me if that is the case? I don't appear to see any PCI event for that card only for the
on-board
nm256_audio chip.
Which WG511? and have you got hotplug installed? The only working WG511 is the WG511 v2 Made In Taiwan card, that I know of, and it's prism54 based, and you need the firmware. There's also the WG511T, which is atheros based, and works with the madwifi driver.
It's the WG511 v2 which is made in China. I bought it because the WG511 was so well supported in Linux and then discovered that they had changed the innards with this one and Prism54 no longer worked with it.
I've had to use ndiswrapper to get it workng.
If you haven't got hotplug running, you probably won't see the pcmcia events.
I do have hotplug installed.
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Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
It's the WG511 v2 which is made in China. I bought it because the WG511 was so well supported in Linux and then discovered that they had changed the innards with this one and Prism54 no longer worked with it.
Ahh - any of the WG511 that have Made in China are really evil, they provide the same PCI id's but aren't really the same cards. I've just unplugged and checked my WG511 and can confirm, categorically, that it's a v2.0 Made in Taiwan WG511 (I've got a Made in China one, it doesn't work correctly ;).
I've had to use ndiswrapper to get it workng.
Unfortunately, that's the case I'm afraid :(
Knowing how difficult it is to get hold of the WG511 v2.0 Made in Taiwan, I now suggest getting the WG511T instead, as it's supported by the madwifi driver, and tends to 'just work'. Jenny has one, and we got hers working fairly quickly (IRC support in #alug) within a fairly short amount of time (OK - I admit that I bought one in preperation and checked that it worked, and found the relevant debian sources for this so that it was a case of "add this to sources.list, grab the kernel headers, run this, done!") :)
Cheers, - -- Brett Parker web: http://www.sommitrealweird.co.uk/ email: iDunno@sommitrealweird.co.uk
On 6/20/05, Brett Parker iDunno@sommitrealweird.co.uk wrote:
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Knowing how difficult it is to get hold of the WG511 v2.0 Made in Taiwan, I now suggest getting the WG511T instead, as it's supported by the madwifi driver, and tends to 'just work'. Jenny has one, and we got hers working fairly quickly (IRC support in #alug) within a fairly short amount of time (OK - I admit that I bought one in preperation and checked that it worked, and found the relevant debian sources for this so that it was a case of "add this to sources.list, grab the kernel headers, run this, done!") :)
Hi, yes: I tried to source a WG511 Made in Taiwan but not many sellers were willing to go down to their storerooms and check the packaging for me, oddly enough. So I decided on paying more and getting the WG511T. We had it up and running within a few hours. However, now you've bought this one and got it working with ndiswrapper, it seems daft to discard it and spend another wad of money. I'm afraid I have no clues as to why the card is not autodetecting though. What kernel are you running? Jenny
On Mon, 2005-06-20 at 20:55 +0100, Brett Parker wrote:
Jenny has one, and we got hers working fairly quickly (IRC support in #alug) within a fairly short amount of time (OK - I admit that I bought one in preperation and checked that it worked, and found the relevant debian sources for this so that it was a case of "add this to sources.list, grab the kernel headers, run this, done!") :)
Lemme get this straight ?
You heard that Jenny was going to ask about a wireless card on IRC so you went and purchased one so that you would be better informed to answer her questions......That's committed !!!
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Wayne Stallwood ALUGlist@digimatic.plus.com wrote:
On Mon, 2005-06-20 at 20:55 +0100, Brett Parker wrote:
Jenny has one, and we got hers working fairly quickly (IRC support in #alug) within a fairly short amount of time (OK - I admit that I bought one in preperation and checked that it worked, and found the relevant debian sources for this so that it was a case of "add this to sources.list, grab the kernel headers, run this, done!") :)
Lemme get this straight ?
You heard that Jenny was going to ask about a wireless card on IRC so you went and purchased one so that you would be better informed to answer her questions......That's committed !!!
*GRIN* - I was looking for one that I could recommend, see, as most of the current cards are a PITA to get working, and finding the one that I had (and still use most often) is a nightmare ;) It's never a bad idea having more than one wifi card :)
/me is still waiting for the broadcom wifi driver to exist for the built in wifi in this laptop
Cheers, - -- Brett Parker web: http://www.sommitrealweird.co.uk/ email: iDunno@sommitrealweird.co.uk
On 2005.06.20 20:55, Brett Parker wrote:
Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
It's the WG511 v2 which is made in China. I bought it because the
WG511
was so well supported in Linux and then discovered that they had changed the innards with this one and Prism54 no longer worked with
it.
Ahh - any of the WG511 that have Made in China are really evil, they provide the same PCI id's but aren't really the same cards. I've just unplugged and checked my WG511 and can confirm, categorically, that it's a v2.0 Made in Taiwan WG511 (I've got a Made in China one, it doesn't work correctly ;).
I've had to use ndiswrapper to get it workng.
Unfortunately, that's the case I'm afraid :(
Knowing how difficult it is to get hold of the WG511 v2.0 Made in Taiwan, I now suggest getting the WG511T instead, as it's supported by the madwifi driver, and tends to 'just work'. Jenny has one, and we got hers working fairly quickly (IRC support in #alug) within a fairly short amount of time (OK - I admit that I bought one in preperation and checked that it worked, and found the relevant debian sources for this so that it was a case of "add this to sources.list, grab the kernel headers, run this, done!") :)
The card that I have works perfectly well using ndiswrapper but I have to load and unload some of the stuff manually.
I can unplug the card without problems but I then MUST unload the ndiswrapper module otherwise when the card is next plugged in I lose the keyboard.
I cannot get the encryption key applied automatically and have to do that by hand. It works but not automatically.
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Barry Samuels bjsamuels@beenthere-donethat.org.uk wrote:
The card that I have works perfectly well using ndiswrapper but I have to load and unload some of the stuff manually.
I *think* that you can blacklist the prism54 module, and do some magic with hotplug to associate the stuff with the card, but I'm not sure.
I can unplug the card without problems but I then MUST unload the ndiswrapper module otherwise when the card is next plugged in I lose the keyboard.
Ugg :/
I cannot get the encryption key applied automatically and have to do that by hand. It works but not automatically.
Hrm, I still use waproamd for that, and haven't had a problem *yet*, but I know lots of people that have. There's also wpasupplicant which (in theory) will eventually replace waproamd, but I must admit that I've had no luck so far.
Thanks, - -- Brett Parker web: http://www.sommitrealweird.co.uk/ email: iDunno@sommitrealweird.co.uk
On Mon, 2005-06-20 at 19:40 +0000, Barry Samuels wrote:
It's the WG511 v2 which is made in China. I bought it because the WG511 was so well supported in Linux and then discovered that they had changed the innards with this one and Prism54 no longer worked with it.
This is one of my biggest grievances with hardware manufacturers at the moment, why oh why they change the fundamental design of a product without changing the model number or even adding a revision code to it is beyond me. It is totally unfair that customers have to play Russian roulette if they need a particular chipset for whatever reason.
It's not just for Linux support that this is a problem, anybody deploying machines from a system image can run into confusing driver/hardware version issues because certain (discrete) hardware revisions only work with certain driver revisions.
On Saturday 28 May 2005 1:05 pm, Brett Parker wrote:
Ah, clear access point, then? No DHCP setup?!
I doubt that, I think that Barry's machine may behave the same as mine, in that once it has been connected to an encrypted network it requires user intervention to attach to an open one.
That's probably a WEP key.
Most of the paid for wireless networks I use don't issue web keys, they are unencrypted networks that force you to a login page. The first page you try and access will redirect you to a payment or login page...the string of numbers is an access code printed by a ticket printer that gives a time limited passthrough.
Sadly it is my experience that these systems only infrequently work with Linux browsers.
Interestingly (and I have told BT OpenZone about this, they ignored me so I have no issue with making it public now) If you buy the cheapest level of access for the shortest amount of time, and within that time connect to a VPN. The VPN connection will remain even when your time has expired, You can route through the VPN back to the internet indefinitely this way.
Personally, at the moment, I use waproamd to move between wireless networks, it scans around, when it detects an accesspoint it goes "ohhh, an access point" and then depending on some files either tries (1) to connect unencryted (no WEP), or (2) authenticate to the access point with WEP. It's very simple to setup, and can just use ESSIDs to set up the notwork.
Ahhh cheers for that, I have been looking for something similar to the Wireless network configration win WinXP post SP2 that keeps an order of preferred networks (and their associated keys) and if an unencrypted network is in range then allows you to connect to it without having to resort to kismet to find the ssid. (this is the way I have to do it with SuSE 9.1 and YaST)
-
Barry Samuels -
Barry Samuels -
Brett Parker -
Jenny Hopkins -
Ted.Harding＠nessie.mcc.ac.uk -
Wayne Stallwood