1 Distribution specific notes on Wireless Configuration
2 -----------------------------------------------------
5 If people send me information about the specifics of each
6 distribution, I'll try to collect that here. Don't forget to mention
7 to which distribution those instructions apply, the tool used (if any)
8 and the files modified.
9 Actually, the people packaging my tools for a specific
10 distribution have a moral obligation to send me the exact detailed
11 instructions of what they have done. I will list in the wireless.7
12 man page only distributions that give me an official answer.
19 The tools enable users to change the card settings at run time
20 (when running iwconfig, for example). However, most users want the
21 card to be configured either at boot time or when the card is
22 activated in the system.
23 Each distribution has its own configuration scripts, and
24 therefore is slightly different. Some distributions even add some
25 graphical setup tool (nice). This file describe the procedure for a
27 Note : if you install the Pcmcia package in source form from
28 the official Linux-Pcmcia web site (as opposed to precompiled by a
29 distribution, please use the PCMCIA method).
31 Please remember : I don't use your distribution, and I have
32 absolutely no clue about how your distribution works. I'm just
33 collecting random information here without beeing able to verify it.
35 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
39 (Contributed by Jean Tourrilhes <jt@hpl.hp.com>)
40 This method work for *all* distributions.
41 For Pcmcia cards, it is possible to overwrite the Pcmcia
42 configuration files of the distribution with the original Pcmcia
43 configuration files from the Pcmcia package (/etc/pcmcia/*). If you
44 install the Pcmcia package in source form from the official
45 Linux-Pcmcia web site, this will be done automatically.
46 Once this is done, you can no longer use the specific tools
47 and configuration files of the distribution, and are required to use
48 Pcmcia style of configuration (see Pcmcia Howto).
49 In such a case, Wireless configuration is done through
50 wireless.opts, and documented in the file PCMCIA.txt.
52 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
54 DEBIAN 2.2 (and earlier)
56 (Contributed by Jean Tourrilhes <jt@hpl.hp.com>)
57 Debian 2.2 (and earlier) doesn't support any Wireless
58 Configuration. You are required to use the Pcmcia method. Also, the
59 Wireless Tools package is not part of the standard packages.
61 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
63 DEBIAN 3.0 (and later)
65 (Contributed by Guus Sliepen <guus@sliepen.eu.org>)
66 Debian also has another way of configuring network devices,
67 controlled by /etc/network/interfaces. Users can add a wireless
68 interface to /etc/network/interfaces, using the standard options to
69 set the address and such, but the wireless-tools package adds new
70 option statements that can be used to configure keys, channel,
72 From the README.Debian script that comes with wireless-tools:
74 /etc/network/interfaces
75 -----------------------
77 You can now add extra statements to the iface sections of the files in
78 /etc/network/interfaces that are specific for wireless interfaces. They
81 wireless_<function> <value>
83 Before the interface is brought up, such a statement will result in the
84 execution of the following command:
86 iwconfig <interface> <function> <value>
90 iface eth0 inet static
94 broadcast 192.168.1.255
98 The current Debian script support all arguments present in
99 wireless.opts apart from Nickname. You can check this in the script
100 /etc/network/if-pre-up.d/wireless-tool.
101 You will need of course to install the Wireless Tools package
102 if it's not already done, which is part of the standard package list
103 (use dselect, dpkg, apt or anything you like to get it).
107 (Contributed by Joey Hess <joey@dragon.kitenet.net>)
108 /etc/network/interfaces is much more flexible than it appears. It can probably
109 do everything pcmcia schemes can do, and more. Here is part of mine:
113 script /usr/local/bin/ifscheme
115 iface wlan0-home inet static
118 netmask 255.255.255.0
120 wireless_essid wortroot
124 iface wlan0-away inet dhcp
125 wireless_mode managed
127 Now I can type 'ifscheme -s away' when I leave home, rather like
130 The ifscheme script is at http://bugs.debian.org/154444. If the request in
131 bug #154442 is implemented, it will become very flexible indeed..
133 Debian will hopefully be using this same file eventually for pcmcia network
134 devices too. It's already doable but takes a little work. This is all rather
135 rough and badly documented so far.
137 You can also do mapping based on the MAC address, if you want specific
138 configuration on specific card. See
139 /usr/share/doc/ifupdown/examples/get-mac-address.sh and the stanza in
140 /usr/share/doc/ifupdown/examples/network-interfaces.gz that uses it.
141 This comes back to the problem I alluded to with mapping scripts not
142 being "nestable" yet, and bug #154442. You can do what you want today,
143 but you may need to write your own mapping script which uses a
144 combination of MAC address and scheme info to return a stanza name to
147 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
151 (Grabbed from various source - Google is your friend)
152 Configuration is done in the file :
153 /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-ethN
154 Where 'ethN' is the name of the wireless interface (such as
156 The following lines may be added in this file :
162 The full list of configuration can be found in the file :
163 /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifup-wireless
165 Note that Brad Allison has other tips for 7.2 :
166 http://jackal.dnsalias.com:8080/public/misc/wireless/wireless.html
168 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
170 RED-HAT 7.3 and later
172 (Cut'n'pasted from Brad Allison web page)
173 http://jackal.dnsalias.com:8080/public/misc/wireless/wireless.html
175 If you are running RedHat 7.3, I would tell you to simply run
176 /usr/bin/redhat-config-network and click "Devices", Click "Add", then
177 select "Wireless Connection". You can find the full instructions in
178 RedHat's Customization Guide for RH7.3 in Chapter 6, Network
179 Configuration: Wireless Connection.
180 http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/
181 http://www.redhat.com/docs/manuals/linux/RHL-7.3-Manual/custom-guide/s1-network-config-wireless.html
183 However, according to the Errata: The version of the Red Hat
184 Network Administration Tool that shipped with Red Hat Linux 7.3 did
185 not include wireless connection in the configuration wizard. An
186 enhancement errata will be released soon with this feature. You can
187 download the newest version of redhat-config-network from rpmfind.net.
188 http://www.redhat.com/docs/errata/RHL-7.3-Manual/
189 http://www.rpmfind.net/linux/rpm2html/search.php?query=redhat-config-network&submit=Search+...
193 (Grabbed from various source - Google is your friend)
194 The current graphical user interface support :
195 ESSID, Mode, Freq, Channel, Rate, Key
197 Compared to Red-Hat 7.2, the Wireless Setting in the
198 configuration file have change to include the WIRELESS_ prefix :
200 WIRELESS_ESSID='<essid>'
201 WIRELESS_ENC_KEY='<key>'
202 The underlying configuration files and configurations options
203 seems to be indentical to what is done in Mandrake 8.2 (or vice
204 versa), so please check the section below. This allow configuration of
205 additional wireless settings not available in the GUI.
209 (Extrapolated from web page of Martin Pot <m.t.pot@ieee.org>)
210 http://ii.net/~mpot/wireless/router.cgi
211 Red-Hat 7.3 also seem to support configuration in
212 wireless.opts to some extent. But for compatibility with the network
213 admin tools, I would still recommend to use the above method.
214 Red-Hat 7.3 seems to load wvlan_cs for Orinoco cards and
215 friends. The above web page explain how to switch it to orinoco_cs.
217 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
219 MANDRAKE 8.2 and later
221 (Grabbed from various source - Google is your friend)
222 Configuration is done in the file :
223 /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-ethN
224 Where 'ethN' is the name of the wireless interface (such as
226 The following lines may be added in this file :
228 WIRELESS_ESSID=<essid>
230 WIRELESS_FREQ=<freq/channel>
231 WIRELESS_SENS=<sensitivity>
233 WIRELESS_ENC_KEY=<keys>
236 WIRELESS_IWCONFIG=<iwconfig command>
237 WIRELESS_IWSPY=<iwspy command>
238 WIRELESS_IWPRIV=<iwpriv command>
239 Most likely, you only need to add a few of those lines and not
240 all of them. The script doing the configuration and where you can
241 check the details is :
242 /etc/network/network-scripts/ifup-wireless
243 You will of course need the Wireless Extension package :
244 rpm -Uvh wireless-tools-XX-Xmdk.XXX.rpm
246 Mandrake can also have wireless setting added to its
247 Auto-Install procedure :
248 http://members.shaw.ca/mandrake/drakx/8.2/HTML/section4-13.html
250 ---------------------------------------------------------------------
254 (Cut'n'pasted from Unofficial SuSE FAQ, by Keith Winston)
255 http://www.smaug42.com/susefaq/ethernetproblems.html#AEN768
256 The old PCMCIA network scripts used to read
257 /etc/pcmcia/wireless.opts to get the wireless options like mode,
258 ESSID, encryption key, etc. Well, the wireless.opts file is still
259 there but it is NOT used. It would have been nice if there was some
260 documentation about it. Instead, the new scripts read this info from
261 another brand new file called /etc/sysconfig/network/wireless. You can
262 edit this file to store your wireless options. If you don't use key 1,
263 you may have to put the other key in the WIRELESS_IWCONFIG_OPTIONS
268 <Need confirmation :>
269 Configuration of wireless settings looks like :
270 WIRELESS_ESSID="<essid>"
271 It also seem that the same directives can be added to the file :
272 /etc/sysconfig/network/ifcfg-ethX
273 Note that there seems to be other problems with SuSE, such as
274 the Pcmcia scripts binding the linux-wlan-ng driver to Orinoco cards
275 (which of course won't work - see link in FAQ above).
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