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PostPosted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 11:01 am 
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Joined: Wed Dec 10, 2003 8:31 pm
Posts: 1996
Location: /dev/null
Here's how I setup a Linksys WMP54G 802.11g WNIC in R5.5. I give two example /etc/network/interface examples, one using WEP and the other using WPA2. My understanding is that WPA2 is more secure than WEP.

Also, this guide doesn't teach you how to install drivers/kernel modules. The card I used just worked out-of-the-box (thanks cesman and team!). If you need help getting LINUX to see the hardware, I can't help you, but I'm sure google can. At the bottom of the page, I give some links I found useful.

:arrow: Example using WPA2
I setup the router to use WPA2-PSK and AES encryption. My passphrase is 63 characters long and was auto generated using this website's java app. You can make your own, but the randonly generated ones are VASTLY superior.

Image

Anyway, aside from the security options and the actual key, you'll also need to know the SSID (name of your router) and the channel it's using. The basic WPA2 setup for R5.5 requires you to put the following in your /etc/network/interfaces

Code:
# WPA2-PSK using AES

auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
pre-up ifconfig wlan0 up
pre-up iwconfig wlan0 mode managed
pre-up iwconfig wlan0 essid music
pre-up iwpriv wlan0 set Channel=5
pre-up iwpriv wlan0 set AuthMode=WPA2PSK
pre-up iwpriv wlan0 set WPAPSK='sm>n$f\f7?G)pM^MjwuZ~zMm\&/7$"aO5(3bgtroA]_j6<N,#6/'fU)$/i'rZmS'
pre-up iwpriv wlan0 set EncrypType=AES


Notice those single quotes around the key!

Since it took me a while to get this right, I honestly can't remember the order of these. I'm pretty sure after I added the above, I issued a:

Code:
# ifconfig wlan0 up


You can also reboot. I also experimented with:
Code:
# /etc/init.d/networking restart


And
Code:
# ifup wlan0


Sorry I can't remember the order, but the main thing I wanted to capture in this post is an example setting.

:arrow: Example using WEP

Here's the config page of the router in WEP mode:
Image

Make note again of the channel, one of the keys (generated by the "passphrase" you entered), and the SSID you entered.

I wanted to capture an example /etc/network/interfaces for you using WEP:

Code:
# WEP
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wireless-essid music
wireless-key   22B9EB467D3253762A6AF7B76D
wireless-mode managed
wireless-channel 5


Same comments as above once you save the config file.

:arrow: Measure your Signal Strength

Use iwconfig to see your adapter's settings as well as signal strength:
Code:
$ iwconfig
lo        no wireless extensions.

eth0      no wireless extensions.

wlan0     RT61 Wireless  ESSID:"music"  Nickname:"mythtv"
          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.462 GHz  Access Point: 20:2D:2B:78:A1:20
          Bit Rate=54 Mb/s
          RTS thr:off   Fragment thr:off
          Link Quality=91/100  Signal level:-45 dBm  Noise level:-79 dBm
          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0
          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0   Missed beacon:0


It's the Link Quality variable.

If you'd prefer, you can use RutiT which is a graphical way to see this as well as configure your network card, although the settings won't carry over a reboot.

Code:
# apt-get install rutilt


Since it's a GUI, you'll have to drop out of mythfrontend/mythwelcome to run it (or launch it via ssh and an xsession).

Example:
Image

I hope this little guide helps someone :)

References
WiFi Docs
LINUX Wireless Commands
LINUX Configure WPA2 for RT61
Tutorial on WPA2
Post with some leads

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 2:59 pm 
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Nearly 800 views and 5 months later and no replies... did anyone find it useful :)

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 10:39 pm 
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Joined: Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:44 am
Posts: 287
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Funny thing, I just used this a few days ago. I finally decided to rebuild my laptop in the bedroom months after upgrading the backend to R5.5. I just did a search for wireless and WPA and came across this post.

It all worked like a charm. It had been so long since I had configured my R5F27 system that I was pretty much starting over (though I did remember to backup my interfaces config) and this just walked me through everything wonderfully.

I don't always remember to just post a "Thanks" when something like this just works.

So, "Thanks for getting this all into one concise post (which you gennerally are able to do)."

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 17, 2009 4:52 am 
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Glad it could be of help to you :) That's 95 % of the reason I spend the time to write up these "HOWTO" posts. I usually feel good if I see that a good number of people have viewed them, but sometimes I wonder if people get anything out of them also.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 05, 2009 9:55 pm 
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Joined: Wed Feb 04, 2009 8:37 pm
Posts: 13
Location: Hanston, KS.
Do I need to edit something else other than /etc/network/interfaces to make driver load on boot. It seemed to work like a charm with zd1211rw until I reboot to try and recieved all kinds of errors on boot then it said it didn't have eth0. Where do you load driver on boot?
Thanks for the post! :D


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PostPosted: Fri Feb 06, 2009 3:16 pm 
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Joined: Wed Dec 10, 2003 8:31 pm
Posts: 1996
Location: /dev/null
scooter29 wrote:
Do I need to edit something else other than /etc/network/interfaces to make driver load on boot. It seemed to work like a charm with zd1211rw until I reboot to try and recieved all kinds of errors on boot then it said it didn't have eth0. Where do you load driver on boot?
Thanks for the post! :D


graysky wrote:
Also, this guide doesn't teach you how to install drivers/kernel modules. The card I used just worked out-of-the-box (thanks cesman and team!). If you need help getting LINUX to see the hardware, I can't help you, but I'm sure google can.


Sorry man, I have no experience with these wireless cards beyond the one I configured above that just worked. You might want to start a new thread and include the make/model of the card you have as well as some log files like the relevant sections of /var/log/dmesg for someone who knows :)

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