[opensuse] network-manager in 11.2
Hello, With 11.2, I could not activate wlan on my laptop. After lots of googling, I found that following commands do the trick: zypper remove networkmanager-kde4 zypper install networkmanager-gnome gtk-update-icon-cache -f /usr/share/icons/hicolor nm-appet & Now the problem is that there seem to be no way to put nm-applet into the panel so that it starts automatically. Any hints how to start nm-applet automatically? -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 1:16 PM, Josef Wolf <jw@raven.inka.de> wrote:
Hello,
With 11.2, I could not activate wlan on my laptop. After lots of googling, I found that following commands do the trick:
zypper remove networkmanager-kde4 zypper install networkmanager-gnome gtk-update-icon-cache -f /usr/share/icons/hicolor nm-appet &
Now the problem is that there seem to be no way to put nm-applet into the panel so that it starts automatically.
Any hints how to start nm-applet automatically? -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
There is an option under the KDE system settings > Advanced for Autostart. You can add any application to the list to start automatically. Nkoli -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 11/01/10 18:20, Nkoli wrote:
On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 1:16 PM, Josef Wolf <jw@raven.inka.de> wrote:
Hello,
With 11.2, I could not activate wlan on my laptop. After lots of googling, I found that following commands do the trick:
zypper remove networkmanager-kde4 zypper install networkmanager-gnome gtk-update-icon-cache -f /usr/share/icons/hicolor nm-appet &
Now the problem is that there seem to be no way to put nm-applet into the panel so that it starts automatically.
Any hints how to start nm-applet automatically? There is an option under the KDE system settings > Advanced for Autostart. You can add any application to the list to start automatically.
Though I am sure the NetworkManager-kde4 author (who is on this list) would like to hear more about your problem before you give up on his program ... could you give some more information about what went wrong? Regards, Tejas -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Mon, Jan 11, 2010 at 06:39:24PM +0000, Tejas Guruswamy wrote:
On 11/01/10 18:20, Nkoli wrote:
On Sat, Jan 9, 2010 at 1:16 PM, Josef Wolf <jw@raven.inka.de> wrote:
With 11.2, I could not activate wlan on my laptop. After lots of googling, I found that following commands do the trick:
zypper remove networkmanager-kde4 zypper install networkmanager-gnome gtk-update-icon-cache -f /usr/share/icons/hicolor nm-appet &
BTW: that's a typo. This should be spelled "nm-applet"
Now the problem is that there seem to be no way to put nm-applet into the panel so that it starts automatically.
Any hints how to start nm-applet automatically? There is an option under the KDE system settings > Advanced for Autostart. You can add any application to the list to start automatically.
Thanks Nkoli, I'll try that.
Though I am sure the NetworkManager-kde4 author (who is on this list) would like to hear more about your problem before you give up on his program ... could you give some more information about what went wrong?
Since I found the above commands within a couple of minutes via google, I assumed the problem is well known. The symptom was that NM detects and shows me the visible networks, but when I click on one of them, nothing happens at all. No reaction and no error message shows up, although everything is configured properly. The above commands (basically remove NM-kde4 and use NM-gnome instead of it) solved the problem without any further fuss... I found the above recommendation (to install NM-gnome instead of NM-kde4) in some blog with detailed descriptions what was going wrong on DBUS. This blog dated back to... umm... October... I think. So I assumed it is a known problem. I can't remember the details, just extracted the above commands, and added the invocation of gtk-update-icon-cache to keep nm-applet from crashing when it can't find some icons. Strange enough, I can't find this blog again right now. I'll check the browser cache on my other computers later. -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 01/09/2010 12:16 PM, Josef Wolf wrote:
Hello,
With 11.2, I could not activate wlan on my laptop. After lots of googling, I found that following commands do the trick:
zypper remove networkmanager-kde4 zypper install networkmanager-gnome gtk-update-icon-cache -f /usr/share/icons/hicolor nm-appet &
Now the problem is that there seem to be no way to put nm-applet into the panel so that it starts automatically.
Any hints how to start nm-applet automatically?
Josef, Unless you have a compelling reason not to, I would suggest using yast to configure your wireless card to use "Traditional ifup" method of activation and set the card to start "At Boot". I have used network manager for a couple of years and about nine months ago, I just went back to traditional ifup and I am sorry I didn't do it sooner. If you have many (known) wireless APs to connect to, that can be handled in your config files. If you have many (unknown) wireless APs to connect to each day -- then staying with nm may be your best bet. Traditional ifup solves many of the nm problems, but the biggest problem it solved for me was the problem of not having an IP until logon. It was always a pain having a box running, but not being able to access it via ssh, etc.. until someone physically started a desktop. Configuring the wireless connection from the cli is actually much simpler than relying on the nm magic. Just a simple 'iwlist wlan0 scan' or 'wlanconfig wlan0 scan' (or the equivalent for your card) and you have the list of available APs with much more information than you get from looking at the nm screen. Then just follow up with iwconfig to associate to the AP of your choice and use dhclient or dhcpcd to get an IP address and your done. If you only have a couple of APs you normally use, I don't see any benefit from running nm instead of the traditional ifup. -- David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E. Rankin Law Firm, PLLC 510 Ochiltree Street Nacogdoches, Texas 75961 Telephone: (936) 715-9333 Facsimile: (936) 715-9339 www.rankinlawfirm.com -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 02:18:55AM -0600, David C. Rankin wrote:
On 01/09/2010 12:16 PM, Josef Wolf wrote:
With 11.2, I could not activate wlan on my laptop. After lots of googling, I found that following commands do the trick:
zypper remove networkmanager-kde4 zypper install networkmanager-gnome gtk-update-icon-cache -f /usr/share/icons/hicolor nm-appet &
Now the problem is that there seem to be no way to put nm-applet into the panel so that it starts automatically.
Any hints how to start nm-applet automatically?
Unless you have a compelling reason not to, I would suggest using yast to configure your wireless card to use "Traditional ifup" method of activation and set the card to start "At Boot".
Thanks for your suggestion, David! Actually, this would have been one of my next questions.
I have used network manager for a couple of years and about nine months ago, I just went back to traditional ifup and I am sorry I didn't do it sooner. If you have many (known) wireless APs to connect to, that can be handled in your config files.
Ah, I was not aware of that. I thought NM is the only way to handle multiple AP's. Besides, I also got the impression that NM is the "future" and that the traditional way would be deprecated. Can you give me an example how to properly configure multiple (known) AP's so that they can be changed on-the-fly?
If you have many (unknown) wireless APs to connect to each day -- then staying with nm may be your best bet.
I don't have a use-case for that (yet). But even if there would be one, that could also be handled by traditional config files, I guess.
Traditional ifup solves many of the nm problems, but the biggest problem it solved for me was the problem of not having an IP until logon. It was always a pain having a box running, but not being able to access it via ssh, etc.. until someone physically started a desktop.
Yes, that's an issue for me too.
Configuring the wireless connection from the cli is actually much simpler than relying on the nm magic.
Since I configure my systems automatically by a system similar to cfengine, not only the NM magic, but all the "modern" ways of configuring the system via GUI are a problem for me :-((
Just a simple 'iwlist wlan0 scan' or 'wlanconfig wlan0 scan' (or the equivalent for your card) and you have the list of available APs with much more information than you get from looking at the nm screen. Then just follow up with iwconfig to associate to the AP of your choice and use dhclient or dhcpcd to get an IP address and your done.
Yeah, but where do I go from here? Google finds me lots of contradictory information about wlan configuration. I guess I have to use wpa-supplicant for WPA2-AES? -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
On 01/17/2010 06:48 AM, Josef Wolf wrote:
Can you give me an example how to properly configure multiple (known) AP's so that they can be changed on-the-fly?
Be glad to Joseph, Both my Toshiba laptops use Atheros cards so that means they use the madwifi driver and wpa_supplicant for TKIP encryption. Virtually every wireless chipset/driver combinations have the same capabilities. You just have to confirm the name and location of your config files. You may even be using wpa_supplicant for handling wireless security for your chipset. Using traditional ifup or network manager, configuration for which AP to connect to and the credentials is handled exactly the same and in the same file. In my case it is: /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf (some distros use: /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf) To configure to connect to your APs on the fly you simply add a separate 'network block' to your wpa_supplicant.conf and assign a priority to the 'network block' to determine which one it tried first, etc.. For my wireless use, I have basically 3 networks I normally connect to (1) home, (2) work, and (3) lake. So the 3 netblocks in my wpa_supplicant look like this: # skyline network={ ssid="skyline" priority=6 key_mgmt=WPA-PSK proto=RSN # psk="mypwd" psk=660d3d<big-snip>3b698b13b569bf2c } # work network={ ssid="rbpllc" # psk="mypwd" psk=27218b86b5e<big-snip>3b692affb3a5 } # lakehouse network={ ssid="lakehouse" # priority=2 # key_mgmt=WPA-PSK # proto=RSN # psk="mypwd" psk=8d77d14af1f0ed<big-snip>3b6945178d25 } So above, when connecting it tries home first, if home isn't available, it tries the other 2 in the order shown. (note the other priorities are commented out from prior changes I made to the file). If I ever need to connect to another network, then I just open a console and in 12 seconds using the commands in the original repy, I have a new connection. (Ok,ok, if I have to crack WEP add another 6 seconds ;-)
Yeah, but where do I go from here? Google finds me lots of contradictory information about wlan configuration. I guess I have to use wpa-supplicant for WPA2-AES?
wpa_supplicant is your friend! It is simple and bulletproof. You already have all the info you need. The best 2 wpa documents are: /usr/share/doc/packages/wpa_supplicant/README /usr/share/doc/packages/wpa_supplicant/examples/wpa-psk-tkip.conf I didn't believe it either, but the package documentation actually provided "useful" information. I have a wireless cheat sheet I've posted before that may help. Let's see... I love basket notepads! If you don't use it, open yast and install 'basket'. You will wonder how you every lived without it! Anyway: Basics - Creating and Confirming the wireless device # Check that ath0 station is created: iwconfig lo no wireless extensions. wifi0 no wireless extensions. ath0 IEEE 802.11g ESSID:"rbpllc" Nickname:"" Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: 00:1C:10:4B:2E:CD Bit Rate:48 Mb/s Tx-Power:16 dBm Sensitivity=1/1 Retry:off RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off Encryption key:6B2E-5834-1B7A-1BA3-FDAA-484B-6E84-3B55 Security mode:restricted Power Management:off Link Quality=44/70 Signal level=-48 dBm Noise level=-92 dBm Rx invalid nwid:12662 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0 Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0 eth0 no wireless extensions. # if NO ath0, then Create the station wlanconfig ath0 create wlandev wifi0 wlanmode sta ** Note wifi0 is just a placeholder for the actual device ath0 # Check that the station is created iwconfig: iwconfig # Bring up the interface: ifconfig ath0 up # Insert the scanning module: modprobe wlan_scan_sta # Scan for wireless networks: wlanconfig ath0 list scan For additional information: iwlist ath0 scan # set the operating mode (Managed or Ad-Hoc) iwconfig ath0 mode Managed # set the frequency or channel iwconfig ath0 channel 3 # if key required iwconfig ath0 key <yourkey> # check your current keys wlanconfig ath0 list keys # Connect to the AP iwconfig ath0 essid "eddie" iwconfig ath0 key s:password # for ASCII key entry iwconfig ath0 key restricted [3] 0123456789 # sets mode and uses key index 3 # Get IP address dhclient ath0 or dhcpcd ath0 # For fixed IP ifconfig ath0 <IP address> netmask <netmask> up # To set up WPA config wpa_passphrase "your_ESSID" "PassPhrase_up-to-64-Characters" \ >> /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf Edit /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf and add the lines into the network section created above: key_mgmt=WPA-PSK # proto=WPA proto=RSN Uncomment the proto=WPA line (and comment out the RSN line) to enable WPA. Leave as is for WPA2 (stronger encryption). Starting wpa_supplicant wpa_supplicant -Bw -i ath0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf -f /var/log/wpa_supplicant.log Getting the address dhclient ath0 # as root -- David C. Rankin, J.D.,P.E. Rankin Law Firm, PLLC 510 Ochiltree Street Nacogdoches, Texas 75961 Telephone: (936) 715-9333 Facsimile: (936) 715-9339 www.rankinlawfirm.com -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org
participants (4)
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David C. Rankin -
Josef Wolf -
Nkoli -
Tejas Guruswamy