[nflug] [Fwd: [social] Wireless Networking in Linux - Redux]

[anthonyriga]

 Networking on Linux should not suck like it does
right now for the desktop or laptop user. The  user
should never need to use the command-line to configure
their network; it should "Just Work" as automatically
as possible and intrude as little as possible into the
users workflow. The computer should use the wired
network connection when its plugged in, but
automatically switch to a wireless connection when the
user unplugs it and walks away from the desk.
Likewise, when the user plugs the computer back in,
the computer should switch back to the wired
connection. The user should, most times, not even
notice that their connection has has been managed for
them; they should simply see uninterrupted network
connectivity. The truth is about 1 in 10 cards seems
to work under Linux. I have been through all kinds of
cards. You really have no choice but to research what
works prior to purchase. You have to be very detailed
in you research due to some "funny business" by card
manufacturers. The classic for me is the DLink
DWL-650. I bought one of these cards because I read
that it worked under Linux .It didn't. I found that
there are 4 versions of this card - all with entirely
different chipsets. Only 1 chipset worked natively, 2
needed ndiswrapper (and standing on you head) and they
_might_ work. 1 version was totally useless. I think
it is criminal that manufacturers can change chipsets
without changing the model number. Even the mac pcs
have easier time getting the wireless to work.  

--- Greg Neumann <DadNeumann at verizon.net> wrote:

> I was hoping you'd chime in! :-D  Thanks for the
> advice, and sort of 
> confirmation that it's not to be undertaken lightly.
> I just wish I was 
> competent enough to help this guy!
> -Greg
> 
> Cyber Source wrote:
> 
> > I really have not had much (if any) trouble with
> wireless in Linux and 
> > I find it to be extremely stable when running. I
> have had zero 
> > problems with PCI cards and the only time I have
> had troubles was with 
> > USB wireless (impossible). If native drivers
> aren't available then the 
> > ndiswrapper is an easy, workable solution. No,
> installing one is not 
> > an exercise for a Linux newbie, but plenty of help
> is around (nflug). 
> > The wpa, wep stuff can be a drawback if it's not
> supported for your 
> > card as this will leave you to open up your router
> a little more but 
> > it's really not a concern for Linux boxes and
> there are other ways to 
> > tighten up your router (static ip's, limited
> number allowed, etc.) so 
> > windows boxes might be a little more secure (if
> that's possible ;) ).
> >
> > anthonyriga wrote:
> >
> >> Yea I know your pain. I have some sucess with
> Knoppix
> >> and wireless, But you are right its a nightmare
> >> getting wireless to work . Drivers are the big
> issue.
> >> --- Greg Neumann <DadNeumann at verizon.net> wrote:
> >>
> >>  
> >>
> >>> Just for comments:
> >>> This poor guy's been fighting this for awhile.
> My
> >>> instinct is that hardware is the core of his
> issue. Windows specific
> >>> hardware has always been a nightmare for Linux.
> Any comments or ideas??
> >>>
> >>> -------- Original Message --------
> >>> Subject:     [social] Wireless Networking in
> Linux -
> >>> Redux
> >>> Date:     Wed, 19 Oct 2005 11:57:44 -0500
> >>> From:     Rod Engelsman
> >>> Reply-To:     social at openoffice.org
> >>> To:     social at openoffice.org
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>
> >>> Gentlemen, Comrades, Friends, and Associates:
> >>>
> >>>   I have a statement to make that you will all
> >>> probably find provocative -- perhaps even
> offensive -- but I
> >>> believe it is true nonetheless.
> >>>
> >>> "At the current state of the art, the Linux
> >>> operating system is a security hazard when
> employed on computers
> >>> communicating via wireless networks."
> >>>
> >>> Which is to say, unless you are a) very lucky or
> >>> very careful in selecting hardware, b)
> reasonably proficient with
> >>> the command line and configuration scripts, and
> c) willing to do a 
> >>> BUNCH
> >>> of homework and experimentation, setting up a
> secure wireless
> >>> network is probably beyond your capabilities and
> may be entirely 
> >>> impossible.
> >>>
> >>> We all know that an unsecured network is...
> well,
> >>> insecure, duh. And WEP is easily broken with
> modern hardware and freely
> >>> available GNU/Linux hacker tools. The only
> decent wireless security is
> >>> some flavor of WPA, preferably WPA-RADIUS with
> 802.1x authentication.
> >>> This provides 256-bit encryption with rotating
> keys and centralized
> >>> challenge-response authentication. For home
> users WPA-PSK (which
> >>> utilizes pre-set keys for authentication, rather
> than a central 
> >>> server) is
> >>> reasonably secure.
> >>>
> >>> I have three computers in the house -- four if
> you
> >>> count this dual-boot box as two, which it is in
> a very real sense, 
> >>> since
> >>> what is a computer without an OS? A Dell laptop
> that came with a
> >>> wireless card, a Toshiba laptop that I stuck a
> Linksys card into, 
> >>> and this
> >>> box with a D-Link wireless pci card. The Dell
> runs XP and the Toshiba
> >>> runs FC4. The dual boot box runs both.
> >>>
> >>> Frankly, it was enough of a trick just to get
> the
> >>> wireless cards working at all under Linux.
> Fortunately, the D-Link 
> >>> card has
> >>> an Atheros chipset so it will work with
> mad-wifi. I "only" had to
> >>> install a custom kernel and screw around for
> half a day to get WEP 
> >>> to work.
> >>>
> >>> The Toshiba required a distro with ndiswrapper
> to
> >>> use the Windows drivers since there are no Linux
> drivers for that
> >>> card. First I tried Ark Linux. That would only
> get a little way through
> >>> the install before it would eject the cdrom and
> reboot for no apparent
> >>> reason -- it's now a shiny coaster. Then I tried
> Mepis. I got it to
> >>> actually install the drivers and it worked
> unsecured, but for some odd
> >>> reason every time I would log into KDE it would
> launch three -- not 1,
> >>> not 2, but 3 -- instances of KWiFiManager that
> would sit there and
> >>> blink and tell me it couldn't connect, even
> though I could close 
> >>> them out
> >>> and use Firefox just fine. Weird.
> >>>
> >>> So I got tired of trying to figure out where
> Mepis
> >>> keeps the config files -- what little I know of
> Linux is
> >>> Redhat/Fedora -- and then the stupid thing
> totally locked up on me, 
> >>> for about the
> >>> 5th time -- requiring a power-off reboot. Got
> out my FC4 discs
> >>> and installed something I halfway understand.
> Then I had to
> >>> sneakernet a few packages over to it and got the
> wireless working --
> >>> unsecured. Let it do about 198 updates -- no
> exaggeration -- and 
> >>> then installed
> >>> ndiswrapper and wpa_supplicant from ATRPMs. I
> have spent probably a
> >>> week and a half now Googling, asking around on
> newsgroups, and studying
> >>> the sample config files, etc. trying to get this
> all to work together.
> >>>
> >>> And that's where I stand. I'm not an expert at
> >>> Linux, but I'm also not stupid, and I actually
> DO know a thing or 
> >>> two about
> >>> networking. This is just too hard, too
> convoluted, too poorly
> >>> documented, and consists of entirely too many
> moving parts. I have 
> >>> to face the
> >>> reality that this particular combination of
> hardware, software, and
> >>> protocols simply may not be capable of
> functioning.
> >>>
> >>> Wireless networking is not particularly new.
> It's
> >>> not an odd corner of computing that one should
> maybe expect to have
> >>> trouble with. How many people out there have
> laptops that they would 
> >>> like
> >>> to connect wirelessly to the Internet? More and
> more every day. The 
> >>> Linux
> >>> community HAS to get a better handle on this.
> >>>
> >>> It baffles me why some of the major
> distributions
> >>> don't tackle this head on.
> 
=== message truncated ===



		
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