TIP: Complete network stack without net.* scripts

UberLord · Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:53 am Post subject:

I would just like to say thanks to VincZ for documenting and promoting what I originally set out to do with the OpenRC network (not the net.*) script and dhcpcd.
Basically, configure conf.d/network to brink up the link (bridging, bonding, authentication, etc) and let dhcpcd handle everything else.

Of note re wpa_supplicant, dhcpcd-6 will start (and stop) wpa_supplicant if /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf exists by itself.
This is handy because I can now plug and unplug a USB wifi card and It Just Works

No need for udev, ifplugd, NM or anything else.
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Use dhcpcd for all your automated network configuration needs
Use dhcpcd-ui (GTK+/Qt) as your System Tray Network tool

smartass · Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 11:32 am Post subject:

UberLord · Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 11:49 am Post subject:

VinzC · Posted: Mon Aug 19, 2013 6:26 pm Post subject:

xaviermiller · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 10:13 am Post subject:

Hello,

I tried the tip, and I would like to migrate preup() and postup() hooks I have in /etc/conf.d/net, especially the SSID variable. But moving preup() and postup() from net to network don't help.

Any idea?

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Kind regards,
Xavier Miller

smartass · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 11:54 am Post subject:

XavierMiller, you could use the hooks framework that dhcpcd offers. See the manual page of

xaviermiller · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 12:19 pm Post subject:

Thank you, I will take a look tonight

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Kind regards,
Xavier Miller

Dr.Willy · Guru Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 547 Location: NRW, Germany

wireless specific actions can also be triggered via "wpa_cli -a <script>"

xaviermiller · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 6:02 pm Post subject:

Hello,

I have an other issue : wpa_supplicant is not run on hotplugged wlan interfaces (usb sticks). If I restart the service, the USB stick is activated.
_________________
Kind regards,
Xavier Miller

VinzC · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 6:26 pm Post subject:

xaviermiller · Posted: Tue Sep 17, 2013 6:30 pm Post subject:

Yup, I'm running ~arch

xaviermiller · Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 10:18 am Post subject:

I will take a look at this wpa_supplicant hook : http://fossies.org/linux/misc/dhcpcd-6.0.5.tar.gz:a/dhcpcd-6.0.5/dhcpcd-hooks/10-wpa_supplicant

EDIT: found! The hook looks /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf which is not correct in Gentoo. If I create a symlink, wpa_supplicant is managed by dhcpcd
I will file a bug

_________________
Kind regards,
Xavier Miller

VinzC · Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 11:26 am Post subject:

xaviermiller · Posted: Thu Sep 19, 2013 11:38 am Post subject:

it also works

For the moment, I write my hook to set-up some hostpot scripts and other stuff, and it seems to work.

EDIT: it works !
_________________
Kind regards,
Xavier Miller

Naib · Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 12:35 pm Post subject:

one question. Why?
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xaviermiller · Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 12:44 pm Post subject:

Because I don't want to need nice GUIs, which are unnecessary to configure 2-3 networks. And so, I avoid unnecessary bullshit that change every 2 years (HAL, Systemd, *kit).

And I need to configure 2 things depending on the discovered network
- set DISTCC features at home, when the distcc server is up and running
- execute a logon script on hotspot used at work

Because KISS.
_________________
Kind regards,
Xavier Miller

VinzC · Posted: Fri Sep 20, 2013 1:59 pm Post subject:

Incomplet · n00b Joined: 12 Apr 2012 Posts: 43

dhcpcd is perhaps the most awesome piece of software that I've ever come across. It's awesome even if you don't configure it, and more awesome when you do. It's also the most reliable network manager that I have ever used, free or otherwise. The network manager on OSX would randomly stop working and if the network went screwy there was no chance of bringing it back without a restart (or two). On windows the manager does screwy things sometimes, and you never know what kind of garbage MS has in the pipe at any time. dhcpcd, on the other hand, has always "just worked" for me, no matter what (although the rest of my system is another story..). The wind will knock out all my powerlines and bring my machine down before dhcpcd will give me problems, and I can hardly blame it for not working then.

The mere fact that it's still being improved astounds me. If only gnome had that sort of accountability..

UberLord · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 7:47 pm Post subject:

_________________
Use dhcpcd for all your automated network configuration needs
Use dhcpcd-ui (GTK+/Qt) as your System Tray Network tool

Incomplet · n00b Joined: 12 Apr 2012 Posts: 43

aand, now testing with no net.* scripts, and it looks to be working as advertised. At first I thought it hadn't worked, since with background and quiet I couldn't even see the entry in openrc. But no, fully automagical.

How on earth did you do that, anyway? Test driven development? Magic? (the only options I can come up with)

UberLord · Posted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 11:41 pm Post subject:

Magic is not depending on the FOTM middleware. dhcpcd communicates only via libc and listens only via the kernel (ok, dhcpcd does have a udev plugin so that udev can do its pointless device naming). These channels of communication are defined by agreed standards, such as POSIX and in the case of Linux, netlink. But this is not magic, this is common sense.

From my Debian amd64 box

VinzC · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 5:53 pm Post subject:

Since my favourite Troll has been invited (hehe ;-)

) I'd just add onto the MS weirdness that I've always been amazed at why on Earth Microsoft decided to make interface precedence but *manual* (interfaces are sorted... alphabetically). We have the issue systematically at work when we receive pre-installed machines or when reinstalling them: wireless interfaces always take precedence over the wired interfaces and you have to manually reorder them, i.e. move the wired interface to the top of the list.

On Linux it is automatic. Besides, traffic automatically switches to the fastest interface when you plug the cable, no need to restart existing connections.

Magic sometimes relates to common sense.
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Gentoo addict: tomorrow I quit, I promise!... Just one more emerge...
1739!

Incomplet · n00b Joined: 12 Apr 2012 Posts: 43

@RM: Yeah, I've noticed that upstream sucks. It's really sad if the rest of gnu/linux could be that good if only certain people weren't trying to play monopolyOS. It's also amazing in a way, given all the limitations of C.

@Vinz: *sigh* dhcpcd also automatically stops the wireless card/driver in that situation too, doesn't it? What is it people have against sensibility, anyway?

UberLord · Posted: Sun Mar 23, 2014 9:41 pm Post subject: