wireless interface[SOLVED]

idella4 · Posted: Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:03 pm Post subject: wireless interface[SOLVED]

Where, if at all, does a script occur during the bootup inits to create a wireless interface for the network for gentoo?

For most other distros, it occurs by the calling of a script called network or networking within /etc/init.d.
For gentoo, the only solid script is net.eth0, which accounts for a regular wired network card.
I have a wireless card and have the appropriate driver installed into the kernel to utilise it, namely ath_pci of the madwifi package.
Using the standard wireless network manager of kde, all 4 config interface options report there's no wireless interface to work on. There exists an eth0 and a sit0. It's certainly not created by net.eth0. A wireless interface might be wlan0.
So, how does one create one?? Using ifconfig or iwconfig?
How?
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alex.blackbit · Advocate Joined: 26 Jul 2005 Posts: 2397

that is covered in the documentation. did you read it?
for a starting point... you will need to make a symlink to net.lo.

idella4 · Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2008 2:28 am Post subject:

At the risk of sounding glib, just which documentation.
I looked through the list at gentoo home. There are all sorts of topics, but wireless isn't listed as such.

Feel free to point me towards it and I'll read, but gentoo's indexing isn't as complete as it could be.
(Good documentation ought ensure good access)

I understand a sym link, but to where I can't guess.
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alex.blackbit · Advocate Joined: 26 Jul 2005 Posts: 2397

on google, try "gentoo wireless".

idella4 · Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 6:13 am Post subject:

ok, shall do. That sounds logical.
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idella4 · Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 9:44 am Post subject:

Right I've read through the document, but I still end up wondering how to create an interface for a wireless configuration.
The document describes wireless-tools and wpa_supplicant, and that's about all. It's in depth but completely misses the mark in informing how to actually configure a system.
Kde has a standard wireless management tool. It's a waste because it relies upon a wireless interface being created to work upon.
I'm not closing this off as solved because it isn't.
The question remains, how do you create a wireless interface? No more referring to the 'documentation'. It just misses the target. My hunch is to use either ifconfig or iwconfig, in which case all there is to help are the man pages!
Does anyone disagree???
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alex.blackbit · Advocate Joined: 26 Jul 2005 Posts: 2397

as with all network interfaces in gentoo you "create" it by making a symlink to net.lo.
depending on your card, that could be net.eth1, net.wlan0, net.ath0, etc.
you should find out by doing "ifconfig -a".
but i agree, that is not clearly described in the official documentation, at least i do not find it either.
this should be improved. contact one of the authors, please.
the unofficial gentoo wiki describes that better.

idella4 · Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 6:41 am Post subject:

This looks as if it just goes unanswered.
A wireless interface should arguably be called wlan0. I created a link called net.wlan0 as a sym link to /etc/init.d/net.lo.
On starting it, it once again says 'no such interface'. It doesn't create it in the first place.
The question is still unanswered. How do you CREATE the damned interface?
It seems nobody here knows! The documentation makes a point of not saying.
The wireless network card and the driver will have to sit there with nothing to do.
I thought you could get these things done in Gentoo!
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alex.blackbit · Advocate Joined: 26 Jul 2005 Posts: 2397

idella4, i answered your post, did you read it? it does not seem so.
if you have the right driver in your kernel, then you will get a interface, that is visible when you run "ifconfig -a".
you have to make a symlink to net.lo with net.<name-of-interface>. not with the name you would like it to have.
i hope that makes it clear. and since you say you have to use the madwifi driver, the name of the interface will be ath0.

alex.blackbit · Advocate Joined: 26 Jul 2005 Posts: 2397

idella4 · Posted: Sat Aug 09, 2008 3:30 pm Post subject:

ok Alex. I accept what you say. I've cooled down a bit now too. I read it but still don't, or didn't quite follow.
I will add this. Using ifconfig -a, the response is as follows

alex.blackbit · Advocate Joined: 26 Jul 2005 Posts: 2397

sit0 is something completely different.
you do not have the inferface you need.
are you sure you have the right driver?
examine the output of dmesg.
describe how you think the driver gets in tough with your kernel.

idella4 · Posted: Sun Aug 10, 2008 2:55 am Post subject:

Thanks for persevering with this, but I don't know what to add at this point. As you can see gentoo doesn't make the required interface which is why I wanted to manually create it. As far as the driver is concerned, I discovered it in ubuntu which seems to be able to use the wireless network card, albeit intermittently. I also used the driver in fedora, and it tended to create an interface wlan0.
I don't know how the driver gets in touch with the kernel. It seems that it isn't selected and loaded during the bootup processes, it has to be manually loaded after bootup. I've looked through dmesg and I can't see anything helpful, though it's very long.
At this point, I just don't expect to use the wireless card in gentoo despite having a proven driver.

Right. forget it. The rotten wireless card had come loose in the slot. Now it works
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