[netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

skp · 2012-10-10 11:36:17

Hi,

I read the sources of netcfg, and there’s something I didn’t get. Why wpa_supplicant is always used even to join wep network? Isn’t it confusing?

EDIT: here’s a line to prove my saying
https://projects.archlinux.org/netcfg.g … reless#n19

Last edited by skp (2012-10-10 11:39:30)

fsckd · 2012-10-10 13:35:30

Moving from Community Contributions to Networking, Server, and Protection.

brain0 · 2012-10-10 13:42:12

What exactly is confusing you?

skp · 2012-10-10 14:04:37

Well, isn’t wpa_supplicant used for WPA encrypted network? If we join a free network, as its name says, we don’t need WPA encryption at all. So that confuses me a lot.

Strike0 · 2012-10-10 14:35:04

Yes, you are right of course. No security/WEP connections are done via iwconfig (better iw). I guess the relevant section you look for must be related to this.
I can't tie both together right now, hope it helps still.

skp · 2012-10-10 15:01:47

Ok so does it imply that I cant’t connect free networks with iwconfig (and then with netcfg)?

brain0 · 2012-10-10 16:18:09

skp wrote:

Well, isn’t wpa_supplicant used for WPA encrypted network?

No. wpa_supplicant is a management daemon that that handles association with wireless networks.

Although the kernel has its own code to associate to an access point, and that code can handle Open and WEP networks, it is not recommended to rely on that. For example, newer drivers do not have any code to reconnect to a network when they lost their connection - it is not the driver's or kernel's job to do that. The recommended way to use wireless networks is to let wpa_supplicant handle everything for you. Networkmanager does it, and hopefully wicd does it, too.

That said, there is no valid reason to use WEP at all.

Strike0 · 2012-10-10 16:31:21

My link above was wrong, I think I am closer here: https://projects.archlinux.org/netcfg.g … ?id=2.8.11
On #237 the no security/wep-keys are prepared from the profiles for the build $wpa_conf which skp quoted.

That is then processed by wpa_cli (#4), which can handle none/wep as well (man wpa_cli) and calls wpa_supplicant for wpa. Please correct me, if I am wrong.
@brain0: You meant "..recommended to let wpa_cli handle it", yes?

tomk · 2012-10-10 16:44:02

No, wpa_cli is just a front-end - wpa_supplicant does all the actual work.

skp · 2012-10-10 17:10:30

Actually I have an issue when I try to join an open free network. It says that the WPA Auth Association fails, but it’s a clear network, no encryption at all.

Strike0 · 2012-10-10 17:25:42

@brain0, tomk: Thanks for clarification!
For others interested: I ended up reading in the wpa_supplicant.conf which is actually great documentation and includes non/wep references, etc.

skp wrote:

Actually I have an issue when I try to join an open free network. It says that the WPA Auth Association fails, but it’s a clear network, no encryption at all.

Does it work when you associate manually?

edit: Could be something like

ip link set wlan0 down 
ip link set wlan0 up   
iw dev wlan0 scan
iw wlan0 connect YOURESSID

If that does work, post your netcfg-profile for it. If manually does not either, the actual error you get & your device/driver.

Last edited by Strike0 (2012-10-10 17:40:07)

skp · 2012-10-10 17:44:55

Ok, I’ll be able to test it tomorrow. I have no entry for iw, is it an alias to iwconfig?

Strike0 · 2012-10-10 17:56:43

No, it's the successor for iwconfig (pacman -S iw). You will be able to use both still.

brain0 · 2012-10-10 18:02:18

skp wrote:

Actually I have an issue when I try to join an open free network. It says that the WPA Auth Association fails, but it’s a clear network, no encryption at all.

The error message is misleading, netcfg always prints that.

skp · 2012-10-10 18:51:02

Ok so there’s still one error.

Arch Linux

#1 2012-10-10 11:36:17

[netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#2 2012-10-10 13:35:30

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#3 2012-10-10 13:42:12

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#4 2012-10-10 14:04:37

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#5 2012-10-10 14:35:04

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#6 2012-10-10 15:01:47

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#7 2012-10-10 16:18:09

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#8 2012-10-10 16:31:21

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#9 2012-10-10 16:44:02

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#10 2012-10-10 17:10:30

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#11 2012-10-10 17:25:42

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#12 2012-10-10 17:44:55

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#13 2012-10-10 17:56:43

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#14 2012-10-10 18:02:18

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

#15 2012-10-10 18:51:02

Re: [netcfg] wpa_supplicant always used ?

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