iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

HisDudeness · 2014-12-10 08:54:17

Hi! I have some problem trying to make my University's WiFi network work on my laptop. I already made it function previously on my ASUS U36SG with Arch Linux, so it's not some kind of hardware problem. These are the instructions my Campus gives me to set my connection up, skipping the certificates importing part:

Create a /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf fle with this content:

ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
network={
ssid="unimib"
proto=WPA2
scan_ssid=1
key_mgmt=WPA-EAP
pairwise=CCMP
group=CCMP
eap=TLS
identity="n.surname@campus.unimib.it"
ca_cert="path to ca.pem file"
client_cert="path to personal pem file"
private_key="path to prvate keypem file"
private_key_passwd="password"
}

And address the following commands:

  ifconfig wlan0 up
  iwconfig wlan0 essid 'unimib'
  dhclient wlan0 &
  wpa_supplicant -D wext -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -i wlan0

A minor question I have is: I read ifconfig is deprecated. How can I address the first instruction with the tools in use now?

Anyway, I installed deprecated net-tools package and proceeded to give the exact commands I'm told, with amministrative privileges. Anyway, on step two, I get this error message:

Error for wireless request "Set ESSID" (8B1A) :
SET failed on device wlp3s0 ; Operation already in progress.

How can I get past this? This happens even if it is the first thing I do on boot. I don't know which process is causing the conflicts, and I googled to no avail. Can someone help me?
Please ask me for any further information you need.

Thanks, and have a nice day!

Last edited by HisDudeness (2014-12-11 19:19:21)

Head_on_a_Stick · 2014-12-10 09:17:56

HisDudeness wrote:

A minor question I have is: I read ifconfig is deprecated. How can I address the first instruction with the tools in use now?

# ip link set wlp3s0 up

Note: your interface is not called "wlan0"
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wi … activation

When connecting manually to a normal (domestic) router, I find that just bringing the interface up, running wpa_supplicant (with a correctly configured wpa_supplicant.conf) and activating dhcp(cd) is sufficient to allow a connection to a WPA2-secured wi-fi network.

I have no idea about your error message though, sorry.

HisDudeness · 2014-12-10 21:24:41

Yeah, what an idiot... I edited the template wpa_supplicant.conf but not the terminal instructions... I addressed them with the correct interface name, wlp3s0, of course, I'm just too dumb to remember to edit after paste...

Thanks for the ip link answer, I tried some combinations but missed the obvious 'set' part.

I didn't see the ssid is already specified in the conf file, tomorrow I'll try to skip that part and let you know. Maybe it's redundant. If in the meantime somebody knows what is causing the error message please answer me, but I have something to try at least. Thanks for your contribution man!

Last edited by HisDudeness (2014-12-10 21:25:29)

Trilby · 2014-12-10 22:23:12

Your commands are all out of order and largely redundant - the mystery isn't why you got an error message, but rather why you thought to run that collection of garbled commands in the first place. Don't guess. Follow the wiki:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Wi … nual_setup

HisDudeness · 2014-12-11 08:40:31

I thought it might be a dumpster more than a collection of instructions, given it came from my campus... not to sound disrespectful, but they can't manage sh*t, especially in the informatic front. Anyway, I did not guess, neither I chose to run those commands, I just followed their precise instructions. So, I tried again and got some other mess.

[dude@susan ~]$ sudo ip link set wlp3s0 up
[sudo] password for dude: 
[dude@susan ~]$ sudo dhclient wlp3s0 &
[1] 788
[dude@susan ~]$ sudo wpa_supplicant -D wext -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -i wlp3s0
Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: Invalid argument
ioctl[SIOCSIWENCODEEXT]: Invalid argument
ctrl_iface exists and seems to be in use - cannot override it
Delete '/var/run/wpa_supplicant/wlp3s0' manually if it is not used anymore
Failed to initialize control interface '/var/run/wpa_supplicant'.
You may have another wpa_supplicant process already running or the file was
left by an unclean termination of wpa_supplicant in which case you will need
to manually remove this file before starting wpa_supplicant again.

[1]+  Done                    sudo dhclient wlp3s0

I removed /var/run/wpa_supplicant/wlp3s0 and tried again, imparting the last instruction only ... this time it worked. Don't tell me, the third instruction is redundant too, right? I have an exam in few days, when I'll have time I'll read the wiki thoroughly to actually know what I'm doing, but right now I'm just happy to have access to the intermittently-working network of my university. Thanks for the help, my problem is solved. Today I learned to never trust the guides given by your campus, here in Italy the task of doing anything is always given to incompetents in that field.

Last edited by HisDudeness (2014-12-11 08:44:45)

HisDudeness · 2014-12-11 08:59:32

Last thing, I swear: given I promise to read the wiki page you linked, can you just tell me if, with that /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf file, which should be correctly compiled considering I'm connected right now, it is right giving this two commands to connect to the network every time I turn my computer on?

sudo ip link set wlp3s0 up
sudo wpa_supplicant -D wext -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -i wlp3s0

By doing just this, am I doing it right or is there something still to correct?

Trilby · 2014-12-11 12:44:59

I'm not sure why you marked the thread as solved if you don't have it working yet. And about that sequence of commands - sorry if I seemed accusatory, that is indeed exactly what they recommend, but that is a horrible recommendation.

The two commands in your last post are good. Generally one does not need to specify "-D wext", this tends to create problems more often than solve them:

ip link set wlp3s0 up
wpa_supplicant -B -i wlp3s0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf
dhcpcd wlp3s0

Unless some other network management tool is also running, you'd need to run dhcpcd *after* connecting to the network with wpa_supplicant. If some other network tool is running, you should disable it. Having multiple processes trying to control networking is the number 1 cause of connectivity problems.

Technically with a fairly recent revision in dhcpcd, just the first and third of the above commands may work, as dhcpcd will run wpa_supplicant itself if needed. I've never much liked this, and so I've never personally used it that way.

HisDudeness · 2014-12-11 15:04:54

Sorry, I believed it was solved, but it actually isn't. That is, I believed the error I got was due to dhcpcd, but I was wrong. I think I ran a little too much. I would have usually checked, but maybe if I have an exam in a few days I tend to be in a rush with everything and not think straight.

Don't worry, I didn't take it as an accuse! You don't have to apologize for helping me out! Yes, now that I've watched in a few seconds the meaning of the various flags given to wpa_supplicant, I'm astonished they tell us to use a deprecated driver and they don't make the process run in background. Again, they will never stop surprising me. Someone who actually knows the most basic things in absolute of Linux should re-write those tutorials from scratch, for Chrissake!

Anyway, when you say "other network management tool", which do you mean, exactly? I mean, which are the most probable ones? Maybe that is the reason I have to delete /var/run/wpa_supplicant/wlp3s0 every time.

Trilby · 2014-12-11 16:14:16

There are many, I don't know them well as I never use them, but some would include NetworkManager, Wicd, NetCfg (I think).

If one is running it would most likely show up in the output of `systemctl list-units`. That command should produce a lot of output, but you can scan through for anything that looks like a networking tool.

HisDudeness · 2014-12-15 16:46:20

Sorry for the delay. I've uploaded the output of my systemctl list-units, here it is. I post it here just in case I don't find the culprit, not because I want someone to scan it on a general principle.

Reading through it, the only one that sounds to me like a network tool interfering is the following line (41):

netctl-auto@wlp3s0.service                                                               loaded active running   Automatic wireless network connection using netctl profiles

Could it be? If it is, should I disable the service?

Head_on_a_Stick · 2014-12-15 17:24:40

^ Yes.

I may be wrong, but there's only one way to find out...

Trilby · 2014-12-15 18:24:44

If you want to follow the steps at the start of this thread, then yes, you should. But if you are relying on netctl to manage connection(s) to other network(s) then you will not likely be happy with the result.

If you do use netctl on other networks, then you should be able to easily convert the manual steps used at the start of this thread into a netctl profile, or whatever they call it.

The big picture answer is that you should use one, and only one, method of managing network connections. If you use Network Manager, you NM for everything. If you use netctl (which it seems you at least have in the past) then use netctl for everything. If you use manual steps like those discussed at the start of this thread, then you will want to use the manual steps for everything - this often is not ideal, while the manual steps are great for troubleshooting, most users will prefer to automate those steps for normal use.

HisDudeness · 2014-12-16 09:17:14

Yeah, the network tools section is quite confusing me. Now that I had the time to read a few things, I just realized netctl is what I used to connect to my mother's and my father's homes' wireless networks, and wifi-menu is just a tool to scan the networks to show the ones available, and automatically create a profile for the one you choose, sort of like through a wizard. Since it automatically connects to those two networks whenever I turn on my computer at home, I decided it's best not to disable it.

I chose to use netctl for everything and tried to convert the manual commands my university's tutorials give to a netctl profile. I did so by copying and editing the /etc/netctl/examples/wireless-wpa-config to /etc/netctl, where profiles are stored. Right now it all works, except I have to first set my interface down (exactly the opposite I did before!) for the same problem posted here. I tried the solutions listed there, including disabling dhcpcd.service and all the single netctl profiles to try and autostart, but it didn't work, I have to set wlp3s0 down at boot.

This is my systemctl --type=service at fresh boot

  UNIT                                                LOAD   ACTIVE SUB     DESCRIPTION
  dbus.service                                        loaded active running D-Bus System Message Bus
  getty@tty1.service                                  loaded active running Getty on tty1
  kmod-static-nodes.service                           loaded active exited  Create list of required static device nodes for the current kernel
  netctl-auto@wlp3s0.service                          loaded active running Automatic wireless network connection using netctl profiles
  systemd-backlight@backlight:acpi_video0.service     loaded active exited  Load/Save Screen Backlight Brightness of backlight:acpi_video0
  systemd-backlight@backlight:acpi_video1.service     loaded active exited  Load/Save Screen Backlight Brightness of backlight:acpi_video1
  systemd-backlight@backlight:intel_backlight.service loaded active exited  Load/Save Screen Backlight Brightness of backlight:intel_backlight
  systemd-journald.service                            loaded active running Journal Service
  systemd-logind.service                              loaded active running Login Service
  systemd-random-seed.service                         loaded active exited  Load/Save Random Seed
  systemd-remount-fs.service                          loaded active exited  Remount Root and Kernel File Systems
  systemd-rfkill@rfkill0.service                      loaded active exited  Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status of rfkill0
  systemd-rfkill@rfkill1.service                      loaded active exited  Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status of rfkill1
  systemd-rfkill@rfkill2.service                      loaded active exited  Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status of rfkill2
(red signal)  systemd-rfkill@rfkill3.service                      loaded failed failed  Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status of rfkill3
  systemd-sysctl.service                              loaded active exited  Apply Kernel Variables
  systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev.service                  loaded active exited  Create Static Device Nodes in /dev
  systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service                      loaded active exited  Create Volatile Files and Directories
  systemd-udev-trigger.service                        loaded active exited  udev Coldplug all Devices
  systemd-udevd.service                               loaded active running udev Kernel Device Manager
  systemd-update-utmp.service                         loaded active exited  Update UTMP about System Boot/Shutdown
  systemd-user-sessions.service                       loaded active exited  Permit User Sessions
  systemd-vconsole-setup.service                      loaded active exited  Setup Virtual Console
  user@1000.service                                   loaded active running User Manager for UID 1000

LOAD   = Reflects whether the unit definition was properly loaded.
ACTIVE = The high-level unit activation state, i.e. generalization of SUB.
SUB    = The low-level unit activation state, values depend on unit type.

24 loaded units listed. Pass --all to see loaded but inactive units, too.
To show all installed unit files use 'systemctl list-unit-files'.

I don't have networkmanager installed. Any clue?

HisDudeness · 2015-01-09 09:29:04

Update at 9 January 2015: I still haven't solved the "The interface of network profile 'profilename' is already up" problem, I have to manually set the interface down before connecting every time. This doesn't bother me more than a bit, even if in my opinion, if it isn't 100% working, it's not the right way. This is not Windows

Actually, before the Christmas vacations, I randomly had a problem that prevented me from connecting at all. A problem such as "failed to bring the network up for profile 'profilename'" or something like that. I was waiting for it to reappear before posting again, but it hasn't. Maybe it is some random problem coming from my campus' network, which is well known to not always work like a charm, to be euphemistic. Anyway, so far so good.

Last edited by HisDudeness (2015-01-09 09:29:40)

Strike0 · 2015-01-10 17:04:24

If you kept the

wpa_supplicant.conf

created at the beginning of this thread, you need to rename it (or remove the relevant connection at least) now. netctl will invoke wpa_supplicant and this in turn will read its configuration file. Doubling the profile connection details in the supplicant configuration is counterproductive. Not sure if this is the reason to your "interface up" problem.

HisDudeness · 2015-01-20 09:36:20

Thanks for the suggestion. However, I tried removing the wpa_supplicant.conf file. The interface up problem persisted. In addition, I could not connect at all to the network, because of the second problem I wanted to report to you. I have to ironically say, finally it occured again, I couldn't get the error message it gave and forward it to you.

[dude@susan ~]$ sudo netctl start Bicocca
Job for netctl@Bicocca.service failed. See 'systemctl status netctl@Bicocca.service' and 'journalctl -xn' for details.
[dude@susan ~]$ systemctl status netctl@Bicocca.service -l
● netctl@Bicocca.service - Networking for netctl profile Bicocca
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/netctl@.service; static)
   Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Tue 2015-01-20 10:17:02 CET; 57s ago
     Docs: man:netctl.profile(5)
  Process: 596 ExecStart=/usr/lib/network/network start %I (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
 Main PID: 596 (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)

Jan 20 10:17:01 susan network[596]: Starting network profile 'Bicocca'...
Jan 20 10:17:01 susan network[596]: Successfully initialized wpa_supplicant
Jan 20 10:17:01 susan network[596]: Failed to open config file '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf', error: No such file or directory
Jan 20 10:17:01 susan network[596]: Failed to read or parse configuration '/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf'.
Jan 20 10:17:02 susan network[596]: The WPA supplicant did not start for interface 'wlp3s0'
Jan 20 10:17:02 susan network[596]: Failed to bring the network up for profile 'Bicocca'
Jan 20 10:17:02 susan systemd[1]: netctl@Bicocca.service: main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Jan 20 10:17:02 susan systemd[1]: Failed to start Networking for netctl profile Bicocca.
Jan 20 10:17:02 susan systemd[1]: Unit netctl@Bicocca.service entered failed state.

Restoring the conf file I had solved this. I have to add, the same error occured for the open WiFi provided by my hometown's public library, at this point I suppose because of the conf file I created specifically for my university's network. I know I mustn't create a wpa_supplicant.conf file for each netowrk I use, and my mother's, father's and girlfriend's network do not give issues at all. So, where's the catch? I can't seem to understand it.

Last edited by HisDudeness (2015-01-20 09:36:40)

HisDudeness · 2015-01-20 09:39:43

Update: Sorry, I'm an idiot. Skipped the 'file does not exist' line and read only the 'WPA did not start' one. It's obvious it was because of the conf file, duh. Do I have to mandatorily have one?

Here is the slight different error from my library.

[dude@susan ~]$ sudo netctl start BibliotecaMelzo
Job for netctl@BibliotecaMelzo.service failed. See 'systemctl status netctl@BibliotecaMelzo.service' and 'journalctl -xn' for details.
[dude@susan ~]$ systemctl status netctl@BibliotecaMelzo.service -l
? netctl@BibliotecaMelzo.service - Networking for netctl profile BibliotecaMelzo
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/netctl@.service; static)
   Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Sat 2015-01-10 16:53:49 CET; 9s ago
     Docs: man:netctl.profile(5)
  Process: 1142 ExecStart=/usr/lib/network/network start %I (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)
 Main PID: 1142 (code=exited, status=1/FAILURE)

Jan 10 16:53:19 susan dhcpcd[1197]: DUID 00:01:00:01:1b:ba:d5:f1:ac:72:89:a4:d1:d9
Jan 10 16:53:19 susan dhcpcd[1197]: wlp3s0: IAID 89:a4:d1:d9
Jan 10 16:53:20 susan dhcpcd[1197]: wlp3s0: soliciting a DHCP lease
Jan 10 16:53:49 susan dhcpcd[1197]: timed out
Jan 10 16:53:49 susan dhcpcd[1197]: exited
Jan 10 16:53:49 susan network[1142]: DHCP IPv4 lease attempt failed on interface 'wlp3s0'
Jan 10 16:53:49 susan network[1142]: Failed to bring the network up for profile 'BibliotecaMelzo'
Jan 10 16:53:49 susan systemd[1]: netctl@BibliotecaMelzo.service: main process exited, code=exited, status=1/FAILURE
Jan 10 16:53:49 susan systemd[1]: Failed to start Networking for netctl profile BibliotecaMelzo.
Jan 10 16:53:49 susan systemd[1]: Unit netctl@BibliotecaMelzo.service entered failed state.

I almost forgot, in this case it took a lot of time to fail the connection, while trying to connect to my university without a conf file fails instantly. Not even my phone was able to access the open WiFi by my library, staying stuck for minutes at the "Connecting..." or "Acquiring IP Address..." phase.

I noticed sometimes the error was slightly different, giving the 'wpa did not start' error. Here is the full log of my attempts.

Last edited by HisDudeness (2015-01-20 09:44:33)

Strike0 · 2015-01-20 15:49:43

HisDudeness wrote:

It's obvious it was because of the conf file, duh. Do I have to mandatorily have one?

Sorry, if I was not clear above: I was referring to the new configuration you created and named "wpa_supplicant.conf" (which is the default configuration name). if you deleted all instaces of that in /etc, best reinstall "wpa_supplicant" which will place its default configuration in /etc/wpa_supplicant/ again. This package is different than most, it does not keep a default conf file elsewhere (e.g. in /usr/*).

From the error you describe last, trying with your smartphone, it reads like the library AP is simply overloaded though. That's of course another problem that not only a "perfect" configuration can fully fix, but its unrelated to the "interface up" problem you're after to fix.

Arch Linux

#1 2014-12-10 08:54:17

iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#2 2014-12-10 09:17:56

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#3 2014-12-10 21:24:41

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#4 2014-12-10 22:23:12

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#5 2014-12-11 08:40:31

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#6 2014-12-11 08:59:32

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#7 2014-12-11 12:44:59

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#8 2014-12-11 15:04:54

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#9 2014-12-11 16:14:16

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#10 2014-12-15 16:46:20

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#11 2014-12-15 17:24:40

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#12 2014-12-15 18:24:44

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#13 2014-12-16 09:17:14

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#14 2015-01-09 09:29:04

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#15 2015-01-10 17:04:24

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#16 2015-01-20 09:36:20

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#17 2015-01-20 09:39:43

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

#18 2015-01-20 15:49:43

Re: iwconfig - Set ESSID: Operation already in progress

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