netcfg v2.1.0 beta

tigrmesh · 2008-07-14 13:25:17

I'm using netcfg2 with ipw2200 and wep, and it works great. Thanks, iphitus, for your hard work!

And, speaking of work, I've been too lazy to try out wpa...

Aitch · 2008-07-16 20:56:05

I'd just like to confirm that after a bit of trial and error I now have netcfg v2 working a treat.

Using wep, iwl4965, 2.6.25 and x86_64. I had to set SCAN="no" and add QUIRKS=(preessid), now it connects lightning fast every time at start-up.

Very nice work iphitus, thanks.

danym · 2008-07-18 00:52:11

I've been using Arch since 2 years and never tried netcfg2 since tonight (version 2.1.0 beta2). It works great with auto-wireless (iwl3945). Goodbye to networkmanager!
Thanks for your work iphitus. It just works!

iphitus · 2008-07-18 09:48:22

good to hear It's always a relief hearing that "it works"

samwise · 2008-07-26 06:00:15

Aww I hate to spoil the vibe here, but it doesn't work here. :-( Neither does the core netcfg.
I have an intel pro/wireless 3945abg using the iwl3945 driver.
The network has no encryption and does not broadcast the essid.
Profile is:

CONNECTION="wireless"
INTERFACE="wlan0"
QUIRKS=(preessid)
SCAN=no
SECURITY="none"
ESSID="MyEssid"
IP="dhcp"
TIMEOUT="15"

With core/netcfg, this would fail the first time (generally during boot) with a dhcp timeout/failed lease, and succeed the second time when I ran it manually. I repeated this more than 10 times and it is consistent.
With testing/netcfg this still always fails on boot with 'Wireless association failed', and depending on how I tweaked the config file would not work at all.

Also, setting up manually works perfectly:

# iwconfig wlan0 essid "MyEssid"
# ifconfig wlan0 up
# dhcpcd wlan0

If you want any more info let me know.

iphitus · 2008-07-26 10:27:07

# iwconfig wlan0 essid "MyEssid"
# ifconfig wlan0 up
# dhcpcd wlan0

wtf.... you need to do the ifconfig AFTER iwconfig?

fracking hell. That's why I hate linux wireless. You see... for half the wireless cards out there you need to the ifconfig up BEFORE iwconfig, otherwise the card effectively isn't turned on.

I'll add yet another fracking quirk.

samwise · 2008-07-26 12:09:49

wtf.... you need to do the ifconfig AFTER iwconfig?

Sorry! no you don't - it works either way. You don't need to add that quirk.

I've found the code in /usr/lib/network/wireless.subr really readable btw. I'll see if I can debug this properly.

samwise · 2008-07-26 12:59:11

OK I have it working! It needed a 'postscan' quirk. I was a bit hasty saying the manual set up worked - it also needs this. Patch:

[root@hex ~]# diff -u wireless.subr.orig /usr/lib/network/wireless.subr
--- wireless.subr.orig  2008-07-26 22:49:09.000000000 +1000
+++ /usr/lib/network/wireless.subr      2008-07-26 22:52:51.000000000 +1000
@@ -149,6 +149,8 @@
             return 1
         fi

+       quirk "postscan" && sleep 1 && iwlist $INTERFACE scan &> /dev/null
+
         wep_check $INTERFACE $TIMEOUT|| return 1
         ;;
     wpa)

I think this is the driver's fault - it doesn't seem to try and associate straight away after you give it the essid. I think 'iwconfig wlan0 commit' would be the most elegant solution, but it isn't supported by iwl3945.

Last edited by samwise (2008-07-26 13:03:40)

iphitus · 2008-07-26 13:42:19

excuse me above, I had just got home from what's been two long days at work, very tired and maybe a bit cranky -- don't worry, nothing against you or anything.

Thanks for that patch, I'll add it in.

skottish · 2008-07-27 02:25:38

I didn't change any settings on either of my two machines, but I did upgrade to the beta and everything keeps plugging away. What a lovely thing!

Not that the chipset matters:

Workstation: RaLink RT2561/RT61 chipset
Laptop: Broadcom BCM4306 chipset

Last edited by skottish (2008-07-27 15:13:43)

shining · 2008-07-27 09:49:14

samwise wrote:

OK I have it working! It needed a 'postscan' quirk. I was a bit hasty saying the manual set up worked - it also needs this. Patch:
[root@hex ~]# diff -u wireless.subr.orig /usr/lib/network/wireless.subr
--- wireless.subr.orig  2008-07-26 22:49:09.000000000 +1000
+++ /usr/lib/network/wireless.subr      2008-07-26 22:52:51.000000000 +1000
@@ -149,6 +149,8 @@
             return 1
         fi

+       quirk "postscan" && sleep 1 && iwlist $INTERFACE scan &> /dev/null
+
         wep_check $INTERFACE $TIMEOUT|| return 1
         ;;
     wpa)
I think this is the driver's fault - it doesn't seem to try and associate straight away after you give it the essid. I think 'iwconfig wlan0 commit' would be the most elegant solution, but it isn't supported by iwl3945.

That's great!
I also use iwl3945 and no encryption, and I had exactly the same issue. 99% of the time, the connection would fail to associate at boot.
And when restarting it the first time after the boot, it worked 99% of the time. This issue has been pissing me off for months.
I tried to switch back to ipw3945 but it did not help.
Now, after adding the above line, and enabling the following quirks : QUIRKS=(preessid postscan)
it has worked consistently with 5 boots in a row, amazing

But well, all these workarounds are annoying and make me hate linux wireless too.

smartcat99s · 2008-07-28 22:59:34

I only have two problems with it -- dhclient binds to all interfaces instead of just the one that's needed. Thus, it keeps probing wmaster0 for an IP even though it will never be connected.

The second one is that it tried to connect to the wired network on boot even if there's no cable plugged in, causing up to a 30 second delay on boot.

samwise · 2008-08-01 02:28:10

Also like to confirm that it works fine using 'wpa-config' security for the WPA-EAP network at uni.

Last edited by samwise (2008-08-01 02:28:26)

iphitus · 2008-08-01 05:07:33

smartcat99s wrote:

I only have two problems with it -- dhclient binds to all interfaces instead of just the one that's needed. Thus, it keeps probing wmaster0 for an IP even though it will never be connected.

Odd. In the meantime, you can set DHCLIENT=no and it will use dhcpcd again.

The second one is that it tried to connect to the wired network on boot even if there's no cable plugged in, causing up to a 30 second delay on boot.

By default it does a cable check. It uses mii-tool, though not all hardware supports it. I'm pretty sure there's a sysfs value I should be using instead (maybe /sys/class/net/$interface/link_mode ? - can't check right now.)

To test yourself do:

mii-tool $interface

Cheers
James

iphitus · 2008-08-05 15:12:06

samwise: Could you try replacing that quirk with just "sleep 1" -- without the scan.

Does that work too?

and a note: next release will be out shortly... just a handful more changes. Git has been mostly updated.

Last edited by iphitus (2008-08-05 15:28:04)

samwise · 2008-08-06 10:29:34

iphitus wrote:

samwise: Could you try replacing that quirk with just "sleep 1" -- without the scan.
Does that work too?

Unfortunately no. I tried it with just the 'sleep 1', and increased the wait to 3 and 5 seconds, but no luck.
I also tried it with just the scan and no wait, but that didn't work either.
I'll try a few more things and keep an eye on it, but I seem to have to leave it as it is for now.

iphitus · 2008-08-06 11:20:21

Sure thing. Your quirk is already committed in git.

iphitus · 2008-08-06 13:27:28

No more posts in this thread thanks, please see the RC thread: http://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=52967

Arch Linux

#51 2008-07-14 13:25:17

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#52 2008-07-16 20:56:05

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#53 2008-07-18 00:52:11

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#54 2008-07-18 09:48:22

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#55 2008-07-26 06:00:15

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#56 2008-07-26 10:27:07

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#57 2008-07-26 12:09:49

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#58 2008-07-26 12:59:11

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#59 2008-07-26 13:42:19

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#60 2008-07-27 02:25:38

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#61 2008-07-27 09:49:14

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#62 2008-07-28 22:59:34

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#63 2008-08-01 02:28:10

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#64 2008-08-01 05:07:33

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#65 2008-08-05 15:12:06

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#66 2008-08-06 10:29:34

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#67 2008-08-06 11:20:21

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

#68 2008-08-06 13:27:28

Re: netcfg v2.1.0 beta

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