[SOLVED] Establishing wireless connection very slow with Wicd

blackhole · 2009-02-16 21:44:00

Hi there,

I'm using a Broadcom wireless chip on my Dell Latitude D620. So far I've succesfully installed my Windows driver via ndiswrapper:

schorsch@archie:~$ sudo ndiswrapper -l
bcmwl5 : driver installed
        device (14E4:4311) present (alternate driver: ssb)

I've also installed Wicd and it's sitting nicely in my KDE 4.2 tray.

However when I want to connect to my WPA2-encrypted wireless I sometimes need up to 5 attempts until Wicd finally can establish the connection. It also takes a very long time to establish the connection, if it succeeds at all.

Here some tail -f /var/log/wicd/wicd.log after a failed attempt and a subsequent successful one:

2009/02/16 22:29:21 :: Connecting to wireless network SCHWAEBISCHER_PIRATENSENDER
2009/02/16 22:29:21 :: Putting interface down
2009/02/16 22:29:21 :: Releasing DHCP leases...
2009/02/16 22:29:21 :: Setting false IP...
2009/02/16 22:29:21 :: Stopping wpa_supplicant and any DHCP clients
2009/02/16 22:29:21 :: Flushing the routing table...
2009/02/16 22:29:21 :: Generating psk...
2009/02/16 22:29:21 :: Attempting to authenticate...
2009/02/16 22:29:21 :: Putting interface up...
2009/02/16 22:29:22 :: Running DHCP
2009/02/16 22:29:22 :: wlan0: dhcpcd 4.0.10 starting
2009/02/16 22:29:22 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:22 :: wlan0: broadcasting for a lease
2009/02/16 22:29:22 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:26 :: wlan0: carrier lost
2009/02/16 22:29:26 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:26 :: wlan0: carrier acquired
2009/02/16 22:29:26 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:26 :: wlan0: broadcasting for a lease
2009/02/16 22:29:26 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:30 :: wlan0: carrier lost
2009/02/16 22:29:30 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:30 :: wlan0: carrier acquired
2009/02/16 22:29:30 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:30 :: wlan0: broadcasting for a lease
2009/02/16 22:29:30 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:35 :: wlan0: carrier lost
2009/02/16 22:29:35 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:35 :: wlan0: carrier acquired
2009/02/16 22:29:35 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:35 :: wlan0: broadcasting for a lease
2009/02/16 22:29:35 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:39 :: wlan0: carrier lost
2009/02/16 22:29:39 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:39 :: wlan0: carrier acquired
2009/02/16 22:29:39 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:39 :: wlan0: broadcasting for a lease
2009/02/16 22:29:39 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:43 :: wlan0: carrier lost
2009/02/16 22:29:43 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:43 :: wlan0: carrier acquired
2009/02/16 22:29:43 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:43 :: wlan0: broadcasting for a lease
2009/02/16 22:29:43 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:48 :: wlan0: carrier lost
2009/02/16 22:29:48 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:48 :: wlan0: carrier acquired
2009/02/16 22:29:48 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:48 :: wlan0: broadcasting for a lease
2009/02/16 22:29:48 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: wlan0: carrier lost
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: wlan0: carrier acquired
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: wlan0: broadcasting for a lease
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: wlan0: timed out
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: 
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: DHCP connection successful
2009/02/16 22:29:52 :: Connecting thread exiting.
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: No wired connection present, attempting to autoconnect to wireless network
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: trying to automatically connect to...SCHWAEBISCHER_PIRATENSENDER
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: Connecting to wireless network SCHWAEBISCHER_PIRATENSENDER
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: Putting interface down
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: Releasing DHCP leases...
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: Setting false IP...
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: Stopping wpa_supplicant and any DHCP clients
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: Flushing the routing table...
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: Generating psk...
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: Attempting to authenticate...
2009/02/16 22:29:59 :: Putting interface up...
2009/02/16 22:30:00 :: Running DHCP
2009/02/16 22:30:00 :: wlan0: dhcpcd 4.0.10 starting
2009/02/16 22:30:00 :: 
2009/02/16 22:30:00 :: wlan0: broadcasting for a lease
2009/02/16 22:30:00 :: 
2009/02/16 22:30:01 :: wlan0: offered 192.168.2.103 from 192.168.2.1
2009/02/16 22:30:01 :: 
2009/02/16 22:30:01 :: wlan0: acknowledged 192.168.2.103 from 192.168.2.1
2009/02/16 22:30:01 :: 
2009/02/16 22:30:01 :: wlan0: checking 192.168.2.103 is available on attached networks
2009/02/16 22:30:01 :: 
2009/02/16 22:30:06 :: wlan0: leased 192.168.2.103 for 864000 seconds
2009/02/16 22:30:06 :: 
2009/02/16 22:30:06 :: 
2009/02/16 22:30:06 :: DHCP connection successful
2009/02/16 22:30:06 :: Connecting thread exiting.

My /etc/rc.conf:

#
# /etc/rc.conf - Main Configuration for Arch Linux
#

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# LOCALIZATION
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# LOCALE: available languages can be listed with the 'locale -a' command
# HARDWARECLOCK: set to "UTC" or "localtime"
# USEDIRECTISA: use direct I/O requests instead of /dev/rtc for hwclock
# TIMEZONE: timezones are found in /usr/share/zoneinfo
# KEYMAP: keymaps are found in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps
# CONSOLEFONT: found in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts (only needed for non-US)
# CONSOLEMAP: found in /usr/share/kbd/consoletrans
# USECOLOR: use ANSI color sequences in startup messages
#
LOCALE="de_DE.utf8"
HARDWARECLOCK="localtime"
USEDIRECTISA="no"
TIMEZONE="Europe/Berlin"
KEYMAP="de-latin1-nodeadkeys"
CONSOLEFONT=
CONSOLEMAP=
USECOLOR="yes"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# HARDWARE
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# MOD_AUTOLOAD: Allow autoloading of modules at boot and when needed
# MOD_BLACKLIST: Prevent udev from loading these modules
# MODULES: Modules to load at boot-up. Prefix with a ! to blacklist.
#
# NOTE: Use of 'MOD_BLACKLIST' is deprecated. Please use ! in the MODULES array.
#
MOD_AUTOLOAD="yes"
#MOD_BLACKLIST=() #deprecated
MODULES=(slhc tg3 snd-mixer-oss snd-pcm-oss snd-hwdep snd-page-alloc snd-pcm snd-timer snd snd-hda-intel 
soundcore !pcspkr !snd_pcsp !bcm43xx ndiswrapper)

# Scan for LVM volume groups at startup, required if you use LVM
USELVM="no"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# NETWORKING
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# HOSTNAME: Hostname of machine. Should also be put in /etc/hosts
#
HOSTNAME="archie"

# Use 'ifconfig -a' or 'ls /sys/class/net/' to see all available interfaces.
#
# Interfaces to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each interface then list in INTERFACES
#   - prefix an entry in INTERFACES with a ! to disable it
#   - no hyphens in your interface names - Bash doesn't like it
# 
# DHCP:     Set your interface to "dhcp" (eth0="dhcp")
# Wireless: See network profiles below
#
#eth0="dhcp"
#INTERFACES=(eth0)

# Routes to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each route then list in ROUTES
#   - prefix an entry in ROUTES with a ! to disable it
#
#gateway="default gw 192.168.2.1"
#ROUTES=(!gateway)
 
# Enable these network profiles at boot-up.  These are only useful
# if you happen to need multiple network configurations (ie, laptop users)
#   - set to 'menu' to present a menu during boot-up (dialog package required)
#   - prefix an entry with a ! to disable it
#
# Network profiles are found in /etc/network.d
#
# This now requires the netcfg package
#
#NETWORKS=(main)

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# DAEMONS
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Daemons to start at boot-up (in this order)
#   - prefix a daemon with a ! to disable it
#   - prefix a daemon with a @ to start it up in the background
#
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng hal !network netfs alsa crond wicd)

and my /etc/conf.d/wireless:

#
# Settings for wireless cards
#
# For each wireless interface declared in INTERFACES (in rc.conf), declare
# a wlan_${IF} variable that contains the arguments to be passed to
# iwconfig(8).  Then list the original interface name in the
# WLAN_INTERFACES array.
#

#wlan_eth0="eth0 mode managed essid default"
#WLAN_INTERFACES=(eth0)

I'm not familiar with the whole wpa-supplicant stuff. I'm just trusting wicd which chose "wext" as wpa-supplicant driver. I can also choose "ndiswrapper", but that didn't work at all.
As far as I understand it, the encryption/authentication works perfectly, the problem only occurs when trying to obtain the IP adress from the wireless router.

I'd appreciate any help from you guys.

Thanks a lot in advance,
Blackhole

Last edited by blackhole (2009-03-02 08:46:19)

blackhole · 2009-03-01 09:57:18

Anybody? This problem is really annoying. Sometimes I have to wait five minutes after logging in, before I can go online. :-(

Oh, btw, I don't have any problems connecting to unencrypted or WEP-networks.

//Edit: As nobody answered, I had to solve it myself. ;-)
Following this guide http://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/B43#b43 I replaced the ndiswrapper driver by the b43 driver and everything works perfectly now. I didn't know that there was an alternative to the old bcm43xx driver.
I'm gonna update the wiki entry about the Dell Latitude D620.

Last edited by blackhole (2009-03-02 08:45:43)

Arch Linux

#1 2009-02-16 21:44:00

[SOLVED] Establishing wireless connection very slow with Wicd

#2 2009-03-01 09:57:18

Re: [SOLVED] Establishing wireless connection very slow with Wicd

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