[ltp] Newbie's Guide to Wireless LAN on Thinkpad 42p with Atheros Chipset

[James Ryan]

HANG ON, I FOUND AN EASIER WAY.

First, check your /etc/modprobe.conf for a line that says:
alias eth1 ath_pci

(might not be eth1, could be something else).

If it does not exist, add it.  Be sure to use a network device name that
is not already in use, such as eth1, eth2, etc.  I will assume eth1 from
here on down.
Save the file.  You should probably reboot Linux here.

If you already have a line in modprobe.conf that sets an alias for
ath_pci, just run the network config GUI and click "New" then choose
"Ethernet connection".
Select ath_pci (eth1) or AR5212 802.11abg NIC (eth1)
Set up your IP settings.  It won't give you wireless options, because it
thinks this is an Ethernet card, not a wireless card.  We can fix that.
Exit the network config gui
Edit the file /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth1
Change:
Type=Ethernet
to 
Type=Wireless
Run the network config GUI again and you should have a Wireless Settings
tab for eth1.

It should all work fine...

-James



On Tue, 2004-06-22 at 16:28, James Ryan wrote:

> Matt,
> 
> Actually, the naming convention really doesn't matter.  The
> Redhat/Fedora network config GUI just looks in the directory
> /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts
> for a file named 
> ifcfg-xxxx
> where xxxx is the name of the device.
> 
> So, to get ath0 to work with the network scripts, you just need to
> create a configuration file in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts
> The file is called ifcfg-ath0
> The best way to create it is to use the network config gui to set up a
> "dummy" wireless card, then use the file it creates as a template.
> 
> Example:
> Open redhat-config-network
> Click "New"
> Select "Wireless Connection"
> Select "Other Wireless Card"
> Choose "PCMCIA wavelan_cs"  (I don't think it matters what you choose)
> Set your wireless settings (Mode, essid, channel, transmit rate, WEP
> key)
> Set your IP settings
> It will create a new device for you, called something like eth1 or eth2
> (depending on how many you already have, I assume eth2 below).
> Go to /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts
> There should be a new config file corresponding to the new device just
> created (such as ifcfg-eth2).
> Copy it as follows:
> cp ifcfg-eth2 ifcfg-ath0
> 
> Also, copy the WEP key file:
> cp keys-eth2 keys-ath0
> 
> Now, use a text editor to exit ifcfg-ath0 and change the following line:
> DEVICE=eth2
> to 
> DEVICE=ath0
> 
> Now, close the network config GUI and then run it again.  You should see
> an entry for ath0.  You can delete the "dummy" eth2.  You may have to
> re-enter the WEP key in ath0...
> 
> You may have trouble since the driver doesn't implement all of the
> wireless extensions.  If this doesn't work, just use a shell script,
> that's what I do!
> 
> -James
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Tue, 2004-06-22 at 14:05, Matt Ettus wrote:
> > Quoting James Ryan <jamesr@totalinfosecurity.com>:
> > 
> > > Just to save anyone else the frustration, here's what I did:
> > 
> > Thank you so much for this.  It did end a lot of frustration for me.
> > 
> > I should say that if you use FC2, then you can get an rpm for this driver at
> > atrpms.net.  It doesn't seem to control the Wireless LED on my T41, but I guess
> > I'll have to live with that :)
> > 
> > 
> > > Now, configure it.  It's helpful to bring up the interface first, since
> > > it will auto-configure a lot of settings.
> > > ifconfig ath0 xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx netmask yyy.yyy.yyy.yyy up
> > >
> > > Of course, you need to specify your ip address and netmask here.
> > 
> > My only remaining problem is getting this card to work with the normal Fedora
> > network setup stuff since the manual method is, well, manual.  I would like to
> > not have to tell the system what access point, what IP address, what netmask,
> > and what routes to use.  Any idea how to use dhcp?
> > 
> > The FC2 network scripts seem to only work with ethX and not athX.  Why did the
> > madwifi and/or atheros guys insist on using athX?  It is so nonstandard.
> > 
> > Anyway, thanks again,
> > Matt