More Minitar PCI wireless woes
 

Forgive me .... Linux slow learner ahead :-)
I have a Minitar PCI card.
I have compiled the module, run make ....etc
and all seems fine.
insmod works OK .... now
All from new source from minitar website

System is a P133 32mB RH9.
my problem appears to be memory allocation (according to an expert helper) because when I issue a 'ifup ra0' it returns this...

[root@gw root]# ifup ra0
SIOCSIFFLAGS: Cannot allocate memory
Failed to bring up ra0.

So doing a 'lspci -v' reveals this for the card and my realtek wiired NIC.

00:11.0 Ethernet controller: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RTL-8139/8139C/8139
C+ (rev 10)
Subsystem: Realtek Semiconductor Co., Ltd. RT8139
Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 32, IRQ 10
I/O ports at 6000 [size=256]
Memory at f0002000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]
Expansion ROM at <unassigned> [disabled] [size=64K]
Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 2

00:12.0 Network controller: Unknown device 1814:0101
Subsystem: CNet Technology Inc: Unknown device 0010
Flags: bus master, slow devsel, latency 32, IRQ 11
Memory at f0000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=8K]
Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 0

It is suggested to me they are trying to share the same piece of memory (or at least overlapping)

As I said I'm raw at linux so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks:study:

I had a problem running it on an old motherboard, a P200, because I think it didnt have PCI 2.2 onboard.. tried with a newer PIII and it worked.

Either remove your wired card, or disable it from the bios if it is integrated on the motherboard, and see what happens.

Cheers--
Charles

I have actually got the card 'up' (semi).
I still ahve a few issues tho'
1. The module does not load during boot so I cheated and loaded it from rc.local.
2. obviously ifup ra0 must be done after this... so again rc.local and set 'no' for ifcfg-ra0 for onboot.
3. The realtek card must be brought 'up' after the wireless card.
Also by use of rc.local and setting no for onboot in ifcfg-eth0.
4. I believe the MB is too old for PCI2.2 support and I think this is causing 'Kernel panics' and machine lock up.
5. Not running X on this box makes it impossible to run RaConfig (their wireless utility) so changing ESSID or MODE etc is impossible until Minitar stat to add support for iwconfig.

All in all its just to flaky and tempermental for the purpose that it required for so I'll be looking at changing cards (brands).
Any ideas ..... NetGear MA311 ????

Thanks for the help and lets keep on to Minitar to provide more sources etc .... coz these cards could be good for the price ... just a little young :-)

I use the NetGear MA311 myself. Now, RH9 won't see this card out of the box (unless you have the absolutely latest versions of redhat-config-network). So, I do recommend that you go here:

http://prism2.unixguru.raleigh.nc.us/

and get the RPM set that matches your kernel and cpu. It is easy to install, and fairly easy to configure. If you run with dhcp, you may not need to edit any files at all. But read the docs!

Good luck!

Cheers--
Charles

cnjohnson...
Thanks for the advice ... I've read through the page and that all makes sense. I've picked up a MA311 and will be giving it a go tommorrow.

I'll let you know how I get on

MikeS

If I can help, just post away. I have three of these installed, and I really like them. I use a static IP addressing scheme, so there are two files I had to edit to get things running, but other than that, it went fairly smoothly. I can naow open a RH9 box, install the card, install the driver set and have a card communicating to my access point in 15 to 30 minutes, and most of that time is spent on the hardware!

The first one was a bit challenging, so be forewarned; but you may have it all "just work." If so, good for you.

Cheers--
Charles

cnjohnson,
The install went great, easy as .... but.
I seem to be having a little trouble with the config files.
My AP (RG-1000) is running WEP and I cannot seem to get the MA311 to talk to the AP. It has associated ....

# iwconfig wlan0
wlan0 IEEE 802.11-b ESSID:"MasTech" Nickname:"MasTech"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437GHz Access Point: 00:E0:63:83:40:DB
Bit Rate:11Mb/s Tx-Power:2346 dBm
Retry min limit:8 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Encryption key:off
Link Quality:28/92 Signal level:-84 dBm Noise level:-100 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

but note the "Encryption key:off" ????

Here is the content of my /etc/wlan0/wlan0cfg-MasTech

]# cat /etc/wlan/wlancfg-MasTech
#=======USER MIB SETTINGS=============================
# You can add the assignments for various MIB items
# of your choosing to this variable, separated by
# whitespace. The wlan-ng script will then set each one.
# Just uncomment the variable and set the assignments
# the way you want them.

#USER_MIBS="p2CnfRoamingMode=1 p2CnfShortPreamble=mixed"

#=======WEP===========================================
# [Dis/En]able WEP. Settings only matter if PrivacyInvoked is true
lnxreq_hostWEPEncrypt=true # true|false
lnxreq_hostWEPDecrypt=true # true|false
dot11PrivacyInvoked=true # true|false
dot11WEPDefaultKeyID=0 # 0|1|2|3
dot11ExcludeUnencrypted=true # true|false, in AP this means WEP is required.

# If PRIV_GENSTR is not empty, use PRIV_GENTSTR to generate
# keys (just a convenience)
PRIV_GENERATOR=/sbin/nwepgen # nwepgen, Neesus compatible
PRIV_KEY128=false # keylength to generate
PRIV_GENSTR=""

# or set them explicitly. Set genstr or keys, not both.
dot11WEPDefaultKey0=00:11:22:33:44 # format: xx:xx:xx:xx:xx or
dot11WEPDefaultKey1= # xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx
dot11WEPDefaultKey2= # e.g. 01:20:03:40:05 or
dot11WEPDefaultKey3= # 01:02:03:04:05:06:07:08:09:0a:0b:0c:0d
#=======SELECT STATION MODE===================
IS_ADHOC=n # y|n, y - adhoc, n - infrastructure

#======= INFRASTRUCTURE STATION ===================
# What kind of authentication?

AuthType="sharedkey" # opensystem | sharedkey (requires WEP)

#======= ADHOC STATION ============================
BCNINT=100 # Beacon interval (in Kus)
CHANNEL=6 # DS channel for BSS (1-14, depends
# on regulatory domain)
BASICRATES="2 4" # Rates for mgmt&ctl frames (in 500Kb/s)
OPRATES="2 4 11 22" # Supported rates in BSS (in 500Kb/s)

and here is the content of /etc/wlan/wlan0.conf

# --------------------------------------------------------------------
# This file is sourced by all configuration scripts.
#
# The WLAN_DEVICES variable identifies the device names of each WLAN device.
# If you have more than one, make sure each one is identified in a whitespace
# separated list that's assigned to WLAN_DEVICES.

WLAN_DEVICES="wlan0"

# Below is the list of channels to scan, when we scan.
ChannelList="01:02:03:04:05:06:07:08:09:0a:0b:00:00:00"
# Below is the min and max time we linger on a channel during a scan.
ChannelMinTime=200
ChannelMaxTime=250
# And here we have the master scan toggle.
WLAN_SCAN=n

##########
# Note: To bind to a specific network, change the SSID to something different
# and create the file /etc/wlan/wlancfg-<SSID> with your network-
# specific settings. If this file is not present, the settings in
# /etc/wlancfg/wlancfg-DEFAULT are used.
#
# for example:
# SSID_wlan0="linux-wlan"
# This expects a file called "/etc/wlan/wlancfg-linux-wlan" to be present.
#
# Use a SSID of "" to associate with any network in range.
#########

SSID_wlan0="MasTech"
ENABLE_wlan0=y
#SSID_wlan1=""
#ENABLE_wlan1=n
#SSID_wlan2=""
#ENABLE_wlan2=n



Any thoughts ?????
I'm getting damn close now (with your help) I'm sure

Mike

Turn off wep, until you get it working. WEP will drive you crazy, otherwise. Do wep last. Go back to "Opensystem." You may also need to set your SSID_wlan0 to the empty string, too. (SSID_wlan0="").

Now, restart your network, and post the output of

ifconfig

rather than iwconfig. Also post the output from

netstat -nr

You are looking to see that you have an IP address assigned to wlan0, and that you have a gateway assigned. You haven't said yet, or I missed it, if you are with a static IP or DHCP.

Take a deep breath. You look close to me, too.

Cheers--
Charles

Got it !!!!! (with WEP) :-)

"WLAN_SCAN=n" should have been "y"

anyway it works :-)

BTW Sorry I should have said I set a static IP and GW and I can ping all over the place ..... :-) You can tell I'm happy ?

I should be, this is the upteenth time I've reinstalled and the third card I've tried !!

BTW dont you ever sleep .....
and what happens if I click affero ????
well I did :)

Thanks heaps again !!!!!

BTW (again) I would like to get the Minitar card working but I guess we'll have to wait until they release more source and support for iwconfig.

MikeS

Glad to have helped. Yes, I just got in and it is off to bed shortly.

Wrtie down what you did, step by step, including what hardware you have, and post it. Someone else, I promise, will see it a thank you for it.

As for the mintar, you just need to search for a driver. Compiling one from scratch is a real experience. Ready? :D

Cheers--
Charles