Wireless DHCP worked once and can't repeat!

korbind · 03-27-2005, 07:30 PM

Hi,

I'm using a Gigafast WF721-AEX wireless card on a Campaq Armada M300 laptop running Vector Linux 4.3 (kernel 2.6.7).

I just updated ndiswrapper to 1.1 and can now use 128bit WEP on my network at home using static IP addresses. When I took the card to school I inserted the card and typed:

Code:

sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid <schoolid> key s:<passwd> open

the little light came on and I requested an IP with:

Code:

sudo /sbin/dhcpcd wlan0

This promptly gave me an IP address and I was online.

When I ejected the card and tried to reconnect, iwconfig showed all the right info but I couldn't get an IP address from the DHCP server.

I rebooted the system and still no IP from DHCP.

When I run

Code:

sudo iwlist wlan0 scan

I can see anywhere from 4 to 10 cells at school. Could this many cells be confusing my card? I've tried assigning the AP but this doesn't seem to change anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

___UPDATE___

I managed to get online once again. It seems that "sudo" won't do the trick, I have to actually su to root and make that my first attempt to both configure the card's settings and request an IP via DHCP.

If by chance anyone knows of a better way (cause I know working as root is not the best solution) I'd appreciate the tip. Thanks.

darkleaf · 03-28-2005, 01:00 PM

I don't know where the networking scripts in your distro are. But in the interfaces script (for me it's in /etc/network) you can set some options. Like the essid and key. That'll set them on boot. There's also the option to use dhcp in there on boot. That'll fix it. I can't remember the exact stuff but check "man interfaces" it's all in there with samples

korbind · 03-28-2005, 01:52 PM

Thanks for the response.

Vector Linux is a trimmed down version of Slackware (under 1gig).

I don't have a folder /etc/network. I have a file /etc/networks but it's for "...netname-to-address mappings for the TCP/IP subsystem. It's mostly used at boot time, when no name servers are running," so I'm guessing this isn't what you're referring to. I also don't have a man page for "interfaces."

The file I edit to set the IP or DHCP service on my ethernet is /etc/rc.d/rc.inet1. Is this where I would put the wireless SSID, key, and other options?

Also, I'd like to be able to insert/eject the card without having to reboot.