LinuxQuestions.org - connecting with Madwifi via Netgear WAG311

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connecting with Madwifi via Netgear WAG311

So I installed the Madwifi drivers into Slackware 10.1. So far so good. The only problem is that it doesn't connect without a little prodding. This is what happens in the shell:

Code:

root@slacksys:/home/rob# modprobe ath_pci

Warning: loading /lib/modules/2.4.29/net/ath_hal.o will taint the kernel: non-GPL license - Proprietary

  See http://www.tux.org/lkml/#export-tainted for information about tainted modules

Module ath_hal loaded, with warnings

Module wlan loaded, with warnings

Module ath_rate_onoe loaded, with warnings

Module ath_pci loaded, with warnings

root@slacksys:/home/rob# iwconfig

lo        no wireless extensions.



ath0      IEEE 802.11  ESSID:""

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.412GHz  Access Point: 00:00:00:00:00:00

          Bit Rate:0kb/s  Tx-Power:50 dBm  Sensitivity=0/3

          Retry:off  RTS thr:off  Fragment thr:off

          Encryption key:off

          Power Management:off

          Link Quality:0/94  Signal level:-95 dBm  Noise level:-95 dBm

          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0

          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0  Missed beacon:0



root@slacksys:/home/rob# /sbin/dhcpcd -d -t 10 ath0

dhcpcd: MAC address = 00:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx  #x's added by me

dhcpcd: your IP address = 192.168.1.101

root@slacksys:/home/rob# iwconfig

lo        no wireless extensions.



ath0      IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:"Trafficop323"

          Mode:Managed  Frequency:2.437GHz  Access Point: 00:xx:xx:xx:xx:xx  #x's added by me

          Bit Rate:54Mb/s  Tx-Power:50 dBm  Sensitivity=0/3

          Retry:off  RTS thr:off  Fragment thr:off

          Encryption key:off

          Power Management:off

          Link Quality:41/94  Signal level:-54 dBm  Noise level:-95 dBm

          Rx invalid nwid:0  Rx invalid crypt:0  Rx invalid frag:0

          Tx excessive retries:0  Invalid misc:0  Missed beacon:0

Ok, modprobe I get. That leaves me with three questions:
1) What exactly is "/usr/sbin -d -t 10 ath0" doing for me? It seems like an odd command, what does it mean?
2) There are several warnings there. Should I be concerned about that and is there something I should do to fix potential problems? I know that part of Madwifi (Hal maybe?) is binary only due to some FCC rules, so that might be all there is to that, but I'm not sure.
3) How do I get things to automatically configure on startup? Is there a script that I need to add/edit to make this happen?

Thanks in advance for any input. Two big thumbs up for Slack 10.1 so far, by the way. This wireless card is usually the sticking point for most distros and other than what I mentioned above, everything with the card has gone without a hitch. It took all of a day or so and a bit of reading to get everything else pretty much the way I want it.

1) I guess when you said "usr/sbin -d -t 10 ath0" you were refering to "/sbin/dhcpcd -d -t 10 ath0" am I right? If so, then it's getting IP configuration from a DHCP server (usually a router or your ISP).
2) Just a warning, nothing to be worried about but if you've a crash then it may be a place to start "debugging".
3) Add those commands to /etc/rc.d/rc.local . That file is automatically executed on startup after all other startup scripts finish.

2. You're exactly right about the warnings. Adding proprietary modules, such as the hal module, to the kernel "taints" it. Those module warnings are simply a reminder that you are introducing something with a different license into the GNU/Linux kernel. And you are also right about the module being an FCC thing. Keeping part of the driver closed prevents the radio from being used inappropriately through modification of the driver.

Quote:

Originally posted by gbonvehi
1) I guess when you said "usr/sbin -d -t 10 ath0" you were refering to "/sbin/dhcpcd -d -t 10 ath0" am I right? If so, then it's getting IP configuration from a DHCP server (usually a router or your ISP).

Yeah, I mistyped that bit. I figured the command was something to that effect, but I'm still not quite understanding it. Why "-d - t 10"? Would that command work just as well with just "dhcpcd" rather than "/sbin/dhcpcd"?
I've looked at the man pages, but I'm not seeing what I'm looking for in there. Maybe there's a good command reference on line someone could point me to? It works, which is good, but I like to know exactly why things work!
I'll check out the rc.local file when I get home.
Thanks!

Quote:

Why "-d - t 10"?

Does it not work for you without these switches? From the manpage:

Quote:

To have dhcpd log to the standard error descriptor, spec_
ify the -d flag. This can be useful for debugging, and
also at sites where a complete log of all dhcp activity
must be kept but syslogd is not reliable or otherwise can_
not be used. Normally, dhcpd will log all output using
the syslog(3) function with the log facility set to
LOG_DAEMON.

Quote:

The DHCP server reads two files on startup: a configura_
tion file, and a lease database. If the -t flag is spec_
ified, the server will simply test the configuration file
for correct syntax, but will not attempt to perform any
network operations. This can be used to test the a new
configuration file automatically before installing it.

That sounds to me like you can ditch those switches.

Quote:

Would that command work just as well with just "dhcpcd" rather than "/sbin/dhcpcd"?

Maybe. It's all about your PATH. Why not just use the long form and know what you are running without any doubt? This is especially good practice in startup scripts.

If you want to know if "dhcpcd" and "/sbin/dhcpcd" are the same, try

Code:

which dhcpd

This will tell you "which" :) command is running when you type in "dhcpcd".