slackware 12.1 wpa_sipplicant wont connect.

Zebis · 12-10-2008, 11:39 AM

I have spent alot of time looking arround for how to set this up but I cannot seem to find a guide for what I am looking for. I tried to go off of what I found and tried to modify it to what I am trying to do, but without luck.

Here are what my files look like:

wpa_supplicant.conf

Code:

# See /usr/doc/wpa_supplicant-0.5.10/wpa_supplicant.conf.sample
# for many more options that you can use in this file.

# This line enables the use of wpa_cli which is used by rc.wireless
# if possible (to check for successful association)
ctrl_interface=/var/run/wpa_supplicant
# By default, only root (group 0) may use wpa_cli
ctrl_interface_group=0
eapol_version=1
ap_scan=1
fast_reauth=1

# WPA protected network, supply your own ESSID and WPAPSK here:
network={
  scan_ssid=1
  ssid="Zebis_Loaner_Wireless"
  proto=WPA2
  key_mgmt=WPA-EAP
  pairwise=CCMP TKIP
  group=CCMP TKIP WEP104 WEP40
  eap=TTLS
  identity="test"
  password="test"
}

# Plaintext connection (no WPA, no IEEE 802.1X),
# nice for hotel/airport types of WiFi network.
network={
  key_mgmt=NONE
  priority=0
}

rc.local

Code:

#!/bin/sh
#
# /etc/rc.d/rc.local:  Local system initialization script.
#
# Put any local startup commands in here.  Also, if you have
# anything that needs to be run at shutdown time you can
# make an /etc/rc.d/rc.local_shutdown script and put those
# commands in there.

set -x
/etc/rc.d/rc.wifi_wpa

rc.wifi_wpa

Code:

#!/bin/sh
set -x

wpa_supplicant -ieth0 -Dwext -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -Bw
sleep 10
wpa_cli -ieth0 add network
wpa_cli -ieth0 enable_network 0
route add default gw 192.168.4.105 dev eth0 &
sleep 3

rc.inet1.conf

Code:

# This file contains the configuration settings for network interfaces.
# If USE_DHCP[interface] is set to "yes", this overrides any other settings.
# If you don't have an interface, leave the settings null ("").

# You can configure network interfaces other than eth0,eth1... by setting
# IFNAME[interface] to the interface's name. If IFNAME[interface] is unset
# or empty, it is assumed you're configuring eth<interface>.

# Several other parameters are available, the end of this file contains a
# comprehensive set of examples.

# =============================================================================

# Config information for eth0:
IPADDR[0]=""
NETMASK[0]=""
USE_DHCP[0]="yes"
DHCP_HOSTNAME[0]=""
WLAN_WPA[1]="wpa_supplicant"
WLAN_WPADRIVER[1]="wext"
WLAN_WPACONF[1]="/etc/wpa_supplicant"

# Config information for eth1:
IPADDR[1]=""
NETMASK[1]=""
USE_DHCP[1]=""
DHCP_HOSTNAME[1]=""

# Config information for eth2:
IPADDR[2]=""
NETMASK[2]=""
USE_DHCP[2]=""
DHCP_HOSTNAME[2]=""

# Config information for eth3:
IPADDR[3]=""
NETMASK[3]=""
USE_DHCP[3]=""
DHCP_HOSTNAME[3]=""

# Default gateway IP address:
GATEWAY=""

# Change this to "yes" for debugging output to stdout.  Unfortunately,
# /sbin/hotplug seems to disable stdout so you'll only see debugging output
# when rc.inet1 is called directly.
DEBUG_ETH_UP="no"

I am unable to connect to my WAP. If I run wpa_gui I can see that the status stays at scanning indefinately. Also most recently I noticed something that odd... I restarted MY pc after it locked up and I again launched wpa_gui and again it was showeing scanning and not changing. However it showed me as having an IP address of 192.168.15.153 which is a valid address given the networks we have available here. It is an unsecured network and I was not actually connected to it as I was unable to ping anything or do any network related tasks. Strange.

SpelledJ · 12-12-2008, 11:52 PM

I see several problems. It looks like your wifi card is eth0, but all of your WLAN settings in rc.inet1.conf are using index [1] for eth1.

I don't see that you have an encryption key (PSK) in your wpa_supplicant.conf.

I'm not familiar with starting wpa_supplicant via rc.local and (what appears to be your own script) rc.wifi_wpa. That seems overly complicated. With the proper settings in rc.inet1.conf and /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf, the supplicant should start automatically when rc.inet1 runs to bring up all of you network interfaces.

I recently set up WPA on my laptop using Alien Bob's excellent write-up here:http://alien.slackbook.org/dokuwiki/...ckware:network
I hadn't been able to get WPA going before because I couldn't figure out where all the settings were supposed to go. The document above explains it very clearly.

Brian1 · 12-14-2008, 10:01 AM

Did not know one can use WPA2 for RSN. I always used RSN for defining WPA2 mode.
You might run your command ' wpa_supplicant -ieth0 -Dwext -c/etc/wpa_supplicant.conf -Bw '
And see what kind of output you are getting and posting that info. I agree on the eth0 as mentioned before. My guess if you have a wired network port that would be eth0 and then the wirless can be eth1 or many other names like ath0. All depnds on the module the wireless nic uses.

Brian

Ian B Christie · 12-15-2008, 05:12 AM

SpelledJ, I haven't digested the information in the references you gave but I suspect they may be of use to me.
I am trying to set up a small computer using Xubuntu to provide wireless communications in an educational setting. We have been using Windows XP but it takes forever to boot and even longer to shut down and restart if we have a problem. If I can set up Linux to do the same job I can strip out all the unused bits so that it boots lightning fast. When I get it running it will log on to a TeamSpeak server which will handle all the communications stuff easily. If it works it will also save us money by not requiring Windows licenses. We are using 12 custom made computers (2GB flash hard drive, 1GB ddr ram) mounted in backpacks with USB headsets which talk to 12 other desktop computers over the local wireless network. (If you want to see what we use these for check out www.vssec.vic.edu.au.)The local IT support is Windows only and my Linux skills are limited. The wireless network uses certificates, WPA-Enterprise, TLS, & TKIP. After spending a day with a friend who is very competent with Unix (but not with wireless networking protocols) we came to the conclusion that we need expert help. In the meantime I am scouring the fora to see what I can find. Can you point me in the right direction?
Cheers
Ian

Zebis · 12-15-2008, 12:58 PM

Ok. I have managed to get it working with a different computer. As it turns out there were a few different issues that were causing problems. Likely one of the culprits was the [1] instead of [0]. But the largest was later finding out the card I was given indeed did not support EAP. After switching to a different laptop and trying again I was able to get it functioning.

Quote:

I don't see that you have an encryption key (PSK) in your wpa_supplicant.conf.

You are right. It's because I am not using PSK. PSK is weak and easily breakable. I am using WPA2-enterprise CCMP AES TTLS MSCHAPv2 server with a rotating key. Which is about the only way to get a secure wireless connection.

Quote:

I'm not familiar with starting wpa_supplicant via rc.local and (what appears to be your own script) rc.wifi_wpa.

Again you are likely right here as well that it is overly complicated, but it is what was suggested in the walkthrough I had been using.

And to Ian B Christie, i can post what my working config looks like and some of the steps I had to take to get it working if it would be of any help. What linux are you using / planning to use?

Ian B Christie · 12-15-2008, 04:40 PM

Zebis,
Thanks for the offer. We are trying Xubuntu mainly because I use Ubuntu (albeit with Gnome) at home so I am slightly familiar with it, and because it is small and light on resources. Is there a better distro for this sort of thing? All we need is something which can securely join the local wireless network and then run Teamspeak. I don't have the log files from our recent attempts to get this working but it seemed that we could get past the exchange of certificates but no further. By comparison, when I took one of these machines home it joined my home wireless network without a problem so I know the wireless card is working.

I'll see if I can get some log file dumps and post them here.
Cheers
Ian

SpelledJ · 12-15-2008, 06:24 PM

Zebis -
Ah, my router isn't that recent so I'm just using WPA with CCMP/AES. It supports RADIUS but I don't know how to set up a RADIUS server to take advantage of that. Perhaps it's time to check into new firmware or a new router. Glad to hear you got things working though.

Ian -
The document I suggested is very specific to Slackware and probably not the right way to approach wifi setup on an Ubuntu. Slackware's wireless config takes place in its startup scripts which are a different format from most other distros. Ubuntu probably has GUI tools for setup as well. I'd like to be able to help more, but the enterprise-grade wireless you're talking about with certificates is beyond my knowledge. I'd suggest searching/asking at the Ubuntu forums for more specific help to that distro, and maybe you can dig into one of the Windows boxes for the settings that you need to transfer.

You might also consider opening a new thread at LQ either here under wireless networking or in the Ubuntu forum to see if your question can get some more attention. Since the original topic has Slackware in the title you may get overlooked.

Hope that helps.

J