OK, I chose this as a university (ecs.soton.ac.uk) project (Linux Wifi Install Guide) – I'm proud to say it's working very well with Mandrake 10! Now I've just pasted the procedures from an unfinished document, I am writing this up officially at the moment - but for those anxious to get it working, here goes:
MA111, DHCP, and WEP.
1.Open the console and verify the OS has detected the MA111's presence:
“lsusb” --> look for “Netgear, Inc.”
Installing Kernel-Source (required for driver installation):
2.Open the console and type:
a.“su” --> enter the root password.
b.“urpmq -r kernel-source”; this should display:
--> kernel-source-2.6.3-7mdk
c.“urpm –i kernel-source-2.6.3-7mdk.rpm” – substitute if the disk used has a later version. Note: only the version shown has been tested.
d.“mkdir /usr/src/linux/.tmp_versions” --> note: driver installation will fail if this directory isn't created.
Installing wireless driver
3.Obtain the wlan-ng driver from AbsoluteValue Systems (2004).
Use this command at a Linux Internet workstation:
“wget
ftp://ftp.linux-wlan.org/pub/linux-w...pre20.tar.gz”. Later versions should work too.
Copy this to a home directory.
4.Unpack the driver file by issuing the following command:
“tar zxvf linux-wlan-ng-0.2.1-pre20.tar.gz”.
5.Enter the directory created: “cd linux-wlan-ng-0.2.1-pre20”.
6.Initiate the driver configuration by issuing the following command:
“./Configure” --> follow this:
---
-------------- Linux WLAN Configuration Script -------------
The default responses are correct for most users.
Build Prism2.x PCMCIA Card Services (_cs) driver? (y/n) [y]: n
Build Prism2 PLX9052 based PCI (_plx) adapter driver? (y/n) [y]: y
Build Prism2.5 native PCI (_pci) driver? (y/n) [n]: n
Build Prism2.5 USB (_usb) driver? (y/n) [y]: y
Linux source directory [/usr/src/linux]:
The kernel source tree is version 2.6.3-4mdk.
Kernel 2.5/2.6 support is highly experimental.
The current kernel build date is Tue Mar 2 07:26:13 2004.
Alternate target install root directory on host []:
Module install directory [/lib/modules/2.6.3-4mdk]:
Prefix for build host compiler? (rarely needed) []:
Build for debugging (see doc/config.debug) (y/n) [n]:
Configuration successful.
---
7.As root at the console, enter “make all” and wait (you shouldn't get any errors)
8.Enter “make install”, drivers should be installed correctly.
Configuring the network settings
9.As root, copy the “ifcfg-wlan0” network-script, shown in the appendix of this document, to the “/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/” location using this console command:
“cp ifcfg-wlan0 /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/”
10.Use the “vi /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-wlan0” command. Press “i”to edit the file and make the necessary changes (HWADDR, ESSID). --> get hardware address from the device itself! {on the side}
Press “Esc” followed by “:wq” to save the changes.
11. Type “vi /etc/modules.conf”. Using the previous commands, insert “alias wlan0 prism2_usb”.
12.Reboot the PC.
Appendix
“ifcfg-wlan0” script:
# Please read /usr/share/doc/initscripts-*/sysconfig.txt
# for the documentation of these parameters.
GATEWAY=
TYPE=Wireless
DHCP_HOSTNAME=
IPADDR=
DEVICE=wlan0
HWADDR=00:07:6a:73:8a:67 <-- this is found on the side of the MA111 device
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
DOMAIN=
NETMASK=
ONBOOT=yes
USERCTL=no
PEERDNS=yes
ESSID=wifinetname <-- this is the name of the wireless network.
CHANNEL=6
MODE=Managed
RATE=11Mb/s
“wlancfg-wifinetname” (name must correspond with ifcfg-wlan0) script:
#=======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)
# add-ons/ in the tarball contains other key generators.
PRIV_GENERATOR=/sbin/nwepgen # nwepgen, Neesus compatible
PRIV_KEY128=true # keylength to generate
PRIV_GENSTR=""
# or set them explicitly. Set genstr or keys, not both.
dot11WEPDefaultKey0=6c:75:2e:36:5c:4e:47:69:39:7c:3a:31:2f #your secret code
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)
---
THIS SHOULD WORK....IT'S WORKING FOR ME, IF IT DOESN'T, IT MEANS THAT MY TUTORIAL HAS GONE WRONG....BUT I'M MAKING A PROFESSIONAL ONE NOW.
Good luck!