Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 139263
wifi not connecting using NetworkManager
Last modified: 2007-11-30 17:10:54 EST
From Bugzilla Helper: User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (X11; U; Linux i686; en-US; rv:1.7.5) Gecko/20041111 Firefox/1.0 Description of problem: I have a laptop with a Linksys WPC11v3 (prism chipset) for which I use the orinoco_cs driver and have the SSID and WEP key specified in /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth1. It works fine using the old way, but I want to set up NetworkManager and be cool. :p I haven't seen a HOWTO on setting up NetworkManager (I guess the point is you don't have to 'set it up') and I'm having some issues. I get the impression that if I turn on the NetworkManager service (which is required to use it) I should turn of the network service, is that right? Also, set all interfaces to not start at boot? If so, check. When I start NetworkManagerInfo after logging in (not as root), I get the radar applet looking for a net. My wifi network uses 128 bit WEP and does not broadcast the SSID. So I select Other Wireless Networks and am prompted for the ESSID. So I type it in and click the Connect button. The first time I did this my machine froze hard. I had to hold down the power button to turn it off and reboot. The second time it didn't lock the machine, I got the blue swirly thing with two dots. Then it crashed and I had no more network connectivity. I rebooted just to make sure I was working in a clean state. So now, the third time I'm trying, after setting the SSID clicking Connect I seem to be perpetually waiting with the blue swirly and two dots. If I click on the applet it lists my SSID with a selected radio button to the left and an empty status/progress bar on the right. I have never been prompted for a WEP key. I tried to read all the bugs related to NetworkManager in bugzilla, and read something about disabling ipv6 in /etc/modprobe.conf and another bug that says NM breaks ipv6. I don't use ipv6 so don't mind disabling it but don't know how (bug didn't specify). I've seen a few bugs with similar problems to mine, but couldn't derive any solutions from them. Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): NetworkManager[-gnome]-0.3.1-3 How reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. Enable NetworkManager service 2. Log in 3. Run NetworkManagerInfo Actual Results: either the laptop crashes, the NetworkManager system crashes (didn't see if it was client, daemon, or both), or it just never connects, Expected Results: I should be able to enter my SSID and be prompter for a WEP key, after which the NIC will assosciate and connect, and balance will be restored to the universe Additional info:
I'm seeing the same thing with a WPC11v3 as well. The card does work fine when configured oldstyle(tm). Following the same sequence as Justin.
Well I got it working (sort of). started the daemon removed the wireless card via the network config tool did cardctl eject, reinserted the card readded the nic, configured it saved config ran NetworkManagerInfo machine did not lock up but also did not connect. rebooted system (saved settings) the nic came up, NMINFO shows up in notification area and things seem to be working; Off to Barnes & Noble to see if I can hook into their WAP :).
I just tried NetworkManagerInfo again using a WEP network with the SSID broadcasted. There are actually two networks in range broadcasting their SSID, and neither show up in the applet. I've seen some forum posts mention patching the orinoco_cs driver so that it can scan. I've also read that the linux-wlan-ng prism2 driver can scan. Once I start NetworkManagerInfo and the aplet loads, I select Other Network and enter the SSID. The applet changes from the radar to the two dots with a 'swoosh' rotating between them. But I'm never prompted for a password, even logged in as root. When I double-click on the aplet, the laptop hard crashes. Should I try patching the orinoco_cs driver? What about installing the linux-wlan-ng prism2 driver? Any notes on how to do either?
It seems to work for me *only* for a device that I've already configured manually. Trying to connect to another WAP w/ a known ESSID via the 'other wireless network' dialog results in either the radar going on forever (or) the two swirly dots dancing forever (or) a hard lockup that takes a hard boot to fix. Any of these scenarios can occur, seems almost random. I also suspect that it may have to do with using the unpatched drivers for this card, I'll try to get the patched drivers & see it that makes a difference.
The orinoco drivers in the Linux Kernel (upstream, not specifically Fedora) are not quite up to date. They don't support scanning, and there are further fixes that haven't been merged to the kernel. You'd best either try upstream orinoco (http://orinoco.sf.net) or use HostAP. dan
I downloaded the 0.15rc2 orinoco driver, and it installed without incident. After reseating the card the NM applet now shows a list of all broadcasted SSIDs in range, along with the signal strength bar and a lock icon for WEP enabled networks. So that's nice. But when I select one of them the laptop does a hard crash and I have to power cycle. This happens with root and user accounts. My current process is to log into a text consol (vt1) as root, bring down the wifi interface, start the NetworkManager service, log into X, and launch NetworkManagerInfo. I haven't had opportunity to try this with any non-WEP networks, so it could just be that. Question, in the event that I ever do get asked for a WEP key, does it have to be the long hex key, or can I put in a passphrase that will be automagically used to generate the hex key (like Mac OS X, the linux-wlan-ng driver, and the Windows linksys tool for Win 2k and below)?
NetworkManager supports 128-bit passphrases, so when a dialog pops up and asks you for it, make sure that "128-bit Passphrase (WEP)" is selected in the dropdown and you can then enter the passphrase. Assuming you get the dialog ever :) So it seems that orinoco cards have problems, I'll have to pull mine out of the closet and test it. Dan
Making any headway on this? Is there any testing I can do to help?
>Making any headway on this? sort of, been trying to discern patterns w/ breakage, hopfully will add info to this bug later this week which may (or may not) be useful; short version: sometimes 'just works' sometimes its hosed :)
Been bogged down with OOo stuff, I haven't had time yet to test with my orinoco card...
One thing you could do to help is to try to grab the kernel panic when it happens... Right after you pick the network in the menu, hit CTL+ALT+F1 to switch to the console, and see if anything comes up there... CTL+ALT+F7 will get you back to your desktop. If you get the kernel panic, copy down the text and post it here... Thanks, Dan
Having kept up with kernel upgrades, currently using 2.6.10-1.741, the orinoco 0.15rc2 release doesn't compile. It looks like something they're aware of, but haven't been able to fix. I might try a CVS version of the driver.
Well, I grabbed the CVS version of the drivers, and it seems to be working now! I got the applet listing WLANs in range, selected the one I wanted, got the security dialog, entered my passphrase, and I'm connected with an IP. This rocks! Question, the next time I boot, will I have to enter the passphrase again? If so, how do I save it as a preferred network?
Nope, when you've selected a network at least once from the menu, it gets stored along with the passphrase, and will be used next time. If you've picked multiple networks, then NM will prefer the one you last clicked on.