<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML ><HEAD ><TITLE >Link-sys WPC11 install on Debian</TITLE ><META NAME="GENERATOR" CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"><LINK REL="HOME" TITLE="Link-sys WPC11 Mini-HOWTO" HREF="index.html"><LINK REL="PREVIOUS" TITLE="WARNING ABOUT WPC11 VERSION 4" HREF="x98.html"><LINK REL="NEXT" TITLE="Debian Kernel Configuration" HREF="x258.html"></HEAD ><BODY CLASS="SECT1" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#000000" LINK="#0000FF" VLINK="#840084" ALINK="#0000FF" ><DIV CLASS="NAVHEADER" ><TABLE SUMMARY="Header navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TH COLSPAN="3" ALIGN="center" >Link-sys WPC11 Mini-HOWTO</TH ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="x98.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Prev</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="80%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="bottom" ></TD ><TD WIDTH="10%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="bottom" ><A HREF="x258.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Next</A ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT1" ><H1 CLASS="SECT1" ><A NAME="AEN134" ></A >3. Link-sys WPC11 install on Debian</H1 ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="AEN136" ></A >3.1. Why Debian and why just this card?</H2 ><P >I have been trying for months to get wireless working on Debian and after reading far and wide and getting help from irc.debian.org, I realized that there really is no Cookbook in getting wireless set up. Thus having just done it I want to commit to 'paper' so that you all can use it and I can refer to it knowing it is safe somewhere. :)</P ><DIV CLASS="SECT3" ><H3 CLASS="SECT3" ><A NAME="AEN139" ></A >3.1.1. Redhat installation</H3 ><P >I have gotten a few requests for help on getting the card installed on other distributions. I will try to address the RedHat Installation in this mini-how-to</P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT3" ><H3 CLASS="SECT3" ><A NAME="AEN142" ></A >3.1.2. Suse Installation</H3 ><P >My girlfriend got the WPC-11 card working on Suse. I am waiting for her to give me her how to</P ></DIV ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="AEN145" ></A >3.2. Required Hardware</H2 ><P >By required I mean, here is what I used to get this to work, and may serve as guide to anyone who wants to know what really works.</P ><P > <EM >BEFW11S4- EtherFast? Wireless AP + Cable/DSL Router w/4-Port Switch.</EM > I really really like this WAP (Wireless Access Point). It is OS independent (read, linux friendly) and is configured using a browser so no need to touch Microsoft software at all, even to configure it. And if you don't know what a switch is, let me tell ya, they rock. Essentially they allow the NIC to communicate in both directions at the same time. I highly recommend one.</P ><P >Link-sys WPC11. I have a version 3.0 and don't recommend any thing less than a version 2.5 Cost about 80 dollars</P ><DIV CLASS="SECT3" ><H3 CLASS="SECT3" ><A NAME="AEN151" ></A >3.2.1. What is the linksys card based on?</H3 ><P >It is an Inersil Prism 3-based card</P ></DIV ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="AEN154" ></A >3.3. Software Requirements</H2 ><DIV CLASS="SECT3" ><H3 CLASS="SECT3" ><A NAME="AEN156" ></A >3.3.1. Debian Software Requirements</H3 ><P > <DIV CLASS="TABLE" ><A NAME="AEN159" ></A ><P ><B >Table 1. Debian Software Requirements</B ></P ><TABLE BORDER="1" CLASS="CALSTABLE" ><THEAD ><TR ><TH ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Software</TH ><TH ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Version</TH ><TH ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >URL link</TH ><TH ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >notes</TH ></TR ></THEAD ><TBODY ><TR ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Debian Distribution</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Stable ("Woody")</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><A HREF="http://www.debian.org" TARGET="_top" >www.debian.org</A ></TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >linux-2.4.20.tar, patched with patch-2.4.21-pre3.bz<A NAME="AEN175" HREF="#FTN.AEN175" ><SPAN CLASS="footnote" >[a]</SPAN ></A > </TD ></TR ><TR ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Absolute Systems</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >0.1.16-pre8</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><A HREF="http://www.linux-wlan.com/linux-wlan/" TARGET="_top" >Absolute systems</A ></TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Make sure you download the <EM >11Mbps</EM > version. Works for 0.1.16-pre8</TD ></TR ><TR ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >pcmcia-source</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Stable</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><TABLE BORDER="1" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><FONT COLOR="#000000" ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" >apt-get install pcmcia-source</PRE ></FONT ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><---type this</TD ></TR ><TR ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >pcmcia-cs</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >stable</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><TABLE BORDER="1" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><FONT COLOR="#000000" ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" >apt-get install pcmcia-cs</PRE ></FONT ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><---type this</TD ></TR ><TR ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >wireless-tools</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Stable</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><TABLE BORDER="1" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><FONT COLOR="#000000" ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" >apt-get install wireless-tools</PRE ></FONT ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><--type this</TD ></TR ><TR ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >pump</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >stable</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><TABLE BORDER="1" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><FONT COLOR="#000000" ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" >apt-get install pump</PRE ></FONT ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Useful to see if card works</TD ></TR ><TR ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >kernel-package</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >stable</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><TABLE BORDER="1" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><FONT COLOR="#000000" ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" >apt-get install kernel-package</PRE ></FONT ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Good way to build kernel and the one I describe.</TD ></TR ><TR ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Kernel</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >2.4.20, patched with patch-2.4.21-pre3.bz2 </TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><A HREF="http://www.kernel.org" TARGET="_top" >www.kernel.org</A ></TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >You must know how to build and patch a kernel to do this. Its not hard and I will show you<A NAME="AEN220" HREF="#FTN.AEN220" ><SPAN CLASS="footnote" >[b]</SPAN ></A ></TD ></TR ></TBODY ><TR ><TD COLSPAN="4" >Notes:<BR><A NAME="FTN.AEN175" >a. </A >This new patched kernel worked amazingly well<BR><A NAME="FTN.AEN220" >b. </A >Note to patch a kernel you type <TABLE BORDER="1" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><FONT COLOR="#000000" ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" >bzip2 -dc patch-2.4.21-pre3.bz2 | patch -p0</PRE ></FONT ></TD ></TR ></TABLE ><BR></TD ></TR ></TABLE ></DIV > </P ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT3" ><H3 CLASS="SECT3" ><A NAME="AEN223" ></A >3.3.2. RedHat Software Requirements</H3 ><P > <DIV CLASS="TABLE" ><A NAME="AEN226" ></A ><P ><B >Table 2. RedHat Software Requirements</B ></P ><TABLE BORDER="1" CLASS="CALSTABLE" ><THEAD ><TR ><TH ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Software</TH ><TH ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Version</TH ><TH ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >URL link</TH ><TH ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >notes</TH ></TR ></THEAD ><TBODY ><TR ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >Redhat 8.0</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >stock kernel</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" >*</TD ><TD ALIGN="LEFT" VALIGN="TOP" ><A HREF="http://www.redhat.com" TARGET="_top" >RedHat</A ></TD ></TR ></TBODY ></TABLE ></DIV ></P ></DIV ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="SECT2" ><H2 CLASS="SECT2" ><A NAME="AEN242" ></A >3.4. Notes on additional helpful software</H2 ><P >You will also need some way to setup you IP address on your wireless card, I recommend either <TABLE BORDER="1" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><FONT COLOR="#000000" ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" >apt-get install DHCP-client</PRE ></FONT ></TD ></TR ></TABLE > to install the DHCP-client that will automatically configure your IP address, if you have a DHCP server. The WAP-11 hardware does provide DHCP server capabilities</P ><P >Or at least have the <EM >pump</EM > application, which also will query a DHCP server and get you an IP address from the DHCP server. Note I tend to use <EM >pump</EM > when I am trying out new hardware to see if there is a connection, since to test a particular device, say <EM >eth0</EM > I would type <TABLE BORDER="1" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><FONT COLOR="#000000" ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" >pump -i eth0</PRE ></FONT ></TD ></TR ></TABLE > where the option <EM >-i</EM > tells <EM >pump</EM > what device to try to get an IP address. In this particular case, when I could not get Debian to automatically set up my wireless card, which was device <EM >wlan0</EM >, I would type <TABLE BORDER="1" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><FONT COLOR="#000000" ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" >pump -i wlan0</PRE ></FONT ></TD ></TR ></TABLE > and <EM >pump</EM > would try to set up the device. Anyway, the point is, that it is a good trouble shooting command, and you should know about it, and I talk more about it later.</P ><P >I also recommend you use the "kernel-package" package when you want to build your new kernel, which I will get to. This tool is very good and you should be using it anyway when you are building new kernel for the Debian distribution. You can install it by typing <TABLE BORDER="1" BGCOLOR="#E0E0E0" WIDTH="100%" ><TR ><TD ><FONT COLOR="#000000" ><PRE CLASS="SCREEN" >apt-get install kernel-package</PRE ></FONT ></TD ></TR ></TABLE > Also, be sure to read the documentation it comes with, in case I don't do a good job explaining how to use it, later in this document</P ></DIV ></DIV ><DIV CLASS="NAVFOOTER" ><HR ALIGN="LEFT" WIDTH="100%"><TABLE SUMMARY="Footer navigation table" WIDTH="100%" BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="0" CELLSPACING="0" ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="x98.html" ACCESSKEY="P" >Prev</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="index.html" ACCESSKEY="H" >Home</A ></TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" ><A HREF="x258.html" ACCESSKEY="N" >Next</A ></TD ></TR ><TR ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" >WARNING ABOUT WPC11 VERSION 4</TD ><TD WIDTH="34%" ALIGN="center" VALIGN="top" > </TD ><TD WIDTH="33%" ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" >Debian Kernel Configuration</TD ></TR ></TABLE ></DIV ></BODY ></HTML >