All I really want from a Linux distribution is usable wireless support. By that I mean something I can run, input the settings, and it will save the settings and come up next time I turn the machine on.

Now, I think my setup is mildly odd:

-Desktop machine, so the ability to change networks is irrelevant
-WPA
-No SSID broadcast
-No DHCP. Foxed 192.168.0.x addresses. This is primarily to please a device which has to be addressed by IP (a network printer) which we don't want bouncing around.

I tried regular Ubuntu 7.04; its configuration box didn't have anywhere to specify WPA.

I also tried Kubuntu 7.04. Very promising. KNetworkMonitor let me set all the WPA details, but kept hanging at "28%" when trying to make the connection. I suspect this is because the card needed a fixed IP number assigned-- wouldn't surprise me if it was trying (to no avail) to DHCP an address.

So I tried to set the IP and gateway in the thing that looks like the WinXP control panel, but KNetworkConfig kept reporting (in the tooltip) that the IP on the card was 0.0.0.0. When I rebooted, it didn't show options for the wireless at all, although it appeared in the ifconfig and iwconfig lists.


I'm imagining somewhere there must be a distro that sets up wireless the way old distributions (pre-live-CD) did for networking... a series of pages where you specify the details.

Any suggestions?

"So I tried to set the IP and gateway in the thing that looks like the WinXP control panel, but KNetworkConfig kept reporting (in the tooltip) that the IP on the card was 0.0.0.0. When I rebooted, it didn't show options for the wireless at all, although it appeared in the ifconfig and iwconfig lists."

Which connection did it show? Should say "eth0". If you see anything else, see if the drop down will let you select "eth0". Unless the WiFi card is eth1 or eth2 or etc.

If you wanted to invest $30, you could get this wireless USB adapter that is designed for Linux, Mac and Windows:
Buy.com - Addlogix USB Wireless 802.11B/G Aadapter - MA-WL-USB

It says it works for Redhat 7.1 and later, but who says it won't work with other distros?

I bought one for my Hackintosh and though it won't win wany design awards, it gets the job done.

Networking is a pain, but an even worse pain under Linux due to compatibility issues.

Quote: Originally Posted by joecoin "So I tried to set the IP and gateway in the thing that looks like the WinXP control panel, but KNetworkConfig kept reporting (in the tooltip) that the IP on the card was 0.0.0.0. When I rebooted, it didn't show options for the wireless at all, although it appeared in the ifconfig and iwconfig lists." Which connection did it show? Should say "eth0". If you see anything else, see if the drop down will let you select "eth0". Unless the WiFi card is eth1 or eth2 or etc.

On the first boot it had a heading "Wired Network" and one that said "Wireless networks" and let me pick from several. The card is "ra1" for some reason (most likely since it's a Ralink chipset card)

I suspect when I told it to force an IP number, that told KNetworkConfig it was to leave its hands off the card.