connect to network via command line

[phalaris_trip]

For some reason Ubuntu 8.04 doesn't save my college network settings, so I have to connect manually each time. This is what I physically have to do to connect:

1) Click on network manager icon in the notification area
2) Click "connect to other wireless network"
3) Type in "NETWORK_NAME" into network name area field
4) Select WPA enterprise under wireless security
5) Type in "USERNAME" into username field
6) Type in "PASSWORD" into password field

So what I would like to know: is there any command line equivalent for the above six steps? I would like to write a script which will carry out the above six steps for me automatically, using the parameters NETWORK_NAME, USERNAME and PASSWORD.

Thank you!

[reed9]

Connecting to a network via the command line isn't difficult, but it is a little trickier with WPA encryption.

You need to configure wpa_supplicant. Check if you have a config file already, at /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf. I don't think Ubuntu does, but if so, back it up.

Then

sudo gedit /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf

Add the following

ctrl_interface_group=0
eapol_version=1

#Sets AP sellection to be handled by wpa_supplicant or the driver.  
# 0=driver 1=wpa_supplicant
ap_scan=1

network={
        ssid="some_secure_network"
        scan_ssid=1
        proto=WPA
        key_mgmt=WPA-EAP
        pairwise=TKIP
        eap=PEAP
        ca_cert="/etc/certs/CAcert.cer"
        identity="myusername"
        password="mypasswrd"
}

then

sudo wpa_supplicant -B -Dwext -i wlan0 -c /etc/wpa_supplicant.conf 
sudo dhclient wlan0

I'm not familiar with the Enterprise WPA encryption; if this doesn't work, you can check here for more information. You'll need to direct the certification file to the right place, I imagine.

Also, you might want to check out replacing the network manager in Ubuntu with wicd.

[kmitnick]

reed9:

what is -B _Dwext?
and what does dhclient, is it a tool to assign ip and so automatically???

[reed9]

reed9:

what is -B _Dwext?
and what does dhclient, is it a tool to assign ip and so automatically???

Yup, DHCLIENT is a tool to request an IP address from a server. Some distros use DHCPCD instead.

The -B flag tells it to run in the background. -D is to indicate a driver. wext, or Wireless Extensions, is a generic driver that works in the majority of cases.

EDIT:
If you're using WEP encryption or no encryption, to connect to a wireless network from the command line is just

sudo iwconfig wlan0 essid "MY WIRELESS" key s:my_wep_key
sudo dhclient wlan0

You can use

sudo iwlist wlan0 scanning

to scan for wireless networks in range.

[kmitnick]

thnx dude

[phalaris_trip]

Thanks for the reply,

I will try it out when I get home and post the results.