Connecting an AP through a USB to Wifi device

[e-Geoff]

Hello all,

I am using the TS7500 board from embeddedarm with the Debian OS on an SD card. I have also successfully installed the WIFI-N-USB wireless module. It works perfect since I am able to list the available networks using the command

iwlist scan

So then I follow the instructions given here: wiki.embeddedarm.com/wiki/WIFI-N-USB to connect a WEP encrypted network:

ifconfig ra0 up
iwconfig ra0 essid "my_essid" key "my_password"
ifconfig ra0 192.168.1.101

However, I cannot ping my AP (192.168.1.1) (and a computer on the same network cannot ping my board). I also tried to disable the eth0 as suggested in the above mentioned website.

Here is the network configuration on the board

ifconfig -a
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:d0:69:45:54:d4
          inet addr:192.168.1.50  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:63 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:4299 (4.1 KiB)
          Base address:0x2000

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:8740 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:8740 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
          RX bytes:36444348 (34.7 MiB)  TX bytes:36444348 (34.7 MiB)

ra0       Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr f4:6d:04:b2:01:55
          inet addr:192.168.1.101  Bcast:192.168.1.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:1048320 (1023.7 KiB)  TX bytes:64496 (62.9 KiB)

usb0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 7e:72:f2:0e:20:ee
          BROADCAST MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

And the content of my /etc/network/interfaces file:

ts7500:/# cat /etc/network/interfaces 
# Used by ifup(8) and ifdown(8). See the interfaces(5) manpage or
# /usr/share/doc/ifupdown/examples for more information.
 
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
 
auto eth0
#iface eth0 inet dhcp
iface eth0 inet static
        address 192.168.1.50
        network 192.168.1.0
        netmask 255.255.255.0
        broadcast 192.168.1.255
        gateway 192.168.1.1
 
#auto eth1
#iface eth1 inet dhcp

Can you see something wrong or to try ?

Note 1: and also, if I try a dhclient, I got "no offers"... But I would like to work with a static IP
Note 2: The system was working when connected through an ethernet cable to the AP

Thank you!

[Rubberman]

I have a PC104 board from Embeddedarm as well - works great! However, I don't have the WiFi module (wired ethernet only), though I have had really good experiences with their tech support engineering people in getting issues resolved. Try sending them an email about your problem.

[e-Geoff]

Hello again,

Finally, with a lot of researches and patience, I have found the problem and a solution.
The problem was that the iwconfig does not apply my changes as I requested. e.g. when I did the essid iwconfg command, essid was not actually set.

In some websites I have found that I should try to set the ra0 down and change the configuration. This was not possible on my board since the iwconfig command does not allow changes when the ra0 is down.

So finally here is the solution I have found: change the /etc/network/interfaces file as follows and then reboot:

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
 
auto eth0
#iface eth0 inet dhcp
iface eth0 inet static
        address 192.168.1.50
        network 192.168.1.0
        netmask 255.255.255.0
        broadcast 192.168.1.255
        gateway 192.168.1.1

auto ra0
iface ra0 inet static
	address 192.168.1.14
	netmask 255.255.255.0
	broadcast 192.168.1.255
	gateway 192.168.1.1
	up \
	/sbin/iwconfig ra0 mode managed && \
	/sbin/iwconfig ra0 enc restricted && \
	/sbin/iwconfig ra0 key MY_NETWORK_PWD && \
	/sbin/iwconfig ra0 essid MY_NETWORK
 
#auto eth1
#iface eth1 inet dhcp

Hope it can help!

Bye

[Rubberman]

Glad you sorted this out. With embedded systems, there is often no other solution than trial and error, research, and more trial and error...