Introduction

Introduction =20

-Currently we support wireless setup either by wireless-tools or -wpa_supplicant. The important thing to remember is that you confi= gure for -wireless networks on a global basis and not an interface basis. +Wireless networking on Linux is usually pretty straightforward. There ar= e two +ways of configuring wifi: graphical clients, or the command line.

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-wpa_supplicant is the best choice, but it does not support all dr= ivers. -For a list of supported drivers, easiest way is to use a graphical client once you've installe= d a desktop environment. Most graphi= cal clients, +such as wicd and NetworkManager, are +pretty self-explanatory. They offer a handy point-and-click interface th= at gets +you on a network in just a few seconds. +

+ + +wicd offers a command line utility in addition to the main +graphical interface. You can get it by emerging wicd with the +ncurses USE flag set. This wicd-curses utility is particul= arly +useful for folks who don't use a gtk-based desktop environment, but stil= l want +an easy command line tool that doesn't require hand-editing configuratio= n +files. + + +

+However, if you don't want to use a graphical client, then you can confi= gure +wifi on the command line by editing a few configuration files. This take= s a bit +more time to setup, but it also requires the fewest packages to download= and +install. Since the graphical clients are mostly self-explanatory (with h= elpful +screenshots at their homepages), we'll focus on the command line alterna= tives. +

+ +

+You can setup wireless networking on the command line by installing +wireless-tools or wpa_supplicant. The important thing to r= emember +is that you configure wireless networks on a global basis and not an int= erface +basis. +

+ +

+wpa_supplicant is the best choice. For a list of supported driver= s, read the wpa_supplicant -site. Also, wpa_supplicant can currently only connect to SS= IDs -that you have configured. +site.

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wireless-tools supports nearly all cards and drivers, but it cann= ot -connect to WPA only Access Points. +connect to WPA-only Access Points. If your networks only offer WEP encry= ption or +are completely open, you may prefer the simplicity of wireless-tools<= /c>.

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WPA Supplicant is a -package that allows you to connect to WPA enabled access points. Its set= up is -fairly fluid as it is still in beta - however it works fine for the most= part. +package that allows you to connect to WPA enabled access points..

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@@ -67,6 +97,13 @@
 wpa_supplicant to work.
 
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+
+Depending on your USE flags, wpa_supplicant can install a graphic=
al
+interface written in Qt4, which will integrate nicely with KDE. To get i=
t, run
+echo "net-wireless/wpa_supplicant qt4" >> /etc/portage/package.use as
+root before emerging wpa_supplicant.
+
+
 
 Now we have to configure /etc/conf.d/net to so that we pref=
er
 wpa_supplicant over wireless-tools (if both are installed,
@@ -98,7 +135,7 @@
 which ships with wpa_supplicant.
 
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-+ # The below line not be changed otherwise we refuse to work
 ctrl_interface=3D/var/run/wpa_supplicant
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