Re: Instructions for command line usage of WiFi.
On Sun 15 Nov 2020 at 10:59:10 (-0800), peter@easthope.ca wrote:
> From: Reco <recoverym4n@enotuniq.net>
> Date: Fri, 6 Nov 2020 08:25:39 +0300
> > [1] also states that:
> >
> > The wpasupplicant package ...
> >
> > In simplier terms: no wpasupplicant = no WPA2.
>
> Your simplified statement is invaluable. "Less is more".
>
> The rather inscrutable section entitled "wpa_supplicant" follows the
> section entitled "WPS" which follows the section entitled "Command
> Line". The structure of the document certainly doesn't explain the
> relationship of components well. Unhelpful to a novice. Obvously no
> problem for an expert. But who should be helped by documentation?
The trouble is that someone with expertise has to empathise with
new users ignorant of the process and terminology, and then
restructure or rewrite the whole page.
> I guess most connections now require authentication. The explanation
> should be consistent with reality.
>
> My effort to make WiFi work, using network access by a mobile tablet,
> was tough going. Installation of packages was painful. I abandoned
> the effort, took the HDD back to a system with wired Ethernet,
> installed LXDE, wicd and dependencies and got WiFI to work. =8~)
There's no need for a DE in order to run wicd—I didn't think of
suggesting it because your first post seemed to say that you
wanted to try making connections with low-level tools like iw,
wpasupplicant, etc, something that I've always intended to
try out but never quite found the time for. Perhaps if and when
wicd gets dropped through lack of Python3 support.
> I wonder why the netinstall process in the ISO image doen't include at
> least the base support for WiFi? Too much data? Negligence in
> planning the ISO build?
They're all there, viz:
$ ls -Glg netinst/10.2.0/amd64-with/iso-contents-unpacked/pool/main/w/w*[sa]
netinst/10.2.0/amd64-with/iso-contents-unpacked/pool/main/w/wireless-tools:
total 164
-r--r--r-- 1 12624 Sep 15 2018 libiw30-udeb_30~pre9-13_amd64.udeb
-r--r--r-- 1 21548 Sep 15 2018 libiw30_30~pre9-13_amd64.deb
-r--r--r-- 1 12184 Sep 15 2018 wireless-tools-udeb_30~pre9-13_amd64.udeb
-r--r--r-- 1 113580 Sep 15 2018 wireless-tools_30~pre9-13_amd64.deb
netinst/10.2.0/amd64-with/iso-contents-unpacked/pool/main/w/wpa:
total 1548
-r--r--r-- 1 324536 Sep 18 2019 wpasupplicant-udeb_2.7+git20190128+0c1e29f-6+deb10u1_amd64.udeb
-r--r--r-- 1 1254660 Sep 18 2019 wpasupplicant_2.7+git20190128+0c1e29f-6+deb10u1_amd64.deb
$
The same wireless packages are also on the free-firmware-only
versions of netinst, which I don't bother to download myself,
but usually the problem is that so much wireless hardware
requires non-free firmware to fully function.
The other problem is (or was¹) the removal of the contents of
/etc/network/interfaces as the final step of the installer,
meaning you have to immediately enter it all again.
> Incidentally, I'd prefer to say that authentication is conducted by
> "authenticator" and "authenticatee". Meaning is fairly obvious.
> Symmetry is as valuable in technical terminology as in vehicle design.
> Yah, I've read https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplicant_(computer).
> Can't help but think that the authors of 802.1X were being a little
> too clever with "authenticator" and "supplicant". Make it simple as
> possible!
Hmm. It gives a lot of scope for a typo to cause havoc. Perhaps the
authors of 802.1X (if they coined it) learnt something from PPP,
where the supplicant was known as the peer, in a system designed
for connecting two peers. What's more, I think that most people
consider themselves as the authenticator when they authenticate
themselves with a passport at immigration control. So, quite ambiguous.
¹ I haven't followed up on whether there have been improvements
surrounding bug #694068.
Cheers,
David.
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