Solve Wifi encryption problems in Puppy 4.1.2

[tempestuous]

There have been several reports of wifi connection problems under Puppy 4.1.2 and I have suggested in several forum posts that I suspect this may occur only with ENCRYPTED CONNECTIONS (WEP/WPA/WPA2) and that the solution may be related to encryption-related modules not being loaded. Specifically I'm talking about these modules:

aes_generic
arc4
crypto_blkcipher
ecb
crc32c

But as often happens on the forum, such technical suggestions are ignored and the forum thread ends without resolution.
Fortunately we now have a sensible forum member, VK6FUN, who has manually loaded the crypto_blkcipher module and confirmed that this provides a fix ... in at least one situation!

I recommend that others with such problems try this fix. To load these modules, use the modprobe command, eg -

Code: Select all

modprobe crypto_blkcipher

[fms]

Thanks a lot for your hints !

On my Puppy 4.1.2 installation the modules arc4, crc32c and ecb were not present. I added all of them, using the BootManager. After that I was able to connect to my Wifi net which uses WPA2 encryption.

[8-bit]

Could they all be made available as a pet or tgz with a link for download?
Also, what is the chance of having them included in a new Puppy release?
And last, are the modules kernel specific? That is to say will they work with different versions of the kernel?

[tempestuous]

Could they all be made available as a pet or tgz with a link for download?

You misunderstand. The encryption modules are not missing. They just need to be loaded.

are the modules kernel specific?

Yes, always.

[8-bit]

"I jumped the gun and did not look and see that they were already included in Puppy 4.1.2.
A script for the part of WIFI setup that lets you pick an encription key that would automatically install the modules would help those that can't get WIFI encription to work.

[PaulBx1]

My wpa wireless is working (as far as I can tell); at least it's what I'm using to post this. I checked and found that, of the modules listed, arc4, ecb and crc32c are not loaded.

It may be that not all of them need to be there. In that case you might want to experiment to find which are really needed.

[RCH]

I recommend that others with such problems try this fix. To load these modules, use the modprobe command, eg -
Code:
modprobe crypto_blkcipher

How does one accomplish this to happen during bootup?
I am hoping this fixes the problem I am having.
I have searched quite a bit, but nothing seems to fit my problem exactly.
I installed Puppy 4.1.2 on my old Dell Inspiron, and I use an Orinoco Gold WIFI card with WEP enabled.
When I booted from the live cd, it always worked perfectly. Since I installed it to hard drive, it is hit and miss, mostly miss. If I try to reinstall the Orinoco driver, it tells me that it is already loaded, then it tells me that it cannot find any adapters.
I was hoping that since it saves my profile for the network I want to attach to with the WEP key, that it would connect automatically each time, but it does not do this.
I really like this distro, it makes my old laptop scream compared to Window$.
Off to test this to see if it helps.
Other than that, any suggestions???
Thanks.

[dawnsboy]

I recommend that others with such problems try this fix. To load these modules, use the modprobe command, eg -
Code:
modprobe crypto_blkcipher

How does one accomplish this to happen during bootup?

cd to /etc/rc.d and locate the rc.local file. Open it with a text editor and add the following line to the end of the file:

modprobe crypto_blkcipher

Save the file, close the text editor and reboot.

It worked for me.

[RCH]

Thanks for the info on how to insert modprobe, easy once you know how, huh?

No joy for me though. It now brings the adapter up as wlan0 instead of eth0. When I try to use it I get an error "failed to raise interface wlan0, command was ifconfig.wlan0.up.

Any ideas on where to go now?

[dawnsboy]

No joy for me though. It now brings the adapter up as wlan0 instead of eth0.

I have been hesitant to respond because I am not sure that I fully understand your question but since no one has replied I will take a stab at it anyway in the hope that I can be of some help at least. I am not an expert in the field by any stretch of the imagination.

The term "eth0" identifies the interface used by an operating system to access the internet (or network) using a wired (generally RJ-45 cable) connection to a router or hub. The terms "wlan:0", "wifi:0" or "ath:0" identify interfaces for use with wireless setups.

I use Puppy on an Eeepc 701 4G and must install some extra software to make 4.1.2 compatible with my system. Upon detecting the wifi card in my netbook Puppy 4.1.2 displays interface "wifi:0" in the system tray using Blinky. I then have to configure the setup for use with my network. I do this by using the "connect" wizard on the desktop. After successfully completing the process I wind up with a second rendition of Blinky identified as "ath:0". Generally I am able to access the internet at this point. I say generally because I am still having intermittent connection issues ( ie Puppy not remembering settings or maybe not able to implement the saved configuration every time even though I have modified the rc.local with the encryption module for WPA/TKIP. For this reason I have fallen back to Pupeee which runs extremely well on my little 701.).

I have used the 2.10, 2.17 and 3.01 versions of puppy on an old Hewlett Packard Omnibook 900 with an Agere pcmcia wireless card (Orinoco Gold). I seem to remember having no problem with it. I ran the wireless setup provided with those editions of puppy and wound up with a system tray display for "wlan:0". I would assume that if Puppy loaded the interface "wlan:0" that it has identified your wireless card. The next step would be to run the connection wizard to enable a connection to the internet.

I hope that provides an answer to your query. If not, post back and let us know.

[RCH]

Thanks for taking the time to try and help me, I really do appreciate it.
I know it seems weird, but all the time that I have been able to get my Orinoco wireless card to work, it has been as eth0. I also was under the assumption that eth0 was for a cat5 connection, but in my case, it was detected as eth0, and would work as eth0 in puppy.

My problem is somewhat like yours, no persistence after reboot. I also will use the connection wizard to get my card set up, but it sees my orinoco as eth0, and when it all comes together right, works fine as eth0. My problem is, after I get it working, when I reboot I have to go through the process several times, sometimes as many as a dozen times, before it will work again. I don't think it is a hardware problem, because I never have this problem under WinDo$e, never.

Maybe I should try and find an earlier version of Puppy and see if that works. Also, if I use DSL (Damn Small Linux) if I remove the WEP from my network, it works with the card every time. I just have a hard time getting it setup in DSL because I don't want to leave my network open for any amount of time.

I know, I know, I'm not fooling myself, WEP encryption is almost as bad as no protection, and is quite easy to get around. I just want to be able to say that someone had to actually hack into my network to do anything, and that they knew they were breaking the law when they did it.

Once again, thank you for trying to help me.

[dawnsboy]

I decided to chew on the problem a little bit more. I had been attempting to use wep or wpa/tkip. Pupeee was perfectly content to configure as wpa/tkip. 4.1.2 did not want to configure properly in either of those setups. I tried loading the encryption modules in the rc.local with limited results. I tried the other suggestion in wep of adding "s:" to the front end of the passphrase but that did not help.

Since switching back to pupeee I loaded 4.12 on usb using a combination install, I also entered the router setup and read a few things about wireless encryption. I decided to switch to wpa2. I created a scrambled passphrase and setup the computers on the network accordingly. So far it has worked like a charm in 4.1.2 bare. I will probably switch back to 4.1.2 bare if this works out. I will let you know what I experience with this setup.

[mdisaster2]

I stumbled into a weird wi-fi behaviour while trying to make 4.1.2 work with a Sitecom USB adaptor and WAP.

The thing was working nicely with WEP and Puppy 3.0.x as long I used my own connect scripts, which were pretty standard except for a liberal application of SLEEP 2 commands.

However at some point I switched to WPA, which worked nicely with all the other home PCs, and also on the Puppy machine when booting into Win98.

The network is configured this way:
- hidden SSID
- WPA/TKIP encryption
- 8 character long passphrase (not hex)

The USB adapter is a Sitecom WL-113 and uses the ZD1211 chip. It is correctly detected by both network wizards. I did add modprobe crypto_blkcipher in rc.local.


My results as of now:

New Network Wizard:
The wireless step fails (error message: "Associating") and I can't get a connection, no matter how hard I try.

Old Network Wizard:
The wireless step fails as well, but if I proceed with the other steps I usually can get a stable connection after a couple of attempts. Not sure whether the config gets saved though.

Pwireless:
Tells me that my wireless lan is WEP, but if I go on and supply SSID and password it does connect.

Now I'm trying to figure out where the old network wizard saves its WPA config, so I can rip it off and drop some SLEEP commands here and there as I did with WEP. I am pretty sure there has to be a smarter way to go about it though... any ideas ?

[rjbrewer]

Midisaster2;

Click pfind in menu...type wpa; lists all file locations.

Pwireless calls everything that isn't open wep.

[dawnsboy]

I am quite impressed with Puppy Linux. If I had a small profile desktop like a Dell Gx260 (laptop hd and external power supply) I would load it up with Puppy Linux. This is because Puppy has matured to the point that it can be a full time OS in my opinion. It is spot on with LAN and "open" wireless networks. I stayed in my wifes hospital room around the clock during her recent stay and found Puppy 4.1.2 very adept at connecting to the provided wireless network. When it comes to encrypted wireless communications however Puppy has some issues.

I have conducted a number of "experiments" if you will using Breezy, Pupeee and 4.12. I installed to usb and to ssd on my eeepc 701 4G. I compared results with each install. To be fair to Puppy I configured Puppy in each version and format with each of the available wpa and wpa2 settings available on my wireless router. I also conducted testing with and without editing the rc.local file to ensure loading of encryption modules ( no difference was noted).

The results are in:

The setups that passed are:

Breezy (wpa/tkip)
Pupeee (wpa/tkip) with password of 10 characters or more

The setups that failed are:

Puppy 4.1.2
Puppy 4.12 Bare

Observations:

Breezy could only handle wpa/tkip but it performed very well. It was very easy to set up and wpa-connect tool on the January, 2008 version connected very quickly. I wish all versions of Puppy had that tool. I would use it. Pupeee works well with passwords of 10 characters or more. It will not work with less and placing "s:" before the shorter password did not work in this case.

I did have an install of Pupeee that seemed to work pretty well for a few days but it fell off somewhere along the line. I have been experiencing a set of common symptoms with each of these setups. Sometimes the network wizard seems to effectively setup the wireless but will not allow internet access. wifi0 and ath0 are loaded and represented in the tray by Blinky. Even so no internet. Sometimes they are loaded and do provide internet access. Sometimes wifi0 will load but nothing I do will cause ath0 to load. I must reboot and try again.

However, even when internet access is granted it is certain that at some point performance with become extremely spotty. Sometimes wireless simply disconnects itself and ath0 actually unloads. Also, it appears that there are moments when Puppy cannot detect my wireless router to save its own life. Yet when I scan again there it is (viola). Often the wireless scan detects multiple networks in the area. This confuses Puppy and he goes on the floor instead of asking to go outside.

The ip address that the router consistently assigns this computer (regardless of which OS is installed, Xandros included) is 10.0.0.X. However Puppy will often claim to have connected with an IP address that is not at all related to my setup (269.xxx.xxx). This is outside the range of ip addresses available with my current hardware and makes me think that Puppy is trying to connect to one of those other networks out there instead of the one I asked it to connect with. The only available addresses on my system start with 10.0.0.1 through 10.0.0.4. Needless to say Puppy cannot connect to the Internet when this happens.

These little experiments are hardly scientific but they do demonstrate a consistent pattern of behavior. It is unfortunate because the Eeepc is not designed to be tethered to a desk and a cable. It is designed to be used in various rooms of the house, office or on the road.

ANOTHER MATTER:

RCH wrote:

I also was under the assumption that eth0 was for a cat5 connection

The cable is a CAT cable. The connection ports are RJ-45.

UPDATE:

I remember now why Pupeee was working so well with encrypted wireless and then seemed to fall victim to the same issues as 4.12. I changed the password for the network. DOH!

I had been using passwords of 10 characters or more but switched to one with only 8 characters. That is when Pupeee started having issues. I had read a post suggesting that s: be placed before the password but that did not do the trick. Changing the network password back to 10 characters caused Pupeee to lock right in to the network again.

[mdisaster2]

Midisaster2;

Click pfind in menu...type wpa; lists all file locations.

Pwireless calls everything that isn't open wep.

Done, thx

Today the network wizards were on strike and Pwireless required an inordinate number of attempts, so I wrote a connect script (based on Tempestuos' excellent command line instructions, plus some delay and housekeeping stuff), and now everything works nice - I click the script icon, wait for Blinky to appear (it does it on its own, how cool is that ? ), and voilà, I'm online.

Still not sure why the wizards don't work with this specific adapter though, maybe the adapter has timing issues or something. However all is well...

[WhoDo]

I recommend that others with such problems try this fix. To load these modules, use the modprobe command, eg -

Code: Select all

modprobe crypto_blkcipher

Should this be implemented by default in Puppy-4.2? Will modprobing these modules in the rc.local cause any other problems?

I'm happy to include all in the Alpha2 release for testing, if it creates no other problems.

Cheers

[tempestuous]

Code: Select all

modprobe crypto_blkcipher

Should this be implemented by default in Puppy-4.2?

Yes, probably ... although this module will not necessarily be needed for all users. So it would be more technically correct to update the Network Wizard to ensure that the crypto_blkcipher module is loaded when needed, but I worry that this will add an additional layer of complexity (with potential problems) to the Wizard.

[PCPlod]

Hi,
I'm continuing to have problems setting up my USRobotics Maxg wifi card under 4.1.2.
Under 4.1.1. it worked though sometimes the internet access broke down but I could usually reconnect using the wizard.
Since using 4.1.2 it has never worked. I went back to using 4.1.1 but failed then as well.
Using the wizard I always get to recognise the card and then the wireless router. Using the automatic settings I also always get a success on getting an IP address. However as soon as I try going anywhere I get a connection error message.
We also have another laptop running Windows XP that never has any problem accessing the network and the internet.
I also have had no problem using the card in the office where the encryption is WAP as opposed to WEP here.
I have added the modprobe line to the rc.local file but this has changed nothing.
So, I assume it has something to do with how the setup works with my router or the WEP encryption.
If anybody has any ideas, I'll gladly try them out.
Thanks!

UPDATE 25/02/09

I'm continuing to experiment with this and it seems that although I can get access this is when nobody else is using the internet through the router, i.e. my laptop is the only computer connected. This seems to suggest it is more a router problem than a Puppy problem although it doesn't explain why the Windows machines can all be connected at the same time and work but not the Puppy machine. The wired connection always works whether or not others are connected.
If anyone has any ideas on this, I'm always happy to try them.

[RCH]

ANOTHER MATTER:

RCH wrote:

I also was under the assumption that eth0 was for a cat5 connection

The cable is a CAT cable. The connection ports are RJ-45.

I think you know what I meant, a wired connection.
Anyway, With my poking around into the inner workings of the OS, I seem to have mucked it up to where it won't find the Orinoco card at all anymore, so I will probably just scrub this install and try an older version of Puppy, and see if that helps.

I still don't understand why it picked up the Orinoco card when running live from the CD, but struggled with it when installed on the hard drive.