Lucent Orinoco Wireless card with Debian Linux?

i've just got debian woody up and running on an ibm thinkpad with a
xicom ethernet card, and now i'd like to convert to my linksys 802.11
with lucent orinoco wireless card ... but since i'm a debian newbie i
would very much appreciate any pointers or basic howto links. i'm a
debian newbie, so please forgive me if i've missed an obvious howto
somewhere ...

cheers,
Phillip

On 11 Feb 2004 16:29:13 -0800, linx4prs <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> i've just got debian woody up and running on an ibm thinkpad with a
> xicom ethernet card, and now i'd like to convert to my linksys 802.11
> with lucent orinoco wireless card ...

An Orinoco card should "just work", more or less, as long as you have
the pcmcia modules, pcmcia-cs, and wireless-tools installed. I expect
that you already have the first to for the wired ethernet. If you stick
the card in do you get the double beep, or the beep-boop? Any messages
in /var/log/syslog?

I'm using the orinoco driver with a Linksys card on Sid. The only thing
I had to do was set up an eth1 in /etc/network/interfaces because my
laptop (a Thinkpad T22) has a builtin ethernet as well. Otherwise I
think the card would be eth0. Here's an example to get you started:

iface eth1 inet static
address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
netmask 255.255.255.0
network xxx.xxx.xxx.0
broadcast xxx.xxx.xxx.255
gateway xxx.xxx.xxx.1
wireless_mode managed

This can also be configured in /etc/pcmcia/wireless.opts and
network.opts but that seems less "Debian" to me.

The only thing is that if you want to use WEP that is sometimes a
problem. It works fine in Sid with kernel 2.4.24 but I'm not sure
whether it is ok in Woody with 2.4.18. That is configured in the
same file(s).


--
-| Bob Hauck
-| To Whom You Are Speaking
-| http://www.haucks.org/

Ah, Thanks. I'm a Debian and linux newbie trying to move to debian
from MS Windows and things are beginning to clear up. I've read your
post and am reading the PCMCIA HOWTO and other stuff, so here's what
I've learned:

I installed Debian woody with a Xircom ethernet PCMCIA card and
internet connection, so that is what is now defined as eth0 ... I have
no built-in ethernet on my old THinpad 390E :-)

When I plug in my Lucent Orinoco Gold 802.11b card (works under MS
Windows and a Red Hat linux 9 I installed previously before I decided
to try Debian) I get a high beep and then a low beep ... which I think
means that the card was recognized but now configured. There is no
diagnostic in /var/logs/messages.

I downloaded the wireless tools (iwcongi, etc.) and buuilt them and
put them in
the /sbin directory, and I removed the comment lines in wireless.opts
that were supposed (I think) to enable wireless, but with no change in
result, even after I reboot.

I'm now studying more stuff about the wireless configuration, but any
advice will help.

Thanks again :-)



Bob Hauck <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message news:<(E-Mail Removed) g>...
> On 11 Feb 2004 16:29:13 -0800, linx4prs <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> > i've just got debian woody up and running on an ibm thinkpad with a
> > xicom ethernet card, and now i'd like to convert to my linksys 802.11
> > with lucent orinoco wireless card ...
>
> An Orinoco card should "just work", more or less, as long as you have
> the pcmcia modules, pcmcia-cs, and wireless-tools installed. I expect
> that you already have the first to for the wired ethernet. If you stick
> the card in do you get the double beep, or the beep-boop? Any messages
> in /var/log/syslog?
>
> I'm using the orinoco driver with a Linksys card on Sid. The only thing
> I had to do was set up an eth1 in /etc/network/interfaces because my
> laptop (a Thinkpad T22) has a builtin ethernet as well. Otherwise I
> think the card would be eth0. Here's an example to get you started:
>
> iface eth1 inet static
> address xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
> netmask 255.255.255.0
> network xxx.xxx.xxx.0
> broadcast xxx.xxx.xxx.255
> gateway xxx.xxx.xxx.1
> wireless_mode managed
>
> This can also be configured in /etc/pcmcia/wireless.opts and
> network.opts but that seems less "Debian" to me.
>
> The only thing is that if you want to use WEP that is sometimes a
> problem. It works fine in Sid with kernel 2.4.24 but I'm not sure
> whether it is ok in Woody with 2.4.18. That is configured in the
> same file(s).

On 13 Feb 2004 13:49:56 -0800, linx4prs <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

> I get a high beep and then a low beep ... which I think means that the
> card was recognized but now configured.

Yes.


> There is no diagnostic in /var/logs/messages.

Look in /var/log/syslog instead as I suggested. There will be something
there.


> I downloaded the wireless tools (iwcongi, etc.) and buuilt them and
> put them in the /sbin directory,

Is there a reason you didn't just do "apt-get install wireless-tools"?

If you ever wonder whether Debian has something, do "apt-cache search
something". If it is listed you can install it with "apt-get install".


--
-| Bob Hauck
-| To Whom You Are Speaking
-| http://www.haucks.org/