Difference between revisions of "Network FAQ"


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(Q: How to setup the wireless connection using ndiswrapper under Knoppix 4.0.2 & 5.1.1)
(Q: How to automate the wireless connection ?)
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==== Q:  How to automate the wireless connection ? ====
 
==== Q:  How to automate the wireless connection ? ====
  
A: Once I have my wireless hardware up and running, the next target is "How to automate the setup process" so I do not need to do it every time.
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[This FAQ is moved to [2] in order to avoid the size overflow of the Network_FAQ page]
 
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This is the solution I come up with. The whole idea is to save the configuration to a drive and then add all the setup wireless driver steps into the knoppix.sh script.
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Once the wireless setup steps are in place, we can automate the process by using the cheat-code
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knoppix myconfig=scan
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to load the driver at boot time.
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The drive can be either an USB thumb drive or the hard drive. I will use an USB drive with the Dell D610 here as an example.
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----
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The information here may not be 100% correct, but it works for me. However, if you find something is wrong. Please let me know. Thank you.
+
 
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chip_ling@yahoo.ca
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Chip Ling Aug 3, 2007
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----
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1. Copy the two wireless driver files oem0.inf and bcmwl5.sys to the USB thumb drive \wireless directory.
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----
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2. With the USB thumb drive connected to the machine, boot up the Knoppix 5.1.1 from the CD with no cheat-code.
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----
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3. Save the configuration to the USB thumb drive:
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==> Click the Knoppix icon on the task bar
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==> Select Configure
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==> Select Save Knoppix Configuration
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==> The Create Knoppix Configuration Archive window popup
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==> By default, all items are selected except "All files on Desktop"
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==> It depends on what your needs here, for me, I just uncheck all items here
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==> Click OK
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==> Output to the USB thumb drive : /media/sdb1
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==> Click OK
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----
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4. Mount the USB thumb drive as read/write enable.
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4.1 Find the USB thumb drive, enter the following command from the console.
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$ ls /mnt
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On the Dell D610, the USB thumb drive is /media/sdb1
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4.2 Issue the mount command:
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$ sudo mount -t vfat /dev/sdb1 /media/sdb1 -o rw,umask=000
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----
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5. Edit the /media/sdb1/knoppix.sh
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Use the editor you like, append the following code to the knoppix.sh shell script.
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sleep 5
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echo "Remove old bcm43xx module..."
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modprobe -r bcm43xx
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sleep 5
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echo "Wrap bcmwl5.sys into ndiswrapper..."
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ndiswrapper -i /media/sdb1/wireless/oem0.inf
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sleep 5
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echo "Install ndiswrapper module..."
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modprobe ndiswrapper
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sleep 5
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echo "Unmount the USB drive..."
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umount /media/sdb1
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sleep 5
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echo "Setup the ESSID and channel..."
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iwconfig eth1 essid TESTSSID channel 11
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sleep 5
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echo "Start the eth1..."
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ifconfig eth1 up
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sleep 5
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echo "Get IP address..."
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pump -i eth1
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Then save the file and exit. The first three lines are for Dell D600, D610 or any Dell machines using bcm43xx chipset only. So exclude them if you have machine with wireless chipset other than bcm43xx.
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----
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6. Shutdown the knoppix and you are done.
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----
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7. From now on, boot up knoppix with the cheat-code:
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knoppix myconfig=scan
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Wireless should be up and running. Start the web browser to test the connection.
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----
 
----

Revision as of 05:01, 18 January 2009

Q: How do I get my DSL to work that already works on my windows xp in California?

A: the following instruction should work: http://howto.htlw16.ac.at/at-highspeed-howto-2.html (German)

Alternate method, by a noob---for Knoppix 5.1.1 I don't claim to be an expert, but this worked for me!  :-) (All these steps may not be necessary, but it worked for me-YMMV.)

  • From the Knoppix taskbar icon, -configure networking
netcardconfig
-try 'yes' to autoconfigure  (This didn't work for me.  No idea why.)
ifconfig
  • If the network interface card is correctly configured, you should see BOTH the 127.0.0.1 loopback interface AND a local network address. It takes up about 15 lines. If yes, you're golden, if not..
  • From another machine on the network, log on to the router. (Look at the instructions that came with your router for how to do this.) In my Siemens SpeedStream 2614 4 port DSL/Cable Router, the location is 192.168.254.254 and after logging in, the opening page shows the following:

INTERNET Cable/DSL : CONNECTED WAN IP: 74.68.xx.yyy Subnet Mask: 255.255.240.0 Gateway IP: 74.68.ff.ggg DNS: 24.29.www.xyz

In 'Simple Setup' the allowed range of IP addresses is defined.

  • From your root shell, enter this sequence of commands:
netcardconfig --select 'no' to manually configure the NIC
  -enter an unused IP address in the acceptable range for your router
  -when asked for the following, enter the information from the router:
  -Subnet Mask:  255.255.240.0  
(I accepted the default, 255.255.255.0,  and it worked fine.  
Like I said, I'm not an expert!)
  -Gateway IP: (from your router)  74.68.ff.ggg
  -Name server: DNS:  24.29.www.xyz   ('Domain Name Server')
ifconfig 

to see if network interface card is correctly configured, as above. If not, lather, rinse, repeat. If it is, try

ping 192.168.254.254   (the IP address of the router above)  and 
ping 192.168.254.xxy   (the IP address of the other machine)
(Hit <CTRL> C   to stop the pinging!)

If this works, you're in!



Q: How to setup the wireless connection using ndiswrapper under Knoppix 4.0.2 & 5.1.1

[This FAQ is moved to [1] in order to avoid the size overflow of the Network_FAQ page]



Q: How about wireless connection with WEP turns on

[This FAQ is moved to [2] in order to avoid the size overflow of the Network_FAQ page]



Q: How to automate the wireless connection ?

[This FAQ is moved to [2] in order to avoid the size overflow of the Network_FAQ page]



Q: How to automate the search for a predefined list of wireless connections ?

A: I have a wireless connection at the office and one at my home. This section help me to use one knoppix.sh script to access them all. All I have to do is to enter the cheat-code at bootup time:

knoppix myconfig=scan

This example assumes my office has the ESSID=OFFICE on channel 9 and my home has the ESSID=HOME on channel 11.

All steps are the same as the FAQ "How to automate the wireless connection"


The information here may not be 100% correct, but it works for me. However, if you find something is wrong. Please let me know. Thank you.

chip_ling@yahoo.ca

Chip Ling 5 Aug 2007


Follow the steps mentioned on FAQ "How to automate wireless connection". The only difference is on step 5.


On step 5, find out the code "iwconfig eth1 essid TESTSSID channel 11"

Replace this line with the following piece of code:

for i in OFFICE HOME; do
  sleep 5
  if [ "$i" = "OFFICE" ]; then
    channel=9
  elif [ "$i" = "HOME" ]; then
    channel=11
  else
    echo "Error on searching network channel"
  fi
  echo "Searching for network $i with channel $channel"
  iwconfig eth1 essid $i channel $channel
  sleep 5
  result=$( iwconfig eth1 | grep $i )
  if [ "$result" = "" ]; then
    echo "Network $i channel $channel not found"
    echo "Now check for the next network on the list..."
  else
    echo "Network $i channel $channel found"
    break
  fi
done

Be-aware of the spaces in the code, especially on the if statement. You must type in exactly as how my code looks like. Cut and paste is not a bad idea here.

Save the knoppix.sh file.

No matter where you are, at home or at office, just enter the cheat-code at boot time:

knoppix myconfig=scan

should connect your knoppix to the right wireless network.


If you have more wireless networks you want the script search for on the bootup time. (says SALESDEPT, FRONTDESK, ACCOUNTDEPT at work) Just add these networks ESSID to the line as below:

for i in OFFICE HOME SALESDEPT FRONTDESK ACCOUNTDEPT; do

then add the corresponding elif statement block to set the channel number right before the "else" statement.

 if [ "$i" = "OFFICE" ]; then
   channel=9
 elif [ "$i" = "HOME" ]; then
   channel=11
 elif [ "$i" = "SALESDEPT" ]; then
   channel=10
 elif [ "$i" = "FRONTDESK" ]; then
   channel=8
 elif [ "$i" = "ACCOUNTDEPT" ]; then
   channel=11 
 else
   echo "Error on searching network"
 fi

The machine will search for the network in the order that appears on the "for" statement. Once the first available network is found, it will stop the searching.

So if you want to log on to the SALESDEPT first, if not found, search the FRONTDESK, and then ACCOUNTDEPT and finally OFFICE. Then you have to rewrite the "for" statement as below.

for i in HOME SALESDEPT FRONTDESK ACCOUNTDEPT OFFICE; do

You need to do nothing on the "if-then-elif-else" statement block if you are not adding in new network item. Ordering in there does not matter.



Q: What machines does the Trendnet TEW-424UB Wireless USB adaptor supports ?

A: After a success with the onboard wireless adaptors on all the three laptops I have. I switch to the Trendnet TEW-424UB Wireless USB adaptor and see which machine can use it.


The information here may not be 100% correct, but it works for me. However, if you find something is wrong. Please let me know. Thank you.

chip_ling@yahoo.ca

Chip Ling Aug 2, 2007


Version: the Trendnet TEW-424UB is version 2 with SiS hardware.


I use the 2 driver files directly from the Trendnet installation CD. I went to \drivers\windows XP directory and copy the SiS163u.INF and SiS163u.sys to c:\wireless folder and then follow the instruction as the above FAQ.


Testing results on various machines: (please append to this list if you can)


Machine: Dell D610 laptop

Result: positive


Machine: Dell D600 laptop

Result: positive


Machine: Compaq EVO N600C laptop

Result: negative


Machine: Compaq DeskPro EN Desktop with 1G Hz P3 CPU

Result: negative


Machine: Compaq EVO Desktop with 2G Hz P4 CPU

Result: negative


Machine: IBM NetVista Desktop 1G Hz P3 CPU

Result: negative


Machine: No Brand Name Desktop with AMD 2G Hz CPU and ECS K7S5A motherboard

Result: positive



Q: How to setup NFS between knoppix machines via NFS ?

A: Here is a step by step approach to show you how to use NFS between 2 knoppix machines. I use Knoppix 5.1.1 in this test and both machines are booted from the knoppix 5.1.1 cd.


The information here may not be 100% correct, but it works for me. However, if you find something is wrong. Please let me know. Thank you.

chip_ling@yahoo.ca

Chip Ling 1st Jan 2008 (Happy New Year!)


Server machine: Machine 192.168.1.101 boot from the knoppix 5.1.1 cd will act as the server machine, it will open the /testroot directory to all machines within the subnet 192.168.1.*.

Client machine: Machine 192.168.1.102 boot from the knoppix 5.1.1 cd will act as one of the client machines, it will mount the server directory /testroot to it's local mount point /nfsmnt.


Exception Directories Handling: I tried a couple of directories on the server machine following the same steps as the /testroot case but failed.

For example: /ramdisk and /UNIONFS

Here is the error I got when I tried to mount the /ramdisk and /UNIONFS from the client

 $ sudo mount -t nfs 192.168.1.101:/ramdisk /nfsramdisk
 mount: 192.168.1.101:/ramdisk failed, reason given by server: Permission denied
 $ sudo mount -t nfs 192.168.1.101:/UNIONFS /nfsunionfs
 mount: 192.168.1.101:/unionfs failed, reason given by server: Permission denied

The work-around:

I found a work-around to these directories. From the server side, I created two symbolic links under /testroot which point to /ramdisk and /UNIONFS with the identical names.

 $ sudo ln -s /ramdisk /testroot/ramdisk
 $ sudo ln -s /UNIONFS /testroot/UNIONFS

Then when I went through all the steps below, on the client machine, I can always access the server's /ramdisk and /UNIONFS directories by going to /nfsmnt/ramdisk and /nfsmnt/UNIONFS.


1. On the server machine 192.168.1.101

1.1 Create the directory /testroot and set it to read/write/execute to all users

 $ sudo mkdir /testroot
 $ sudo chmod 777 /testroot

1.2 Create the file /etc/exports

 $ sudo vi /etc/exports
 /testroot 192.168.1.0/255.255.255.0(ro,sync,no_subtree_check)

Be careful that there is only one space on the above line.

Save the file.

1.3 Start the NFS related daemons on the server side

 $ sudo /etc/init.d/portmap start
 $ sudo /etc/init.d/nfs-common start
 $ sudo /etc/init.d/nfs-kernel-server start

2. On the client machine 192.168.1.102

2.1 Start the NFS related daemons on the client side

 $ sudo /etc/init.d/portmap start
 $ sudo /etc/init.d/nfs-common start

2.2 Create a directory /nfsmnt on the client machine as the mount point

 $ sudo mkdir /nfsmnt
 $ sudo chmod 777 /nfsmnt

2.3 Mount the server directory /testroot as /nfsmnt on the client machine

 $ sudo mount -t nfs 192.168.1.101:/testroot /nfsmnt

2.4 Done. Now you can access the /nfsmnt mount point as a local directory.



Q: How to setup FTP on Knoppix ?

A: Knoppix has the FTP server up and running when booted. However, because of the security reason, it was locked so that you cannot ftp to the server.


Caution: You have to understand that the FTP is not secure and you may consider using other ftp product instead. (i.e. vsftp is a good choice)


However, for a home-based closed local network, who care? Or if you have the same machine as I have, you do not care too.


My machine: an old Pentium 3 PC with no hard-drive, 512 MB RAM, Knoppix cd on the cd-rom. If something went wrong. I simply press the reset button and reboot knoppix from cd. That's the beauty of Linux Live CD, isn't it?


The following steps were tested using Knoppix 4.0.2, 5.0.1 and 5.1.1


The information here may not be 100% correct, but it works for me. However, if you find something is wrong. Please let me know. Thank you.

chip_ling@yahoo.ca

Chip Ling 2nd Jan 2008


1. Setup knoppix password

 $ sudo passwd knoppix

It will ask you to input the password twice.

Knoppix booted with no password setup on the knoppix id. But you need one for ftp login, don't you?


2. Modify file /etc/hosts.deny

Edit the file /etc/hosts.deny, comment the line "ALL: PARANOID" and then save the file.

 $ sudo vi /etc/hosts.deny
 # ALL: PARANOID


3. Modify file /etc/hosts.allow

Edit the file /etc/hosts.allow, change the line "ALL : ALL@ALL : DENY" to the following line and then save the file.

 $ sudo vi /etc/hosts.allow
 ALL : 192.168.1.* LOCAL : ALLOW

Here I open up the server to all machines inside the subnet 192.168.1.*


4. Restart the inetd daemon

For knoppix 5.1.1:

 $ sudo /etc/init.d/openbsd-inetd restart

For knoppix 5.0.1 or older:

 $ sudo /etc/init.d/inetd restart

Now the FTP server is ready for logon, go to one of the other machine in the subnet and you should be able to connect to the server via FTP.



Q: How to setup Samba on Knoppix and share it's drive to other Windows XP machines ?

A: It maybe my problem, however, I can hardly find the information I want from the Samba site so I decided to write some simple steps here and hopefully can help someone.


Objective

I have two Windows XP machines on my network, I want to boot knoppix live CD 5.1.1 on the first machine. Make two locations on the first machine as shareable. Then I try to map these two locations as network drives on the second Windows XP machine.

The following two locations will be made shareable:

 1. The whole C drive
 2. D: drive directory \mp3

I do not want everybody can access my c: drive, so I will limit it to those with the samba account. However, I will open the d:\mp3 location to everybody.


The following steps were tested using Knoppix 5.1.1


The information here may not be 100% correct, but it works for me. However, if you find something is wrong. Please let me know. Thank you.

chip_ling@yahoo.ca

Chip Ling 5th Sep 2008


1. Boot up the first machine to Knoppix

Boot the first machine with Knoppix Live CD 5.1.1. Check for it's IP address by open up the console terminal (the black TV screen like icon on the bottom of the screen) and type in the following command:

 $ ifconfig

To make it easier to follow, I assume the IP address of the Knoppix machine is 192.168.1.101


2. Boot the second machine to Windows XP

Boot the second machine to Windows XP and write down it's IP address. To obtain the machine's IP address. Open up the command prompt (DOS box) and enter the following command:

 C:\> ipconfig

I assume the IP address of the Windows XP machine is 192.168.1.102


3. Make sure the two machines talk to each other

From the Knoppix machine, try to ping the Windows XP machine, on the console terminal, enter the following command:

 $ ping 192.168.1.102

You should get lines response back saying it got reply from 192.168.1.102, hit Control+C to exit.


From the Windows XP machine, from the DOS box, try to ping the Knoppix machine:

 C:\> ping 192.168.1.101

You should get 4 lines response and it will stop by itself.

Now you are sure these two machines can talk to each other.


4. Mount the c: drive and d: drive to the Linux file system on the first machine

Since I boot up the Knoppix from Live CD so both drive c: and drive d: are not mounted by default. In order to share them to other machines on the network, I have to mount it first.

I have a SATA hard drive divided into two partitions (c: drive and d: drive). So my device name in Linux will be sda1 and sda2.

I have other machines with the old IDE hard drive with the same partition setting which will show in Linux as hda1 and hda2. So according to your own setting, use the correct device name. Here I will use sda1 and sda2 as an example.

Both the c: drive and d: drive are formatted to NTFS format.

From the knoppix machine, the console terminal, enter the following commands:

 $ su
 # mount -t ntfs /dev/sda1 /media/sda1
 # mount -t ntfs /dev/sda2 /media/sda2

OK, now I have both c: drive and d: drive mounted as read-only on mount points /media/sda1 and /media/sda2

Note: If your drive is formatted as FAT32, change the "-t ntfs" to "-t vfat" on the above mount commands.


5. Create a Samba user called "knoppix" with password

Enter the following commands from the console terminal of the knoppix machine:

 # smbpasswd -x knoppix
 # smbpasswd -a knoppix

To stay on the safe side, I remove the user "knoppix" first and then add him back in. It will ask you twice for a password, in this example, I use the password "12345678".


6. Edit the /etc/samba/smb.conf

Use the editor of your choice to edit the /etc/samba/smb.conf file. I only know vi so I do the following from the console terminal on the knoppix machine:

 # vi /etc/samba/smb.conf

Append the following lines to the file and save it.

 [drivec]
 path=/media/sda1
 browseable = no
 read only = yes
 
 [mp3]
 path=/media/sda2/mp3
 browseable = yes
 read only = yes

Some explanations here:

"[drivec] and [mp3]" will be the share drive names that Windows will see and use later on.

"path=/media/sda1" means the c: drive, the root directory (i.e. the whole c: drive).

"path=/media/sda2/mp3" means the d:\mp3 folder.

"browseable = no" means not all users can connect to this location. Only those with a Samba user account can access this location.

"browseable = yes" means all users can connect to this location.

"read only = yes" means read-only.


7. Restart the Samba to make the new change effective

From the console terminal on the knoppix machine, enter the follow commands:

 # /etc/init.d/samba restart


8. Map the share drive [drivec]

From the Windows XP machine

==> open the window explorer

==> click on Tools

==> click on Map Network Drive

==> Pick a drive id: ==> I select Z: here

==> On the Folder field, enter:

 \\192.168.1.101\drivec

==> click Finish

Another dialog box pops up asking for user-name and password: enter user=knoppix and password=12345678 and then click OK.

Another window explorer window pops up and connects to the remote knoppix box drive c:\ as the network drive Z:.


9. Map the share drive [mp3]

From the Windows XP machine

==> open the window explorer

==> click on Tools

==> click on Map Network Drive

==> Pick a drive id: ==> I select Y: here

==> On the Folder field, enter:

 \\192.168.1.101\mp3

==> click Finish

This time it will not ask for user id and password.

Another window explorer window pops up with and connects to the remote knoppix box drive d:\mp3 as the network drive Y:.


Voila. So we are done now.

From the Windows XP machine, we can access the two locations on the knoppix machine via the network drive id Z: and Y:.

Welcome to the Samba world in Knoppix and have fun.

By changing the read only parameter from yes to no and modify the step 4 mount to read/write will open the location for write access but I suggest to use it with really really great care. You don't really want someone to delete all your c: drive content by mistake, right? Don't say I did not warn you...



Q: How to automate Samba setup on Knoppix 5.1.1?

A: There maybe a lot of solutions but here I wrote a bash shell script to achieve the goal.

Chip Ling 23 Sept 2008


Objective

To avoid typing all the steps every time we reboot the knoppix machine. By creating a script on c:\ or /media/sda1, we only need to run the script once after each reboot.


Network set up

This FAQ is based on the setting of the previous FAQ question. So please revisit the previous FAQ to get a complete picture.


1. Boot up the Knoppix machine

Insert the Knoppix 5.1.1 Live CD and boot the system up on the first machine.


2. Mount the c: drive as read/write

Click on the konsole icon (the black TV screen at the bottom) and then enter the follow command.

 $ sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sda1 /media/sda1 -o rw

Again if your PC is using IDE harddisk, then replace all the sda1 by hda1. If your hard disk is formatted as FAT32 instead of NTFS, replace "-t ntfs" by "-t vfat".


3. Create the autosmb.sh on /media/sda1

Use the editor of your choice to create the autosmb.sh on /media/sda1. (i.e. it is on the c:\, so if you create the file under windows, it SHOULD work as well. Let me know if it is not, I never try it myself from the windows side.)

 #!/bin/bash
 ####################################################
 ### autosmb.sh by Chip Ling
 ####################################################
 if [ ! -e /media/sda1/autosmb.sh ]; then
   sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sda1 /media/sda1
 fi
 sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sda2 /media/sda2
 
 sudo smbpasswd -x knoppix > /dev/null
 sudo smbpasswd -a -s knoppix <<EOF
 12345678
 12345678
 EOF
 
 sudo chmod 666 /etc/samba/smb.conf
 cat >> /etc/samba/smb.conf <<EOF
 
 [drivec]
 path=/media/sda1
 browseable = no
 read only = yes
 
 [mp3]
 path=/media/sda2/mp3
 browseable = yes
 read only = yes
 EOF
 
 sudo chmod 644 /etc/samba/smb.conf
 
 sudo /etc/init.d/samba restart
 
 ipaddr="\\\\$(ifconfig eth0 | head -2 | tail -1 | cut -f2 -d':' | cut -f1 -d' ')"
 msg1="\nPlease map to ${ipaddr}\\drivec"
 msg2="\nand           ${ipaddr}\\mp3"
 
 dialog --title "Samba restarted" --msgbox "${msg1}${msg2}" 7 60


Save the file.

The script basically replicates what we manually did on the previous FAQ. Please be careful about the spacing on the "if ... then" statement. Cut and paste is not a bad idea.


Then from the konsole, change the file attribute to executable

 $ sudo chmod 777 /media/sda1/autosmb.sh

And we are done.

Please note that I do not need to perform the above step on my machine. I check the file attribute and it is set to 777. I put the command here just in case.

Now, we can reboot the knoppix machine again and see how it works.


4. The real thing

First reboot the knoppix from the Live CD.


Then mount the c: drive to the file system.

For GUI user: single click the "Hard Disk [sda1]" icon on the desktop. The icon will then have a green tag appears at the lower right hand corner (means mounted) and Konqueror pops up.

For command line user: from the konsole, enter

 $ sudo mount -t ntfs /dev/sda1 /media/sda1


Now run the auto-samba setup script:

For GUI user: single click on the autosmb.sh file icon inside Konqueror.

For command line user: run the autosmb.sh script in konsole

 $ /media/sda1/autosmb.sh

The script should setup the samba configuration and then display the share drive mapping information from a dialog box.

 Please map to \\192.168.1.101\drivec
 and           \\192.168.1.101\mp3

Now the samba setting on the knoppix side is done, move forward to the windows box to map the share drives.




Q: How to activate my wireless card on Knoppix 5.3.1 (Case 1: Native way) ?

A: Case 1 is the best case, the wireless card is recognized by the Knoppix 5.1.3, so all we have to do is just perform the setup part.



The information here may not be 100% correct, but it works for me. However, if you find something is wrong. Please let me know. Thank you.

chip_ling@yahoo.ca

Chip Ling Dec 21, 2008



Equipment:

 Machine: Compaq Evo N600c Notebook
 Wireless Card: Netgear WG511T pcmcia card
 Chip set: Atheros AR5212
 
 Wireless router:
 ESSID   = "PCLAB1"
 channel = 9



Wireless History with Knoppix 5.1.1

Knoppix 5.1.1 recognizes the card at boot time as device ath0, just activate the card after boot up with the following three commands and the wireless connection is established.

 # iwconfig ath0 essid PCLAB1 channel 9
 # ifconfig ath0 up
 # pump -i ath0



1. Boot with Knoppix 5.3.1

At boot up time, eth0, wifi0 and ath0 were identified.

 Network device eth0 detected. DHCP broadcasting for IP (Backgrounding)
 Network device wifi0 detected. DHCP broadcasting for IP (Backgrounding)
 Network device ath0 detected. DHCP broadcasting for IP (Backgrounding)



2. Note

I occasionally got the application KDesktop (kdesktop) crashed and cause the signal 6 (SIGABRT) error. But that does not affect the wireless testing.



3. Setup the wireless device

3.1 Open up a konsole and enter the following command:

 knoppix@Knoppix:~$ iwconfig

I get the following response:

 lo       no wireless extensions.
 
 eth0     no wireless extensions.
 
 wifi0    no wireless extensions.
 
 ath0     IEEE 802.11g  ESSID:""  Nickname:""

where ath0 is the wireless card


3.2 From the konsole, enter the following command:

 knoppix@Knoppix:~$ ifconfig

Only the lo entry appears.


3.3 Switch to super user

 knoppix@Knoppix:~$ su
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# 


3.4 Setup the essid and channel

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig ath0 essid PCLAB1 channel 9


3.5 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig

You should see the ESSID=PCLAB1.


3.6 Activate the ath0

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig ath0 up


3.7 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig

Three items display here: lo, wifi0 and ath0. ath0 is the wireless device.


3.8 Force the DHCP on the router to assign an IP address to the device

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# pump -i ath0


3.9 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig

Now ath0 is populated with the IP address (i.e. inet addr: equals some IP address )


3.10 Start the Iceweasel Web Browser, key in the URL, then you are connected.



Conclusion:

It behaves the same as Knoppix 5.1.1.




Q: How to activate my wireless card on Knoppix 5.3.1 (Case 2: ndiswrapper method) ?

A: Case 2: the wireless card is not recognized by the Knoppix 5.1.3 at all, so we have to perform the ndiswrapper wireless setup.



The information here may not be 100% correct, but it works for me. However, if you find something is wrong. Please let me know. Thank you.

chip_ling@yahoo.ca

Chip Ling Dec 21, 2008



Equipment:

 Machine: Compaq Evo N600c Notebook
 Wireless Card: Linksys wpc11v4 pcmcia card
 Chip set: Realtex RTL8180
 
 Wireless router:
 ESSID   = "PCLAB1"
 channel = 9
 
 Windows wireless drivers on USB thumb drive
 /linksys/oem4.inf
 /linksys/rtl8180.sys

Detail for obtaining the windows driver files can be found on Question 2 above.



Wireless History with Knoppix 5.1.1

Knoppix 5.1.1 does not recognise the card at boot time, the only way to have wireless connection is via the ndiswrapper method. See Question 2 above.



1. Boot with Knoppix 5.3.1

At boot up time, eth0 was identified.

 Network device eth0 detected. DHCP broadcasting for IP (Backgrounding)



2. Note

I occasionally got the application KDesktop (kdesktop) crashed and cause the signal 6 (SIGABRT) error. But that does not affect the wireless testing.



3. Setup the wireless device

3.1 Open up a konsole and enter the following command:

 knoppix@Knoppix:~$ iwconfig

I get the following response:

 lo       no wireless extensions.
 
 eth0     no wireless extensions.


3.2 From the konsole, enter the following command:

 knoppix@Knoppix:~$ ifconfig

Only the lo entry appears.


3.3 Switch to super user

 knoppix@Knoppix:~$ su
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# 


3.4 Insert the USB thumb drive, on the desktop it shows it is sda4.


3.5 Mount the USB drive as read only:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# mount -t vfat /dev/sda4 /media/sda4


3.6 Copy the 2 windows driver files from the USB drive to /ramdisk/home/knoppix

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# cp /media/sda4/linksys/* /ramdisk/home/knoppix


3.7 Configure the ndiswrapper:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ndiswrapper -i ./oem4.inf
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# modprobe ndiswrapper
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig

Now lo, eth0 and wlan0 appears.


3.8 Setup the ESSID and channel

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig wlan0 essid PCLAB1 channel 9


3.9 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig

ESSID should be equal to PCLAB1


3.10 Activate the wlan0 device

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig wlan0 up


3.11 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig

Two items display here: lo and wlan0


3.12 Force the DHCP to assign an IP address to the device

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# pump -i wlan0


3.13 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig

Now wlan0 is populated with the IP address (i.e. inet addr: )


3.14 Start the Iceweasel Web Browser, key in the URL, then you are connected.



Conclusion: It behaves the same as Knoppix 5.1.1 by using ndiswrapper method.




Q: How to activate my wireless card on Knoppix 5.3.1 (Case 3: Broadcom B43 way) ?

A: Case 3: the wireless card is wrongly recognized by the Knoppix 5.1.3 as bcm43xx, and at the same time, the firmware is missing in the OS, so we have to obtain the firmware first, install it to the OS, then remove the bcm43xx and b43 driver modules and finally perform the ndiswrapper wireless setup.



The following section records all the steps I made in order to search for a solution in this case so if you just want to make thing work, you may skip some of the steps.



The information here may not be 100% correct, but it works for me. However, if you find something is wrong. Please let me know. Thank you.

chip_ling@yahoo.ca

Chip Ling Dec 21, 2008



Equipment:

 Machine: Dell Latitude D600 and D610 Notebook
 Wireless Card: Build in mini-pci Broadcom B4306
 
 Wireless router:
 ESSID   = "PCLAB1"
 channel = 9
 
 windows driver files on the USB thumb drive: 
 /broadcom/oem6.inf and
 /broadcom/BCMWL5.sys

Detail for obtaining the windows driver files can be found at question 2 above.



Wireless History with Knoppix 5.1.1

Knoppix 5.1.1 recognises the card at boot time, but loaded the wrong bcm43xx wireless driver module.

The only way to have wireless connection is first remove the wrongly loaded bcm43xx wireless driver module, then apply the ndiswrapper method.

Detail can be found at Question 2 above.



1. Boot with Knoppix 5.3.1 from the Live DVD

At boot up time, eth0, wmaster0 and wlan0 were identified.

 Network device eth0 detected. DHCP broadcasting for IP (Backgrounding)
 Network device wmaster0 detected. DHCP broadcasting for IP (Backgrounding)
 Network device wlan0 detected. DHCP broadcasting for IP (Backgrounding)



2. Note

I occasionally got the application KDesktop (kdesktop) crashed and cause the signal 6 (SIGABRT) error. But that does not affect the wireless testing.



3. Try to setup the wireless the native way

3.1 Open up a konsole:

 knoppix@Knoppix:~$ iwconfig

Result shows very possible to do it the native way:

 lo       no wireless extensions.
 
 eth0     no wireless extensions.
 
 wmaster0 no wireless extensions.
 
 wlan0    IEEE 802.11g ESSID:""

The wlan0 appears here give me hope that 5.3.1 finally fixes the bug that appeared at 5.1.1 and it recognizes the wireless card at boot up as wlan0. If 5.3.1 really recognizes the wireless card correctly at boot time and with the proper driver loaded, we can activate the wireless device via the native way. So the first thing I do is to give the native way a try. Here we go...


3.2 Enter the command

 knoppix@Knoppix:~$ ifconfig

Only the lo entry there


3.3 Become the super user

 knoppix@Knoppix:~$ su
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# 


3.4 Setup the ESSID and the channel

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig wlan0 essid PCLAB1 channel 9


3.5 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig

ESSID is now equal to PCLAB1


3.6 Activate the wlan0

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig wlan0 up

Error message returns:

 SIOCSIFFLAGS:No such file or directory

Oops, no good. As usual, it is not that easy. So we cannot do it the native way.



4. What's wrong here? Searching for the problem.

4.1 By using the command below, I examine the result listing line by line

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# dmesg | more

And I found the following wireless card related messages:

 b43-phy0: Broadcom 4306 WLAN found
 phy0: selected rate control algorithm 'simple'
 input: b43-phy0 as /class/input/input11
 b43-phy0 ERROR: Firmware file "b43/ucode5.fw" not found or load failed.
 b43-phy0 ERROR: You must go to http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware and download the correct firmware (version 4).



5. Go to linuxwireless.org and download the missing piece

As the error message suggested, I need to connect my notebook to the internet. So I connect the CAT5 Ethernet network cable from the notebook to the router.

Then activate the wired network card:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig eth0 up
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# pump -i eth0

Then I open the web browser and go to

 http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/b43#devicefirmware

Read through the web page and following their instructions to download two files:

1. the source code of b43-fwcutter and

2. the firmware of Broadcom b43

Back to the konsole and download the 2 files:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# wget http://bu3sch.de/b43/fwcutter/b43-fwcutter-011.tar.bz2
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# wget http://downloads.openwrt.org/sources/broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2



6. Disconnect from the internet

Enter the following command from the konsole:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig eth0 down

Now disconnect the CAT5 Ethernet network cable from the notebook.



7. Expand (Untar) the tarball files

Enter the following two commands:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# tar xjf b43-fwcutter-011.tar.bz2
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# tar xjf broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0.tar.bz2



8. Compile the b43-fwcutter

Compile the program b43-fwcutter source code in order to generate the b43-fwcutter executable. Enter the following two commands:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# cd b43-fwcutter-011
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix/b43-fwcutter-011# make



9. Copy the required files to /ramdisk/home/knoppix

We only need the b43-fwcutter executable and the firmware image file wl_apsta.o. So we copy them to /ramdisk/home/knoppix for later use.

Enter the following commands

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix/b43-fwcutter-011# cp b43-fwcutter /ramdisk/home/knoppix
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix/b43-fwcutter-011# cd ..
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# cp broadcom-wl-4.80.53.0/kmod/wl_apsta.o /ramdisk/home/knoppix



10. Make an extra copy to the USB thumb drive for later use

Insert the USB thumb drive, and on the desktop it shows it is sda4

Mount the USB drive as read/write

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# mount -t vfat /dev/sda4 /media/sda4 -o rw
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# mkdir /media/sda4/b43firmware
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# cp b43-fwcutter /media/sda4/b43firmware
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# cp wl_apsta.o /media/sda4/b43firmware

Unmount the USB drive:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# umount /media/sda4



11. Install the firmware

Run the firmware cutter program to install the missing firmware back to the system

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ./b43-fwcutter -w "/lib/firmware" wl_apsta.o



12. Try to use the native way once again

Right at this point, I have the correct firmware installed. Then I ask myself, will the native way work? So I am going to give the native way one last chance.

Now try again using the native way to activate the wireless device:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig wlan0 essid PCLAB1 channel 9
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig wlan0 up
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# pump -i wlan0

Error returns:

 Operation failed.

Note: If we are not using the Live DVD version but an installed version, reboot before step 12 and then try step 12 should work.


However, I am using the Live DVD and I cannot do a reboot here. Reboot will lose all my new changes so under the Live DVD booted up environment, native way failed.



13. The last resort, using the ndiswrapper method

13.1 Remove the bcm43xx and b43 driver modules

Before we apply the ndiswrapper method, first remove the bcm43xx and b43 driver modules from the system.

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# modprobe -r bcm43xx
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# modprobe -r b43


13.2 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig

Now the wmaster0 and wlan0 entries are gone.


13.3 Copy the windows driver files from the USB drive to /ramdisk/home/knoppix

Mount the USB drive as read only:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# mount -t vfat /dev/sda4 /media/sda4

Copy the 2 windows driver files from the USB drive to /ramdisk/home/knoppix

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# cp /media/sda4/broadcom/* /ramdisk/home/knoppix


13.4 Configure the ndiswrapper:

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ndiswrapper -i ./oem6.inf
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# modprobe ndiswrapper
 
 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig

Now lo, eth0 and wlan0 appears.


13.5 Setup the ESSID and channel

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig wlan0 essid PCLAB1 channel 9


13.6 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# iwconfig

ESSID now should equal to PCLAB1


13.7 Activate the wlan0 device

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig wlan0 up


13.8 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig

Two items display here: lo and wlan0


13.9 Force the DHCP to assign an IP address to device wlan0

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# pump -i wlan0


13.10 Check the result

 root@Knoppix:/ramdisk/home/knoppix# ifconfig

Now wlan0 is populated with the IP address (i.e. inet addr: )


13.11 Start the Iceweasel Web Browser, key in the URL, then you are connected.



Conclusion:

It behaves the same as Knoppix 5.1.1 by using ndiswrapper method but required to install the missing firmware and removal of the bcm43xx and b43 driver modules.



Next Time Running

So the next time we run the Knoppix 5.3.1 does not require going through all these steps again. You only need the following:

R1. Boot from the Knoppix 5.3.1

R2. Be the super user (see step 3.3)

R3. Mount the USB thumb drive as read only

 # mount -t vfat /dev/sda4 /media/sda4

R4. Copy the two required files to /ramdisk/home/knoppix

 # cp /media/sda4/b43firmware/*   /ramdisk/home/knoppix
 # umount /media/sda4

R5. Install the firmware (see step 11)

R6. Perform the ndiswrapper setup again (see step 13.1 to 13.10)




Q: How to setup Knoppix and read the share drive on Windows XP machine ?

A: Use the ordinary unix mount command will do the trick.


Objective

I have two Windows XP machines on my network, I want to boot knoppix live CD 5.1.1 on the first machine. Boot windows XP on the second machine. Setup a folder on the windows XP machine as shareable. Then access the shared folder from the Knoppix machine.

The following location on the Windows XP box will be made shareable: d:\video



The following steps were tested using Knoppix 5.1.1


The information here may not be 100% correct, but it works for me. However, if you find something is wrong. Please let me know. Thank you.

chip_ling@yahoo.ca

Chip Ling 12th Jan 2009


1. Boot up the first machine to Knoppix

Boot the first machine with Knoppix Live CD 5.1.1.


2. Boot the second machine to Windows XP

Boot the second machine to Windows XP and write down it's IP address. To obtain the machine's IP address. Open up the command prompt (DOS box) and enter the following command:

 C:\> ipconfig

I assume the IP address of the Windows XP machine is 192.168.1.102


3. Configure the Windows XP d:\video folder to be shareable

From Windows Explorer

==> On the left panel go to d:\video folder

==> right click on d:\video

==> select Sharing and Security...

==> under the Sharing Tab

--> select Share this folder

--> enter "video" on the Share name field

==> click Apply

==> click OK


4. Create a directory on the knoppix machine as the mount point for the shared folder

Enter the following commands from the console terminal of the knoppix machine:

 $ su
 # mkdir /media/winbox


5. Mount the shared folder

From the console terminal on the knoppix machine:

 # mount -t smbfs //192.168.1.10/video /media/winbox -o username=chip,password=1234567


6. Done

Now you can access the windows xp shared folder from /media/winbox