Tiny Core Linux

Off-Topic => Archive / Obsolete => Starter Packs => Topic started by: roberts on May 31, 2011, 01:46:16 PM

Title: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on May 31, 2011, 01:46:16 PM
The goal for starter packs is basically one time use and not a kludge replacement for proper maintainable extensions.

For example installing. Hopefully your are not installing your system often.
But when you want to install, you load a starter. It loads to ram. You perform the install. Reboot.
The starter pack is no longer needed and not taking any ram resources.

I am hoping the same will be true for the network starter pack. My goal is build a knowledge base, based on prior community experience, and distill out only what the user needs to achieve a working net/wifi. I have already begun on this adventure.  Developing....
Title: Network Starter Pack
Post by: coreplayer on June 06, 2011, 06:02:09 PM
I used the network starterpak on two notebooks recently,  the installation on the newer model was successful whilst  the older notebook was not anywhere near as successful do the the lack of wireless drivers, although the starterpack did help with the wired network which allowed download of Ndiswrapper extension.





Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on June 06, 2011, 10:36:43 PM
I am just getting started to look at this starter pack. I have a nearly complete 'ab' style wifi tool.

At least with v3.7 and network starter pack you can now directly access the ndiswrapper device driver from XP.

Scenario. Windows XP with working wifi. Tiny Core boot with no network.
From Windows download network.gz starter pack.
Boot Tiny Core v3.7. Use mount tool to mount Windows drive( typically hda1).
Use Control Panel to navigate to and load Starter Pack, network.gz, from Windows.

Open xterm, become root.
$ sudo -s
# ndiswrapper -i /mnt/hda1/Documents\ and\ Settings/user/My\ Documents/Downloads/ma111sw_driver_v1.1/winXp/NETMA111.INF
# modprobe ndiswrapper
# wifi.sh

Select AP from list, enter password if required.

(wifi.sh coming soon).
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: bmarkus on June 07, 2011, 01:45:36 AM

Select AP from list, enter password if required.

(wifi.sh coming soon).

Is WPA/WPA2 supported?
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on June 07, 2011, 10:59:09 AM
WEP completed, WPA/WPA2 in process.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: yoshi314 on June 08, 2011, 03:36:42 AM
some sane CLI way to handle gsm modems would also be nice. but i think that's something that can be postponed for now.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on June 09, 2011, 09:19:01 AM
Sorry, I have no access to gsm or 3g/4g modems. As it is I have very limited access to WPA/WPA2.
However, much progress to report on the wifi tool.  I hope to release it as part of the 3.7 & starter packs release.
 
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: yoshi314 on June 13, 2011, 08:47:38 AM
it's similar here. i've briefly had a gsm modem.

and it's pretty sad that gsm stuff can be clicked through with network manager, but cli leaves a LOT to be desired.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: gutmensch on June 13, 2011, 10:03:04 AM
What I liked when using a UMTS/3G device was this 200K script http://www.sakis3g.org/ (http://www.sakis3g.org/). It's a standalone file, which unpacks on the fly - and it worked far better than the typical NetworkManager PITA, which requires lots of deps but lacks stability. Unfortunately I don't have a 3G device right now to test it on tinycore, but maybe another one jumps in here...
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: curaga on June 13, 2011, 11:13:01 AM
What I liked in most of them is how they are just modems, no need for complex apps or scripts at all. I used a Nokia EDGE modem some years ago, it was just a few lines of PPP config and online.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on June 13, 2011, 11:44:04 AM
No 3g stuff. But I am in final testing of my wifi.sh, an 'ab' style wifi manager.

It is only 4k supports WEP/WPA/WPA2, with select list of available APs, database of remembered connections, and auto connect on home network.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on June 13, 2011, 09:43:47 PM
Reposted network.gz starter pack. Includes wifi.sh, a tiny 'ab' style wifi mgr.
http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/3.x/starterpacks/
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: netnomad on June 14, 2011, 03:18:08 AM
hi gutmensch,

although i succeeded in using a 3g-modem on a manual way, the sakis3g-script didn't work for me.
i guess that there are still some unresolved dependencies...
unfortunately there are no messages that give a hint...

in the moment i install the needed tc-packages, copy the config-files to /etc, transfer the pin to the modem and finally i start the connection. all these steps i've written in very, very basic "scripts", but it works.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: gutmensch on June 14, 2011, 05:19:15 AM
@netnomad: Did you try running the script like
Code: [Select]
sudo ./sakis3g --debug
? As far as I can see it's a huge shell script, which can use zenity for user interaction, but there's also a command line mode, so you don't need any graphical tools at all.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: curaga on June 14, 2011, 05:29:11 AM
@Robert

Is network.gz the right place for wifi.sh? If the starter packs are only meant to be used on the initial setup, the script would be nowhere to be seen after transitioning to proper extensions.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on June 14, 2011, 01:41:53 PM
Please stay on topic sakis-3g has nothing to do with the discussion of the network starter pack.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on June 14, 2011, 01:44:21 PM
@Robert

Is network.gz the right place for wifi.sh? If the starter packs are only meant to be used on the initial setup, the script would be nowhere to be seen after transitioning to proper extensions.
I will package it into a proper extension.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on June 15, 2011, 02:11:16 AM
wifi.tcz extension posted.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: nogg321 on June 22, 2011, 04:14:39 PM
i tried the network starter pack on my HP nc6000 (ath chip)
i clicked on the wifi icon which scanned and found my wep netgear router and others
tried to insert the wep info which failed
now when i use the icon it does nothing (as if it is ignoring the previously found stuff

this happens each time I boot
is wifi.sh what runs the icon?

regards Nigel
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: maro on June 22, 2011, 05:41:03 PM
is wifi.sh what runs the icon?
YEP, clicking the 'Wifi' icon essentially executes 'sudo wifi.sh' (in a 'xterm').

Now, as you might be aware you can get debugging information from shell scripts by using the '-vx' options of the shell. So you could use
    sudo sh -vx $( which wifi.sh ) 2> wifi-dbg.log
and analyze the resulting log-file yourself (provided you have the skills to make sense out of it) or attach it here so that Robert (and/or others) can take a look at it.

PS: It might be worth splitting this off as a separate thread.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on June 22, 2011, 05:42:40 PM
Hmmm. I have an ath wifi card and netgear router and using wep or wpa2 is fine.

Why would booting be involved with the wifi.sh unless you added 'wifi.sh auto' to your boot process?
Which you should only do upon success via the icon as instructed in the info file.

Very interesting that you claim that subsequent use of wifi.sh does nothing.
What error(s) if any are displayed when run from an xterm?

If you have never successfully connected then your wifi.db should be empty.
If your wifi.db is empty and you have added the instruction wifi.sh auto to your boot process then that whould explain things.

However, FWIW, wifi.sh is frugally functional. Tested on three different wifi cards and several routers without issue. However, no claim that wifi.sh will be a panacea for wifi issues.

If you added wifi.sh to your boot process, remove it.
Boot with the network starter pack. Before using wifi.sh, type

iwconfig to see that a wifi device was successfully made. Which BTW, is the real purpose of the network starter pack.

If you have a very slow to register wifi device then you may have to resort to manual commands, e.g.,

sudo -s
iwconfig <yourDevice> essid <yourSSID>  key <yourPassword>
ifconfig  <yourDevice> up
udhcpc -i <yourDevice>

Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on July 02, 2011, 01:15:26 AM
Updated network starter pack (network.gz) now posted! This has the updated wifi.sh.
See: http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php?topic=10404.0
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: maro on July 02, 2011, 03:19:02 AM
Robert: Do I take it that the update to 'wifi.sh' is the only change? In the other two annoucements you did ca. 2h ago you specified that the icon changes were the only ones done.

I for one will pace myself with updating the downloaded starterpacks for just an icon change. Likewise if the only change to this starter pack is anyway included in the 'wifi.tcz' extension I'll just update my extension.

Which reminds me of another request I have: Would it be possible to publish the scripts you use to build each starterpack (or make the exact list of extenions included in each pack know in some other form)?. This way I (and maybe some others) that would only need to download one to help with troubleshooting other users problems might not need to download them (hereby I assume that the relevant extensions are anyway locally at hand in an up-to-date version).
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on July 02, 2011, 01:43:27 PM
wifi.sh is the only change with the caveat that any updates to embedded extensions would also be included. Starter packs are mostly collections of extensions. The exception is install.gz grub4dos.gz which contain tc-install* and tc-grub4dos* which are not offered as extensions.
Title: Re: Network Starter Pack
Post by: roberts on July 09, 2011, 10:45:22 PM
Network Starter Pack updated now includes wifi.sh v0.3.
For details see: http://forum.tinycorelinux.net/index.php?topic=10489.msg56250#msg56250