How do i use "Netgear MA111 Wireless USB Adapter"?

[Storytobi]

hi, i want to use the usb wireless adapter, what drivers/kernel params do i have to use?

the adapter is MA111
does someone already have experience with it?

[wjholden]

I own one but never got around to using it with Gentoo. You will need to compile the correct support for it into your kernel (the "/sbin/lspci" and "/sbin/lsusb" commands can be very useful in this regard, assuming that you do not already have support for the device). You can easily determine whether you have support for this device by playing around with the iwconfig command. From here see http://www.linuxquestions.org/questions/history/302075 and ssearch for threads on here like these:
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-29 ... ma111.html
http://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-16 ... ma111.html

Hmm reading one of these threads indicates that you need to use a command "wlanctl-ng" instead of iwconfig; time to hit the manpages man

[cartpullerjack]

I've got an ma111 working in gentoo. Make sure that you have version 1, or else you're screwwed. Version 2 supports USB 2.0, and uses a different chipset.

Here's how to do it:

Step 1: emerge linux-wlan-ng
Step 2: download the linux-wlan-ng tarball, and install it manually. I know this sounds redundant, but beleive me, it works.
Step 3: untar the tarball, and so forth, compile it and install it. Read the READMEs. Be sure to select [y] when it prompts you to install the USB driver.
Step 4: edit /etc/conf.d/net appropriately, and do a "cp /etc/init.d/net.eth0 /etc/init.d/net.wlan0"
Step 5: Copy the following scripts into /usr/sbin. Mine are named "wlan-start-nocrypt" and "wlan-start-crypt"

Code: Select all

#!/bin/bash
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_ifstate ifstate=enable
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_hostwep decrypt=true encrypt=false
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset mibattribute=dot11ExcludeUnencrypted=false
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset mibattribute=dot11PrivacyInvoked=false
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_autojoin ssid=$1 authtype=opensystem
/etc/init.d/net.wlan0 restart

This first one takes one argument, the SSID name of the ap that you want to connect to. Only works for unencrypted aps.

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#!/bin/bash
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_ifstate ifstate=enable
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_hostwep  decrypt=true encrypt=true
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKeyID=0
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset mibattribute=dot11ExcludeUnencrypted=true
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset mibattribute=dot11PrivacyInvoked=true
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 dot11req_mibset mibattribute=dot11WEPDefaultKey0=$2
/sbin/wlanctl-ng wlan0 lnxreq_autojoin ssid=$1 authtype=opensystem
/etc/init.d/net.wlan0 restart

This second one takes two arguments, the first being the SSID as above, and the second being the encryption key as XX:XX:XX:XX and so forth. Currently, this only works for 64-bit encryption. I haven't had the use for 128-bit, but if anyone is interested, I might be convinced to try to figure it out.

Code: Select all

Step 6:  modprobe prism2_usb, then script away!