Wpa_Gui: Finally a real network manager for puppy
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- Posts: 1198
- Joined: Tue 05 Aug 2008, 18:12
- Location: UK
Puppy's network manager works fine for me but this tool has some good features.
It is nice to have quick access to networks via taskbar icon.
It is also nice to be able to toggle the network on and off quickly.
I needed to install the full qt package to get it working properly and delete profiles in NetworkManager.
It works fine with a Wep network. I am curious to see how it handles Wpa but it will be some time before I can test.
This was in 4.3.1 and Thuxxx's 4.3
Good job and much appreciated!
It is nice to have quick access to networks via taskbar icon.
It is also nice to be able to toggle the network on and off quickly.
I needed to install the full qt package to get it working properly and delete profiles in NetworkManager.
It works fine with a Wep network. I am curious to see how it handles Wpa but it will be some time before I can test.
This was in 4.3.1 and Thuxxx's 4.3
Good job and much appreciated!
I think I've discovered a working gtk-based alternative to wpa_gui, that also uses wpa_supplicant as the backend. It's part of the dhcpcd project. Screenshots are here: http://roy.marples.name/projects/dhcpcd-ui/screenshots
The interface is simpler, less confusing, and integrates dhcp setup. It requires dbus, and libnotify, but I think I can make it use yaf-splash instead so libnotify and notification daemon are not required.
I am testing it in Puppeee right now so we'll see how it goes. So far, wpa-gui seems to confuse a lot of people, so hopefully this small and simple alternative will work out. I'll post a pet shortly.
The interface is simpler, less confusing, and integrates dhcp setup. It requires dbus, and libnotify, but I think I can make it use yaf-splash instead so libnotify and notification daemon are not required.
I am testing it in Puppeee right now so we'll see how it goes. So far, wpa-gui seems to confuse a lot of people, so hopefully this small and simple alternative will work out. I'll post a pet shortly.
- technosaurus
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- Joined: Mon 19 May 2008, 01:24
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Hmmm, actual field testing shows it to be rather unstable. I was really hoping it would work. I'll keep poking at it, but I can't recommend it at this point.
EDIT: perhaps I figured out the problem... we'll see. This is why I hate programs that need multiple daemons. Way too many moving parts!
EDIT2: okay so I forgot to copy some files for dhcpcd, now it's much happier. Also it was putting quote marks around the key, causing wpa_supplicant to misidentify the type of encryption. That's fixed, at least for WEP. I don't have a wpa network to test on. This tool lacks a way to disconnect, and reconnect without re-entering your key. That's probably easy enough to add.
EDIT: perhaps I figured out the problem... we'll see. This is why I hate programs that need multiple daemons. Way too many moving parts!
EDIT2: okay so I forgot to copy some files for dhcpcd, now it's much happier. Also it was putting quote marks around the key, causing wpa_supplicant to misidentify the type of encryption. That's fixed, at least for WEP. I don't have a wpa network to test on. This tool lacks a way to disconnect, and reconnect without re-entering your key. That's probably easy enough to add.
I've been thinking about this and doing some more research. Wpa_supplicant also comes with a wpa_cli utility that seems completely full featured. I think it would not be hard to modify Pwireless to be a usable wpa_supplicant front-end. I may attempt this if I get a free weekend. It would probably also be trivial to create a monitoring script that throws up a yaf-splash whenever your network status changes, making an applet unnecessary.
I had a free weekend and Pwireless2 is now almost complete.
It supports open,wep,and wpa-personal networks. It's a lot faster than the original Pwireless and it's completely event-driven, so it never needs to reload itself. It requires wpa_supplicant and dhcpcd to be running in the background, just like wpa_gui.
I was even able to create a simple applet for it that allows you to connect and disconnect with an icon that changes depending on network status. Dhcpcd takes care of notifications, so the applet is optional.
It supports open,wep,and wpa-personal networks. It's a lot faster than the original Pwireless and it's completely event-driven, so it never needs to reload itself. It requires wpa_supplicant and dhcpcd to be running in the background, just like wpa_gui.
I was even able to create a simple applet for it that allows you to connect and disconnect with an icon that changes depending on network status. Dhcpcd takes care of notifications, so the applet is optional.
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You can use fltk schemes with it to make it look a little different. http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewto ... 666#347666 It also looks a lot better with the antialiased font patch.
I plan to release a new flwm package when things with puppeee slow down. Likely real soon now.
Hopefully I'll have time to make a pwireless2 pet tomorrow.
I plan to release a new flwm package when things with puppeee slow down. Likely real soon now.
Hopefully I'll have time to make a pwireless2 pet tomorrow.
- technosaurus
- Posts: 4853
- Joined: Mon 19 May 2008, 01:24
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The pwireless2 pet has been posted http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=48816
Thanks guys for these network managers. I didn't think I was ever going to get the wifi on my HP laptop to work with Puppy. Network wizard could see my wireless router on a scan but when it tried to assign an IP address it would either come up with something completely eroneous or a message saying unable to establish WPA connection. However I tried WPA_GUI and Pwireless2 and either one works great.
Cheers
Cheers
I doubt this wpa-gui will work since it assumes your interface is named wlan0. Pwireless2 is smarter and better.
Hmm, I didn't know about that rt3090 card previously. I will add the driver to Puppeee which uses a newer kernel that has a lot of the bugs with the ralink cards fixed. The proprietary staging drivers from Ralink are really bad, especially for wpa. The newer kernels have native drivers.
Hmm, I didn't know about that rt3090 card previously. I will add the driver to Puppeee which uses a newer kernel that has a lot of the bugs with the ralink cards fixed. The proprietary staging drivers from Ralink are really bad, especially for wpa. The newer kernels have native drivers.
I just checked and it says that the rt2860 driver can handle the rt3090 card, so you should be good to go with Puppeee which already includes Pwireless2. http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=48288
Let me know if you have problems.
Let me know if you have problems.