FiOS on Linux
The_Meek_One
Newbie

My son has Linux installed on his computer, and recently moved, and he wants to connect his computer to the internet. However, we cannot seem to obtain the BSSID. It will not let him connect to the internet unless he provides one. Help?

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Re: FiOS on Linux
prisaz
Legend

@The_Meek_One wrote:

My son has Linux installed on his computer, and recently moved, and he wants to connect his computer to the internet. However, we cannot seem to obtain the BSSID. It will not let him connect to the internet unless he provides one. Help?



Wireless I guess? Have you tried the SSID that your other wireless devices use? If you have no other wirless devices it would be the SSID and Key located on the router security sticker. Need more information. I have Linux hardwired as a proxy server/router just fine

Wireless may not be as easy as hardwired because of the various methods and open source tools you can use to configure it. There are many variables that coul cause it not to work. You need to have it look for a dynamic address and DNS not fixed. What Version or flavor Linux is he running.

I have run varios flavors of Linux on my FiOS connection but all hardwired. Actually I can launch Ubuntu now under Window 7 and a Oracle VM Virtual Box running.

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Re: FiOS on Linux
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

What distro and wireless card is he running? Has his machine used Wireless at all in the past since installing Linux?

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Re: FiOS on Linux
The_Meek_One
Newbie

I have before, but that was before I switched to Verizon. He is running Ubuntu Linux as a secondary OS on his system. He prefers Linux, before anyone says "Just flip back over to Windows 7", and his wireless card is a Hawkings one.

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Re: FiOS on Linux
prisaz
Legend

@The_Meek_One wrote:

I have before, but that was before I switched to Verizon. He is running Ubuntu Linux as a secondary OS on his system. He prefers Linux, before anyone says "Just flip back over to Windows 7", and his wireless card is a Hawkings one.



Ha Ha isn't the Hawking card the one people use for war driving because of the availability of open drivers on some models used for laptops? Or sniffing neighbors networks. I have only read about it. I have Ubuntu running under Windows 7. All you need to do is create a virtual partition file with Oracle Virtual box software that is free, and it runs really cool under Windows 7. https://www.virtualbox.org/  Just an idea. He may want to try it. If he doesn't like it, remove the VM software and blow away the virtual drive file. I have three plus OS running with it under Windows 7. Including XP. I know XP comes with Windows 7 Ultimate, but I don't like the way the MS VM runs. The Oracle VM runs better in my book.

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Re: FiOS on Linux
The_Meek_One
Newbie

No, I don't want to run under VM, because the screen is sooooo tiny. And the Hawkings one is different. It's a USB.

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Re: FiOS on Linux
prisaz
Legend

I know the screen is tiny but there is a fix for that too. Not sure about the wireless. This fixed the screen sixe issue for me. VBOXADDITIONS addon. I love it. But just an idea. It will give the Ubuntu the full screen. But If you want dual boot, so be it. No idea about your network issue. Don't have your hardware. Thought this may be something you might like. Good luck.

image

 

VBoxGuestAdditions.iso (36.63 MB)

image

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Re: FiOS on Linux
smith6612
Community Leader
Community Leader

OK, next question. How is he attempting to connect to the network within Ubuntu? Is he using iwconfig via Terminal to perform the connection manually, or is he attempting to do it through the GNOME (or KDE) interface? Has he performed an ifconfig / sudo ifconfig to verify that the adapter is addressed in the operating system (the lspci command should show if his card is even being seen)?

We need to rule these out first of all. If the Linux OS has used Wireless in it's current state, then we can pretty much rule it down to a case of "Can the card even see networks in range" and finding out the manual connection info for your network.

To lay it down, the BSSID would be the MAC address of the Wireless radio on your router. That should be detected automatically if he is doing it through an automated method and not manually. You should be able to find the MAC Address by looking at the underside of your FiOS router, or within the router's administration interface if he is setting up the connection manually though Terminal.

Re: FiOS on Linux
weedeater1
Contributor - Level 3

I happen to be sitting at a Fedora laptop.  In this configuration, the BSSID is not used, just the SSID. The wireless security information needs to be set accordingly.

BTW: It took a while to get this laptop to talk.  It turned out that it uses a Broadcom wireless chip and the driver (embedded firmware) was not part (and I think still is not) a part of the standard Linux distribution. The system doesn't tell you this, it just doesn't work. I'm not saying this is your issue but it is worth looking into.

PS: the solution involved finding the driver, getting it onto the laptop, and then building piece to push the firmware onto the card.  Once this was done, everything has been automatic. If you search around for 'broadcom linux' or similar, you should find what I'm babbling on about.

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