Wifi

This article describes the setup of a Wifi network device.

Gentoo Install via WIFI
If installing Gentoo and if a wifi connection is needed for installation:

Use a livecd/usb other than the Gentoo Minimal Install CD. The Minimal CD does not support WPA/WPA2/Enterprise, nor does it include external oem firmware required by many current Network Interface Cards (NIC). Probably the most current (and gentoo based option) is the System Rescue CD: http://sysresccd.org/Download http://sysresccd.org/Sysresccd-manual-en_How_to_install_SystemRescueCd_on_an_USB-stick

Hardware Detection
First detect the Wifi controllers. You can use lspci or lsusb for this task. If a linux (livecd/usb) is booted that makes a wifi connection:

The driver will be identified at "Kernel driver in use:". If a linux is booted that does not make a wifi connection:

The driver may be identified by copying the list of PCIID's that the command produces and pasting at http://kmuto.jp/debian/hcl/.

may produce pciid manufacturer make model chipset. Of these, the chipset may be the most useful information. Googling linuxwireless.org is often the shortest way to find a usb NIC driver and firmware name.

Kernel
You need to activate the following kernel options:

WEXT
To enable wireless extensions, compile your kernel with the following option (this will support old wireless-tools & iwconfig):

LED Support
To enable LED triggers for different packet receive/transmit events, compile your kernel with the following options:

Firmware
Besides the kernel driver, you will also need firmware, expand section to see firmware/hardware table and notes of supported devices:

b43
Install the required package, e.g for :

linux-firmware
Install the required package, e.g for :

If there is no package, you have to download the firmware and move it to yourself.

Testing
After a reboot with the new kernel or after loading the modules, check that the device is ready using one of following methods:


 * Using :


 * Using :


 * Using if your driver supports the wireless extensions stack:


 * Using ,if your driver supports the nl80211 stack

If not, check dmesg for errors:

Configuration

 * Network management

Advanced Configuration

 * Power management