Linksys WPC11 Version 3 Redhat 8.0 Mini-Howto

The Linksys WPC11 Version 3 is an Intersil Prism 3-based card that will work in Redhat Linux 8.0 without a kernel recompile. BestBuy is currently selling these cards for about $50. The only negative thing about the card is that range is small because of it’s low power tranciever.

Here is the procedure that worked in getting the WPC 11 Version 3 to work with Redhat 8.0 on my Thinkpad T20.

Driver

The stock kernel driver to use with the WPC11 is the orinoco_cs. Make sure that it’s loaded.

modprobe orinoco_cs

If you get some error messages after executing modprobe, insure that the wavelan_cs and wvlan_cs drivers are unloaded.

lsmod | egrep lan

If they are loaded do the following:
rmmod wavelan_cs
rmmod wvlan_cs

Hermes.conf Hack

The hack is putting the following in /etc/pcmcia/hermes.conf.

card "Instant Wireless Network PC Card"

manfid 0x0274,0x1613
bind "orinoco_cs"

Redhat PCMCIA Services

You’ll then need to restart pcmcia service.

service pcmcia restart

Redhat System Tools

Go to the Redhat System Tools and hit Configure. Then add a wireless device in Managed mode if you have an access point. Setup dhcp, and the WEP key. The channel autoconfigures to 6 in managed mode.

Restart the network.
service network restart

Insure that the wireless card is configured.
iwconfig

If it is, you see something like this:

eth0 IEEE 802.11-DS ESSID: "linksys" Nickname: "Prism I"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.437GHz Access Point: FF:FF:FF:FF:FF:FF

Bit Rate: 11Mb/s Tx-Power=15 dBm Sensitivity:1/3
Retry min limit: 8 RTS thr:off Fragment Thr: off
Power Managment: Off
Link Quality: 15/92 Signal Level: -87 dBm Noise Level:-102 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:0 invalid crypt:0 invalid misc:0

Troubleshooting

If you still can’t get to the Internet, insure that your nameservers and routing table are correct. If you have an access point, the default gateway should be the access point’s lan ip address.

route add default gw 192.168.0.1

The nameservers definitions exist in /etc/resolv.conf. Your ISP’s web site should list the ips of the nameservers. There should be 2 or 3 of them. Just add them to resolv.conf.

nameserver x.x.x.x

Wireless Access Point Trouble

I have seen some very strange behavior with cable modems. If you’re having trouble getting a wireless access point to get a DHCP ip address, you’re not alone. Cable modems are getting to be very picky about to which MAC address it will hand out an IP address. If your access point times out when attempting to get an IP do the following.

  • Before you unplug a directly connected computer from a cable modem, release your IP.
  • Windows 95, 98, 98SE and Millenium: Start->Run, winipcfg. Press the “Release All” button.
  • Windows NT, 2000, and XP, Start->Run, ipconfig /release.
  • Linux: pump -r, or do a service network stop
  • Unplug the Ethernet cable from the host computer
  • Restart the cable modem.
  • Plug the Ethernet cable into the access point
  • Renew the access point’s IP

This procedure seems to solve the problem of getting a cable modem to issue an IP. I’ve have seen this trouble in numerous places. Adelphia in Cleveland, Charter Communications RCA Modems in Rochester, Minnesota, and iCable’s Terayon modem’s in Hong Kong, and Roadrunner’s modem’s in Columbus, Ohio and in Austin, TX.

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