# "View Available Networks"?

## vbenares

Is there anything that can scan for (and ideally connect to) available wireless networks?

Just before I left on my last trip, our IT people gave me a new XP laptop.  For the last couple years, I've been toting a linux laptop around and manually setting up to use the wireless network at each hotel and coffee shop.  Getting the information to do this from the hotels and shops was a mixed bag.  Sometimes there was somebody around who knew the network name, but often the clerk would say something like "it just works when you turn your computer on."  (Recently, I started wandering around, like a homeless person looking for a handout, sheepishly asking XP users what the network name is.)  I don't really like this new laptop but I love the "view available networks" command.  It makes connecting everywhere genuinely painless.

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## Pergamon

Assuming eth2 is your wireless device, use:

```
iwlist eth2 scanning
```

A promising way using GUI is the NetworkManager project which did not yet made it into portage but ist part of Gentopia

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## BigBaaadBob

 *Pergamon wrote:*   

> A promising way using GUI is the NetworkManager project which did not yet made it into portage but ist part of Gentopia

 

Is there any existing access-point GUI tool?  I don't know how long it will take until NetworkManager is real.  Extra points if the tool knows about wpa_supplicant and handles wpa_supplicant.conf.

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## Pergamon

There is a thread that discusses available applets for viewing availble networks. There seems to be one alternative application: netapplet. I never tried that and doesn't seem to be in portage either.

The road to get NetworkManager working (described in the thread above) is bumpy.

So I fear for the time being, the GUI is:

 - Open Terminal

 - Enter 

```
iwscan <net-device> scanning
```

And you get your list of networks. Then adapt wpa_supplicant.conf.

It is not that bad  :Wink: 

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## BigBaaadBob

I've been doing that for a long time.   :Sad: 

But I just installed Gentoo on a new laptop that had XP on it and I saw how nicely XP handles wireless that I just decided I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore!   :Very Happy: 

The problems with this approach are too many to list.  What kills it for me is that you can't have net.eth0 (wireless in my case) and net.eth1 (wired) initialized in your rc system because you get all kinds of problems when you aren't connected.  Alternatively, if you don't put them into your rc system you have to log in as root and execute them every time you start your laptop somewhere...  Or have sudo stuff.  There are utilities that handle the wired stuff automatically (when you plug and unplug), but they don't work well with wireless.  Likewise, there are wireless solutions with scripts etc that don't work well with wired.  And in all of the scripted solutions, they don't work well when you travel alot, like I do, requiring file editing, etc.

Netapplet seems to be the only really functioning one that handles both wired and wireless well when traveling to new places and all, but isn't currently working with Gentoo.  Makes you want to scream.  :Evil or Very Mad: 

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## johntramp

There is nothing better than kismet for finding wireless networks.  Your card must support monitor mode tho, which most native linux drivers do.. I am not sure that ndiswrapper etc. will work tho.

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## Pergamon

Well, at the moment there is no solution as easy as Mac OS-X or XP with Gentoo.

The most promissing is still NetworkManager. I recently installed it on two PCs - and from functionality point of view it will give you the same level of convenience as those other operating systems. However there is good reason that it is not yet in portage - the thing requires new versions of low level hal (hardware abstraction) and dbus (message bus) stuff that breaks existing software due to changed APIs. Additionally it is still *quite* buggy.

However, if you want to try, you need: EDIT: overlay for Gnome 2.12 no longer necessary - just unmask Gnome 2.12 files, and additionally you still need the Gentopia overlay. This overlay also contains the latest hal and dbus. Once you've updated Gnome, you can emerge networkmanager, put it into autostart (rc-update add NetworkManager default) and start nm-applet within gnome which shows then grafically the available networks.

NetworkManager also handles fixed networks and VPNs. So once it is stabilized and released it is exactly what you are looking for.Last edited by Pergamon on Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:54 am; edited 3 times in total

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## UberLord

 *BigBaaadBob wrote:*   

> What kills it for me is that you can't have net.eth0 (wireless in my case) and net.eth1 (wired) initialized in your rc system because you get all kinds of problems when you aren't connected.  Alternatively, if you don't put them into your rc system you have to log in as root and execute them every time you start your laptop somewhere...  Or have sudo stuff.

 

FUD

ifplugd works very well with wired connections

wpa_supplicant-0.4.x + baselayout-1.12.0_prex works very well with wireless connections in the same was as ifplugd

So the only real thing lacking is a View Available Networks thingy.

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## davison

Any idea roughly on when baselayout-1.12.x will be marked stable?  (It's one of those things I'm nervous about using from ~x86!)

Cheers,

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## BigBaaadBob

 *UberLord wrote:*   

> 
> 
> FUD
> 
> ifplugd works very well with wired connections
> ...

 

FUD my ass.  What, anyone who doesn't subscribe to your postion is spreading FUD?

Your optimal solution requires two differerent applications and two different management schemes, neither of which have GUI assist.  You are welcome to call that optimal if you want.  I don't!

Netapplet does this right.  All networking is consolidated in one simple GUI application.

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## Pergamon

Hi,

this blog gives some insight on the relation between the different strategies of netapplet and NetworkManager as solutions for the missing functionality.

The good thing: there is agreement how to continue this.

I got NetworkManager running on one Laptop - maybe its time to give it a try? Just unmask Gnome 2.12 and get the Gentopia overlay as described above.

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