How can I make a wireless ad-hoc connection?

dhanar_10 · 09-09-2007, 09:42 PM

Hi,

How can I make a wireless ad-hoc connection?

I'm now using Ubuntu 7.04 with kernel 2.6.22 (vanilla).

Thx.

MS3FGX · 09-10-2007, 09:09 AM

You just need to put the device into Ad-Hoc mode, along with a few other bits of information, something like:

Code:

iwconfig wlan0 mode Ad-Hoc rate Auto channel auto

Then you need to configure both devices with IP addresses in the same subnet, for example, 192.168.1.1 and 192.168.1.2.

dhanar_10 · 09-11-2007, 02:59 AM

I tried the command you gave me (with a little modification)...

Quote:

sudo iwconfig eth1 mode Ad-Hoc rate Auto channel auto

But I got this...

Quote:

Error for wireless request "Set Frequency" (8B04) :
SET failed on device eth1 ; Invalid argument.

Any ideas? I'm using ipw2200 module from the kernel 2.6.22 (vanilla).

MS3FGX · 09-11-2007, 01:28 PM

That means it can't set channel, which isn't actually a big deal.

Try leaving everything off except "mode Ad-Hoc", that is the only thing that is actually required anyway.

dhanar_10 · 09-12-2007, 12:45 AM

So, after running this command...

Quote:

sudo iwconfig eth1 mode Ad-Hoc

I have to run this command too...

Quote:

sudo iwconfig eth1 essid SSID_NAME

Right?

MS3FGX · 09-12-2007, 07:29 AM

Yes, it would be a good idea. Some drivers will automatically set a SSID based on the system hostname or the name of the chipset (like RTL818), but it is better to set your own.

Of course, you can also put those two commands together in the form of:

Code:

iwconfig eth1 essid MYNET mode Ad-Hoc

The reason it failed before was not because everything was in one command, but rather, that the specific option was not supported by the driver (or at least, not supported in that scenario; you might be able to change the channel while in monitor mode, for instance).

dhanar_10 · 09-12-2007, 10:49 PM

I have run the command...

Quote:

iwconfig eth1 essid MYNET mode Ad-Hoc

But it seems that it sometimes works, sometimes not....

I'm now currently using NetworkManager to connect to other wireless network.
Is it possible that NetworkManager is interrupting the command?

MS3FGX · 09-13-2007, 01:36 AM

Possibly, but it could also be that your drivers don't have complete support for Ad-Hoc mode. One of my cards only partially supports Ad-Hoc, for instance.

dhanar_10 · 09-16-2007, 08:21 PM

What do you mean by partially?
What's working? What's not working?

May I know the the card that you use?

Sorry for the late reply.

MS3FGX · 09-17-2007, 03:38 AM

The RTL8180 drivers I use only have tentative Ad-Hoc support. Generally it works alright, but sometimes it simply refuses to connect, or I will get lost packets. Occasionally the kernel will even crash, depending on the machine's mood, alignment of the planets, that sort of thing.

jabka · 09-17-2007, 04:13 PM

I tried to use your instruction what i did was :
ifconfig eth1 down
iwco

dhanar_10 · 09-17-2007, 10:21 PM

Do you think that I have to disable NetworkManager?

Do you know how to disable it?

dhanar_10 · 09-18-2007, 07:33 PM

I got it work!

All I have to do is enter this command...

Quote:

sudo iwconfig eth1 mode ad-hoc essid MYNETWORK channel 1

No need to disable Network Manager.

Now, how to set the IP address?

Note:
Currently I am using Ubuntu 7.04 with kernel 2.6.22-10-generic (gutsy's kernel)

archtoad6 · 10-24-2007, 11:12 AM

Did you try ifconfig?

dhanar_10 · 10-24-2007, 11:21 PM

Actually, I have managed to solve the problem.

To activate the ad-hoc connection, I use this script:

Quote:

#!/bin/bash

echo "adhoc-enable 24092007"
echo

INTERFACE="eth1"

echo -n "ESSID : "
read ESSID
echo -n "Channel : "
read CHANNEL
#echo -n "Key : "
#read KEY
echo -n "IP Address : "
read IP_ADDRESS
echo -n "Netmask : "
read NETMASK
echo

sudo /etc/dbus-1/event.d/25NetworkManager stop
sudo iwconfig $INTERFACE mode ad-hoc essid $ESSID channel $CHANNEL
#if [ "$KEY" != "" ]; then
# sudo iwconfig $INTERFACE key $KEY
#fi
sudo ifconfig $INTERFACE $IP_ADDRESS netmask $NETMASK
sudo route add link-local netmask 255.255.0.0 metric 1000 dev $INTERFACE
echo

echo "Press any key to continue..."
read

And, to disable the ad-hoc connection, I use this:

Quote:

#!/bin/bash

echo "adhoc-disable 23092007"
echo

sudo /etc/dbus-1/event.d/25NetworkManager start
echo

echo "Press any key to continue..."
read

These shell scripts has been tested on Ubuntu 7.04 (kernel 2.6.22-10-generic) with Intel 2200BG wireless adapter.