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Date:  Thu, 24 Nov 2005 20:32:07 +0100
Sender: os2-wireless_users-owner <os2-wireless_users-owner@2rosenthals.com>
Reply-To: os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com
From:  Christian Langanke <os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com>
To:  os2-wireless_users@2rosenthals.com
Subject: [OS2Wireless] Wlan, wired and wireless connections

Jim,

Jim Showalter wrote:

> I just installed the 2.02 version, but I still have the IP disabled 
> problem. I have "Configure automatically using DHCP". Was this fixed 
> in 2.02? (IBMPRISM driver.)

Let me put it this way: definitely one reason for this problem was 
fixed. It is very likely that there exists another reason on your system 
for that symptom. In the next week a user will show up with his notebook 
at my place that is using the same driver (I don't have such a card, so 
I can't test it alone). On WarpstockEurope in Desden last weekend we 
tested it with V1.20 and it worked just fine (is that true for your 
system as well?), but with V2.00 it didn't. (Just would like to mention: 
as V2.xx does not bring any imporvement for users of GenPrism style 
drivers - such as IBMPRISM - you can safely revert to XWLAN V1.20 until 
the current problem is solved).

As we unfortunately had no CVS access to netlabs.org (only http and 
https available), I could not create a debug build of the old version 
over there, so I could only debug V2.00, and still have no clue why 
V2.00 would fail and V1.20 would work. From my debug session with this 
hardware I can only say that the few values being passed to the driver 
and received from it make absolutely sense and are identical to those 
being sent from XWLAN to the GenPrism driver for my Artem card - and 
this one works perfectly. Hopefully the next debug session will be more 
successful.

>> Then the commands are executed automatically when wifi is connected 
>> or disconnected. In every case I see no reason to clear setup.cmd, 
>> instead only all config for the wifi interface should be left out of 
>> it (anyway) and then setup.cmd could be called on Wifi disconnect 
>> event to reset to the "cabled configuration". The config commands 
>> would be included into the XWLAN script within the connect event.
>>
>> So you would switch between cabled and wireless just by changing 
>> between a dummy profile "cabled" which would connect to a nonexistant 
>> access point and fail with it, forcing the disconnect event (try any 
>> nonsense as SSID so that XWLAN will never connect) and a profile 
>> matching your access point, focing the connect event. IMHO this is a 
>> much more straight forward concept to change between cabled and wifi 
>> interface - much more simple and easier to use - instead of chasing 
>> icons.
>>
> Are the scripts required to be able to switch between wired and wifi, 
> or to select one at startup?

Yes and no. First of all, for switching between cabled and wireless, the 
only case making real trouble is if you want access the same LAN by 
either method and be able to switch between them as you like - this is a 
topic for advanced users concerning TCP/IP, as there is a problem with 
TCP/IP address conflicts. You may have only one network adapter per 
system in the same TCP/IP address range, otherwise you easily may end up 
in a dead TCP/IP communication. XWLAN at least automatically detects an 
address conflict and offers you to deactivate either interface (wired or 
cabled).

If you access separate LANs with cabled or wireless (and you don't have 
to set a default route for the cabled network), you just use the widget 
and will be fine, no matter if a cable is plugged or not.

Now for switching between cabled and wireless access to the _same_ LAN 
(using the same TCP/IP address range), you definitely need either one 
script (for XWLAN) or multiple (for a solution with creating own icons 
on your desktop you would click instead), otherwise the cabled interface 
will never be reconfigured when switching back from wireless to cabled.. 
The XWLAN script (only one, handling both connect and disconnect event) 
are just a smart way to do this, as it is automatically executed when 
(dis)connecting from/to an access point. One may nevertheless prefer 
clicking on icons though, I would say it is just a question of taste. In 
every case I would say that using the XWLAN method is easier for novices 
to setup as they don't need to know TCP/IP commands - the only thing the 
XWLAN script would do in that case is to call setup.cmd on disconnect 
event (as stated in my quoted posting already).

I will think about how some information about this switching issue could 
be included in the INF of the next version.

> I must confess that I have no clue as to how to set up wlan, even 
> after reading the help.

The help clearly says that the interface bound to the WLAN device should 
be configured by XWLAN only, not by setup.cmd or any other script - see 
section "Installation", but I now see that this may be insufficient. In 
addition to the existing information another page in the installation 
section would make sense that could briefly explain the general steps 
for the following scenarios with links to the corresponding pages:

- how to connect to a public hotspot => see section "Usage" - "Detecting 
Public Wireless LANs"
- how to setup a connection profile => see section "Usage" - "Profile 
Properties" and its subpages. What needed to be added in the linking 
section is that you would add/edit a profile with the submenu "Add/Edit 
profile"

In general the INF contains already a big load of information, and it 
may certainly not match everybody's needs to understand it. Every 
suggestion to make anything clearer or every attempt to show existing 
problems will help to improve the docs. So thanx for the hint - you 
definitely found a thing missing or not well structured that was not as 
obvious to me (as it may look from outside that it should have been).

Thanx, Christian

-------------------------------------------------

Christian Langanke
COS2E & CWSE
Team OS/2 Ruhr e.V.
cla@clanganke.de



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