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Date:  Fri, 10 Dec 2004 22:27:02 +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] How to switch between wired and wireless interface by XWLAN (was Re: thanks to all)

Julian Thomas wrote:

>Better yet, I'll paste them in here.  wireless.cmd and wired.cmd do the
>obvious things.  wired is lan0; cisco is lan1.
>  
>
Please somebody tell me why it should be necessary to switch between 
wireless and wired configurations like shown in the scripts of the mail 
I am quoting here.

XWLAN does 95% of the "obvious" things already, once you only configure 
it to do so. Just configure the connection profile to be used to DHCP 
configuration by XWLAN, and configure the proper interface in the widget 
properties (!!). Also better don't configure the wireless IP interface 
in the TCP/IP configuration.

The only thing that is currently missing for a true (half-)automated 
switch between wired and wireless interface/connection is that no DHCP 
request for the wired interface is automatically fired off when 
switching away from wireless. Here the script feature of XWLAN can (as a 
workaround) be (mis)used to execute such a call when the connection and 
TCP/IP configuration over WLAN  has been interrupted. Once this is set 
up (see below), you can (half-)automatically switch between wired and 
wireless connection by just pulling or pluggin the wireless PCMCIA card 
or enable/disable radio for a built-in device.

To make things clearer, here is the configuration scheme of XWLAN in 
detail. Taken that you choose XWLAN to perform DHCP configuration for 
the wireless IP interface, the XWLAN script, once being activated and 
provided (that is, copy one of the examples into the script directory [I 
recommend the REXX script !] and edit according to your needs, see the 
online help), this script is called for disconnect and connect events.

---------> WLAN disconnect event

when this is called, XWLAN has already done the following (where lanx is 
the wireless interface):
dhcpmon /l
dhcpmon /t
ifconfig lanx delete
arp -f

A "route -fh" is not necessary, here as the "dhcpmon /l" will release 
the DHCP lease for the wireless interface, this will already reset all 
routes pointing to/over that interface.

In order to automatically launch DHCP for the wired interface here, you 
would have to execute "dhcpstrt lany -d 0" within the connect event part 
of your XWLAN script, where lany is the wired IP interface. Do not 
specify a delaywith -d here, otherwise the GUI of the widget will be 
blocked unnecessarily.

---------> WLAN connect event

when this is called, XWLAN has already done the following (where lanx is 
the wireless interface. Don't mind that the unconfiguration sequence 
from above [first four commands here] is completely executed here as 
well for safety):

dhcpmon /l
dhcpmon /t
ifconfig lanx delete
arp -f
<here DHCPCD.EXE gets killed by internal code if still in memory after 
half a second, because dhcpmon /t does sometimes not properly terminate 
the client daemon>
dhcpstrt -i lanx -d 0

For this case the dhcpmon /l and /t will already completely unconfigure 
the wired IP interface, so there is no need to add commands for it here.

-----

I think it may make more sense switching to that kind of automated setup 
instead of using own scripts, as once the XWLAN solution fits everybodys 
needs, nobody is required anymore to fiddle around with IP configuration 
commands anymore. I would like to see XWLAN be a bullet as well as a 
fool-proof solution, and only the experienced users, like you are, can 
help me to achieve this. Please try out the XWLAN way, and if it does 
not fit your needs, tell me and we discuss whatever solution is required.

BTW, I intend to also make that above stated dhcpstrt command for the 
wired interface in an XWLAN script obsolete as well in a forthcoming 
release. If that succeeds, I think at least then really no script for 
any IP configuration is required anymore to switch between cabled and 
wireless interfaces. In fact the XWLAN script engine was intended to 
start/end user applications only....

Moreover, I just started to code cleanup routines for the routing and 
arp table to not any longer rely on dhcpmon /l (or route -fh) or the 
"arp -f" command. Instead the cleanup routines I now work on will kick 
out exactly only these entries being related to the IP interface to be 
disabled, leaving everything else alone.

bye, Christian

-------------------------------------------------

Christian Langanke
COS2E & CWSE
Team OS/2 Ruhr e.V.
cla@clanganke.de

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