ifconfig for WLAN using WEP

[Scott Bennett]

     Paul Schmehl <pauls at utdallas.edu> wrote:

>--On Monday, December 20, 2004 11:21:01 AM -0600 Scott Bennett 
><bennett at cs.niu.edu> wrote:
>>
>>      I wasn't combining them.  Here's some background information:  the
>> only "connected" interface at the time of the ifconfig shown above is the
>> loopback.  The ethernet interface is "UP" but not physically connected to
>> anything.  The wireless interface is not "UP" and not previously
>> configured for anything.
>>      As I wrote before, the problem is that *any* WEP-related terms given
>> to the ifconfig command result in the error message being returned.
>>
>You'll get that error message if you try to use wep commands on a 
>non-wireless interface.  I wonder if your system is detecting the wireless 
>NIC and has the correct drivers for it?  fwe0 should be a ethernet over 

     As it turns out, this was the right question to ask, for which I thank
Paul.

>firewire interface.  What type of wireless NIC are you using?  Your 
>wireless interface should be something like an0 or wi0, etc.
>
     Apparently, FreeBSD is detecting the infrared port (and assigning it
network interface characteristics), which is disabled in the BIOS, but FreeBSD
bypasses the BIOS at a very early stage.
     Windows XP Home Edition sees three interfaces displayed as:

	Network Connections

		Broadband

			[check] Broadband Connection
			Disconnected
			WAN Minport (PPPOE)

		LAN or High-Speed Internet

			[x] Local Area Connection
			Network Cable Unplugged
			Broadcom 570x Gigabit Integrated Contr

			1394 Connection
			Disabled
			1394 Net Adaptor

			Wireless Network Connection
			Connected
			Dell Wireless WLAN 1450 Dual Band W

I interpret the above as meaning that the "Broadband" interface is the dial-up
interface, the "Local Area" interface is the real Ethernet interface (not
connected physically), the 1394 interface is the infrared port as Ethernet-
over-FireWire (fwe0), and the Dell 1450 card is indeed the wireless interface.
     Looking through the boot messages from FreeBSD 5.2.1, I don't see anything
that looks like the Dell wireless card being detected.  I've looked through all
the man pages for the various interface types and haven't seen anything that
looks appropriate.  If anyone reading this can suggest what to do next, please
do.


                                  Scott Bennett, Comm. ASMELG, CFIAG
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