Setting up wireless network on the IBM Thinkpad T43/X41 running Fedora Core 5

Last updated: 6 Jun 2006

At the time of this documentation, the latest FC5 kernel is 2.6.16-1.2122_FC5, which includes stable version 1.0.8 of the ipw2200 driver and the setup was tested on this version of the kernel. As kernel updates are frequent, the firmware, configuration steps, etc. might vary. We will try to keep this documentation updated.

The IBM Thinkpad T43/X41 is using the Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 2200BG network controller. You can check which network controller your system is using by issuing the lspci command as root and check the "Network controller" on the last line of the output.

The installation will be easier if you have an Internet connection. If your Ethernet card has been registered as one of the network segment, please connect it up to the appropriate network socket using a UTP cable. Please refer to the documentation about SoC LAN Access for more information.

If your Ethernet card is not registered with us, please connect to one of the SOC PnP network sockets located in various corridors and tutorial rooms in SOC. Follow the guide in Using SoC-VPN to install OpenVPN and configure it so that you can connect to SOC network using SoC-VPN.

1. Install the ipw2200 firmware:

   # rpm -ihv http://rpm.livna.org/fedora/5/i386/livna-release-5-4.noarch.rpm
   # yum install ipw2200-firmware

2. Set the module options in /etc/modprobe.conf

   options ipw2200 hwcrypto=1

   This ipw2200 option turns on hardware encryption. The default is off. With previous versions of ipw2200, users have reported firmware restarts and slow transfer rates when using hardware encryption.

3. A FC5 bug causes eth0 to be randomly assigned rather than following the configuration files. This can play all kinds of havoc. A fix is in updates-testing.

   # yum --enablerepo=updates-testing install initscripts

4. Reboot your computer.

5. After you have logged in, go to System -> Administration -> Network.

   • Click on the "Hardware" tab. You should see "Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 2200BG" besides the Ethernet card.
   • Click on the "Devices" tab and click "New".
   • Select "Wireless connection" and click "Forward".
   • Select "Intel Corporation PRO/Wireless 2200BG(eth1)". Click "Forward".
   • Enter the following fields.
     

     Mode: Managed
     Network Name (SSID): NUSOPEN.
     

   • Click "Forward".
   • Accept the defaults of using dhcp and click "Forward".
   • At the last page, you will be presented with a screen to review your configuration. Click "Apply".

   The device that you have just added will appear under the list of profiles under the Devices tab.

   • Click on the Wireless profile and click "Edit".
   • Check "Activate device when computer starts" option if preferred. Click "OK"
   • Click on the wireless profile and click "Activate".
   • The system will inform you that you have made some changes in your configuration. Click "Yes" to continue.
   • On the next screen, click "OK" to restart the network and network services

6. If this profile is successfully activated, you will have a working wireless connection. Please note that you will need to use SoC-VPN in order to authenticate to the NUSOPEN wireless network. If you are using a wired Ethernet connection now, you can unplug the UTP cable and try out the wireless connection.