Networking Wizards - constructive criticism

Problems and successes with specific brands/models of networking hardware.
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r_e_h
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Joined: Thu 16 Dec 2010, 16:20
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Networking Wizards - constructive criticism

#1 Post by r_e_h »

I have been looking at new dists to replace the one I have used for several years and have found so many things to like about Puppy that there is no room to list them here.

But I have a criticism of the networking in recent variants.

In Puppy 511, the dist identified my wireless usb, loaded the driver/module, and set up wlan0. The connect wizard let me choose wlan0, enter essid and psk, choose protocol, and I was in.

In Wary 102 and Quirky 14, the usb was not identified, I had to figure out which driver to load, and then the wizard was a flashing nightmare of unnecessary choices.

If the new thing is only to be on W and Q, fine. But if you are going to use it on P ... Why isn't the old simple thorough one the default and those elements of the new one which give more control only presented on failure?

Shouldn't Puppy stay small and simple?

Respectfully,
R.

ps Very nice forum software.

pps 17dec10 I've been thinking about this post. I think it's important to ask why the init of Q and W lost the ident of a wlan0 and didn't load the driver. Then ask why the new wizard is substantially more complicated to use, like having to define a profile and then save it and then use it, reloading the dialog box each time so it has to be repositioned. And then choosing dhcp. I've been looking at a lot of new dists lately. Antix uses a console app called Ceni for networking which is thorough while not being awkward or complicated. These are just suggestions though. I'm not trying to push anything here. And I'm only here because Puppy is at the top of the list in the dists I'm thinking about. For those who scope out the competition, the other simple reasonably bulletproof ones have been Debris (a bit out of date), Antix, CrunchBang, and Privatix (which doesn't include non-free drivers). HTH

ppps 19dec10 I don't know why I keep thinking about this post. What I have realized is that the kernel/initrd's dropping the ident of an interface is what bothers me the most. It keeps me from moving to Quirky right now and will make me hesitant to upgrade from 511. Perhaps all this speaks to my technological conservatism. My goals are "smaller" and "more bulletproof". But that's just me... respectfully, R.

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jim3630
Posts: 791
Joined: Mon 14 Feb 2011, 02:21
Location: Northern Nevada

#2 Post by jim3630 »

yes it's an ongoing problem especially with certain drivers including broadcom. I experienced the same frustrating sequence of events as you describe. I'm not the one to help you diagnose but for me adding one pet, Frisbee, was the fix when the puppy os did have my driver.

Here is where you can get some help. good luck.

http://www.murga-linux.com/puppy/viewtopic.php?t=59000

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jim3630
Posts: 791
Joined: Mon 14 Feb 2011, 02:21
Location: Northern Nevada

#3 Post by jim3630 »

quick update lucid puppy 526rc has reworked network and includes frisbee, as an included pet on the distro. In other words, you don't have to down load it.

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ThoriumBlvd
Posts: 159
Joined: Fri 04 Oct 2013, 09:04
Location: N.E. USA

#4 Post by ThoriumBlvd »

This is a good thing. Frisbee can connect a buggy Atheros chip, yet handle a simple ehernet cnxn. This is not a problem with Frisbee, but with the chipset, BUT certain programs can't handle these mischevious chips.

TAN/ The atheros chipsets of the 5k family (5007EG and others) behave just like a drive association (sda, sdb, sdc, etc). This causes the first cnxn to be assigned the lower address number. The problem is when both eth0 and wlan0 are connected. While not kernal panic, the program gets into trouble assigning the address. Solution? disconnect the Wifi by hot-button when the desktop appears: not before! Or one might have to turn off the Wifi side of the router/modem... this forces eth0 only. /TAN
[img]http://www.am3radio.us/image3.jpg[/img] . [img]http://www.am3radio.us/image4.jpg[/img]

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