I thought that it would be automatic and all, but it wasn’t. The most frustrating thing was trying to find any official documentation (howtos, faqs, etc.). Most of the existing pages haven’t been updated since 2003, but the biggest problem is the number of drivers and packages developed over the years (linux-wlan, linux wireless extensions, ndiswrapper), that hindered IMO the development of good high-level configuration packages that configure, enable, and most importantly, troubleshoot the connection.
After a LOT of trial and error, and using this very helpful Ubuntu Forums post, I found the following settings in /etc/network/interfaces allow me to connect the 3com 3crusb10075 usb wifi dongle (with the zd1121 chipset) to a Linksys AP using WPA2 with the kernel drivers provided. It wasn’t at all obvious that I had to tell wpa-supplicant to enable both WPA and WPA2, as the forum posting called it, but then again it probably appears somewhere in one of the 67(!) pages of replies to that post.
My /etc/network/interfaces:
auto eth3
iface eth3 inet dhcp
wpa-ssid [essid]
wpa-ap-scan 1
wpa-proto WPA RSN
wpa-pairwise TKIP CCMP
wpa-group TKIP CCMP
wpa-key-mgmt WPA-PSK
wpa-psk [secret hex thing generated using wpa_passphrase]
Packages I used: wpasupplicant (0.6.0-1), zd1211-firmware (2.16.0.0-0.1), linux-image-2.6.21-2-k7 (2.6.21-5)
I have to agree. As a relatively sophisticated Windows user, but a total newbie to Linux, I had the same experience in my attempts to install Debian on one of my PCs. Everything else went unbelievably smoothly, but my only connection to the internet for this PC is via a wireless USB dongle. It took weeks and millions and millions of lost brain cells to finally figure out how to get this installed and working.
IMHO, this area should be the no. 1 priority for the Linux community if they are serious about making converts of regular windows users. The normal user will never go through what you and I had to go through. They’ll just go back to Windows (or buy a Mac).
When I was younger I couldn’t understand why people didn’t use Linux. Then I started my work life and it all made sense. I never knew how much effort was required to produce real professional products.
Same problem here, I was using Ubuntu and I gave Debian a try. I installed it using the dvd’s. All easy and perfect, until I booted and couldn’t connect. I immediately switched back to Ubuntu.
If Linux would be more user friendly in such things, a lot of people would cross over into the light.
I’ll give Debian another try though..