Network Settings
Contents
Setting a static IP (xterm)
Groovix network settings can be configured using the "Network Configuration" option in the ctrl-alt-g menu, or from the command line using the command nano /etc/network/interfaces and editing the following text:
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
iface eth0 inet static
address x.x.x.x
netmask x.x.x.x
gateway x.x.x.x
auto eth0
Use the proper IP addresses in place of each x.
Log out and back in again before trying a test search on google.com in Firefox; if a timeout occurs, double check the settings and try again. On some hardware (especially wireless) it may be necessary to reboot after changing network parameters. Once the workstation can browse web pages in Firefox, choose "Reboot the machine" from the Groovix Menu so your machine can be configured by the Groovix NetCustomization System.
Setting Wireless Network Parameters
To set wireless parameters, use the "Network Configuration" option in the ctrl-alt-g menu, or from a command line type nano /etc/network/interfaces.
Add a section after the interface you want to use wirelessly and add the line wireless-essid [SSID] where [SSID] is the name of your wireless network. Next, include the line wireless-key1 [PASSWORD] where [PASSWORD] is the password you use for your wireless network; if your wireless network does not have a password, do not include the wireless-key1 line.
Below is an example of a /etc/network/interfaces file with the wireless settings added to interface wlan0.
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wireless-essid [SSID]
wireless-key1 [PASSWORD]
Setting Wireless Network Parameters using WPA2
To set wireless parameters use the "Network Configuration" option in the ctrl-alt-g menu, or from the command line type nano /etc/network/interfaces.
Add a section after the interface you want to use wirelessly and add the line wpa-ssid [SSID] where [SSID] is the name of your wireless network. Next, include the line wpa-psk [HEX KEY] where [HEX KEY] is the password you use for your wireless network.
To find your [HEX KEY] given your ascii [PASSPHRASE] you can use this command line utility: wpa_passphrase [SSID] [PASSPHRASE]
Below is an example of a /etc/network/interfaces file with the wireless settings added to interface wlan0.
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback
auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wpa-ssid myssid
wpa-psk a77bc927b63116a0ab208abc9934b6db418c1ac83839eb2891891868163b6114
Troubleshooting
Running the following commands in a terminal window Terminal Guide can assist you in troubleshooting network issues by restarting your network devices or giving you information about the current values applied to your network interfaces.
/etc/init.d/networking restart - this restarts the networking and is usually sufficient to make changes take effect but sometimes a reboot is required.
ifconfig - shows all networking information, you are usually just interested in eth0 (usually wired) and wifi0 or ath0 or eth1 or ? (usually wireless) , lo is the loopback device, you can ignore it
iwconfig - shows wireless specific information including signal strength (usually called Link Quality, sometimes out of 5, sometimes out of 70, etc.)
ping [IP Address/web address] - sends out test signals to a network address and reports back if they were received or dropped. Useful in troubleshooting communications between devices.
