On 04/03/2010 06:16 PM, Rulls wrote:
> In previous iterations of the troubleshooting, KWallet was properly
> configured and had the correct secret, and I was unable to connect.
> Currently (since the complete OS reinstall) KWallet is not being used
> (on first pass, KWallet dialogue appeared, I left “use KWallet …” box
> unchecked).
Does the correct secret show up in the pop-up? I don’t ask these
questions idly!
Nor do I answer them carelessly. It is not clear what aspect of my answer is not what you were expecting.
Of course, the correct secret appears in the pop-up. It is easy to verify; I check the box to show the clear password. Should I infer from your question that the pop-up is related to KWallet? I did not notice evidence that it is; I assumed it was NetworkManager. It would also be unexpected behavior that KWallet is still presenting a pop-up when I already chose the option to not use KWallet to store the security information. KWallet pops up elsewhere, Kontact, for example, but my mail authentication doesn’t quit working when I decline using it there. It would be surprising, and poor design in my view, for NetworkManager to be dependent on KWallet.
Please let me know where this takes the troubleshooting - re-enable KWallet, or a different course.
Thanks.
On 04/04/2010 12:46 AM, Rulls wrote:
>
> lwfinger;2147464 Wrote:
>> On 04/03/2010 06:16 PM, Rulls wrote:
>>> In previous iterations of the troubleshooting, KWallet was properly
>>> configured and had the correct secret, and I was unable to connect.
>>> Currently (since the complete OS reinstall) KWallet is not being
>> used
>>> (on first pass, KWallet dialogue appeared, I left “use KWallet …”
>> box
>>> unchecked).
>>
>> Does the correct secret show up in the pop-up? I don’t ask these
>> questions idly!
>
> Nor do I answer them carelessly. It is not clear what aspect of my
> answer is not what you were expecting.
>
> Of course, the correct secret appears in the pop-up. It is easy to
> verify; I check the box to show the clear password. Should I infer from
> your question that the pop-up is related to KWallet? I did not notice
> evidence that it is; I assumed it was NetworkManager. It would also be
> unexpected behavior that KWallet is still presenting a pop-up when I
> already chose the option to not use KWallet to store the security
> information. KWallet pops up elsewhere, Kontact, for example, but my
> mail authentication doesn’t quit working when I decline using it there.
> It would be surprising, and poor design in my view, for NetworkManager
> to be dependent on KWallet.
>
> Please let me know where this takes the troubleshooting - re-enable
> KWallet, or a different course.
As long as the correct secret shows up in the popup, then NM is getting
the correct answer. As to why your wireless is unable to authenticate, I
do not have a clue. It is not an NM bug - it is something peculiar to
your hardware and/or your configuration.
NM is not dependent on the wallet. It uses the wallet to avoid exposing
the network secret to the world in clear text. That sounds like good
design to me.
If NetworkManager transmits my network secret in open text, that’s the epitome of bad design, and it’s design is not improved by strapping on a password organizer utility to plug a glaring security hole. Are you sure about that? If that’s the role of KWallet here, why would I even be given the option to not use KWallet? Wow. I’ve always used some iteration of KNetworkManager since I’ve been using openSUSE. Has it been broadcasting my authentication in the clear all this time?!
As for the troubleshooting, hard to blame the hardware - openSUSE 11.1 and Windows 7 connect fine using this box and this AP. As for the configuration, connectivity problems were present on a pristine installation of 11.2, and have not been corrected through repititions of NetworkManager connection delete/connect tries. So, configuration is as it was out of the box.
So if there is a configuration problem, what configuration correction can I make to get this thing to connect? If there is no setting or adjustment to be made to get connected, then we’ve ruled out hardware and configuration, which would call into question the conclusion that we’re not dealing with a NetworkManger bug.
We’re dead in the water here on openSUSE 11.2 unless I’m tied to the network cable. Don’t like being reliant on Windows 7 for wireless (which, sadly, connects in a flash and stays connected). Any suggestions?
Thanks.
No.
See above, the passphrase is “hashed” by wpa_passphrase and then stored locally, there is nothing transmitted in cleartext, for a very simple reason, that would not work for wpa.
However this hashed password could be used to connect, if somebody gets his hands on your $HOME.
So it is a local weakness but still storing the passphrase in Kwallet ist the much better option.
Remove all connections from Knewtworkmanager
Remove all entries in Kwallet for Networkmanager
Remove all configuration files for (k)networkmanager in $HOME/.kde4/share/config
and start from scratch.
Hi, I found this thread when trying to solve the same problem but I am using opensuse 11.4. I think I detect your frustration and annoyance and I certainly feel the same. The intermittent wifi connection makes life impossible. Booting to windoze on the same machine and problem seems to go away. Did you ever get a satisfactory explanation? I wondered if some timings are wrong, for example key update timeouts are set too short on access point. Clutching at straws here but there are many threads on this problem or very similar symptoms and none that I have found that give a satisfactory explanation and fix. Hope you did and can share.
Regards
Budgie2
Hello, Budgie2 -
You probably aren’t going to like the answer! I got no further explanation than what this thread shows, and I was never able to solve the problem with getting that laptop to connect to that router. You’re right, frustrating and annoying, and made worse by the snide and condescending attitude of some (or one). After the “delete all connections and start from scratch” advice fails to work enough times, I don’t need to hear that suggestion any further. And “classic wrong secret behavior” is a bone-headed assessment when I’ve repeatedly verified and made clear that that’s not the problem. In the end, the shrill declaration that “it is something peculiar about your hardware or configuration” combined with the illogical “it’s not an NM bug” conclusion shows a troubling defensiveness about the quality of the software. The troubleshooting clearly ruled out hardware problem, and peculiar configuration is a strange way to describe a fresh install.
And it’s more troubling to hear that the problem may be persisting into version 11.4.
Linux will never win broad desktop acceptance as long as a common hardware combination works smoothly under Windows, is unusable under Linux, and there is a persistent failure to correct the problem in Linux. I wasted a ton of time on this, and it put a real dent in my enthusiasm for Linux in general, and openSuse in particular.
The somewhat positive developments in the last year: at some point, I replaced my router with a new one, different brand. The problems I’d been experiencing disappeared, and wireless performance with that same machine under 11.2 worked fine. Of course, “replace functioning hardware” is a pretty bad troubleshooting answer, but it at least provides a clue to the true nature of the original problem. Next, in a subsequent Linux upgrade, I began experimenting with ifup. That may be the ultimate answer. Now I select ifup configuration when installing all my Linux implementations. It seems to work consistently well, and you don’t have to hassle with authenticating each user for wireless access if you ever operate with multiple simultaneous user sessions on the same machine. It makes more sense to me that wireless access is associated with a given running computer, not a given user. Not really sure what problem KNetworkManager was introduced to solve that would apply to a computer running in my home or office. Perhaps the security of the authentication secrets. Hmmm.
Good luck with solving your wireless problem. You might give ifup a try. Hope it works as well for you as me.