Problem with hosting ad-hoc WEP-secured wireless network

[jgxenite]

Hi all,

I've had a good look through all the posts on here, but I can't find a solution to my problem. I'm trying to host my own ad-hoc WEP-secured wireless network. If I don't use encryption, I can make it work without any problems whatsoever. As soon as I try and use encryption, nobody else can access the network and I see lots of received packets, but none sent back (from my computer to the others).

Below is a copy of my ifcfg-Wireless file I've set up (some of it was automatically set up using system-config-network - I've made some manual modifications):


TYPE=Wireless
DEVICE=eth1
HWADDR=
BOOTPROTO=none
NETMASK=255.255.255.0
IPADDR=X.X.X.X
DOMAIN=
ONBOOT=no
USERCTL=yes
IPV6INIT=no
PEERDNS=yes
ESSID=XXXXXX
CHANNEL=Auto
MODE=Ad-Hoc
RATE=Auto
SECURITYMODE=open
KEY=s:XXXXX


I have also tried KEY=o:XXXXX (I read about this on another post), but I get back that "o:XXXXX is not a valid setting" (or something similar, can't remember the exact wording).

Anyone have any suggestions on how to get this working?

James

[Janl]

I guess the answer to your question about the encryption key is what format is it in? Is it in hex format or ASCII format?

[jgxenite]

It is in plain ASCII, five characters long (in the hope it will work with the Mac and Windows PCs that need to access it). The Mac seems to connect OK but then can't access the Internet; similarly with the Windows PC. The only thing that has changed is the encryption, so it isn't an Internet sharing issue.

James

[Janl]

Hmm...the key line is right then. the s: prefix is for an ASCII string. Have you tried bringing it up manually using iwconfig? I've looked at this pageLinux Wireless (http://www.linuxhomenetworking.com/wiki/index.php/Quick_HOWTO_:_Ch13_:_Linux_Wireless_Networking) which says on newer versions of Fedora you have to put the key into a seperate file. May want to give it a try.

[jgxenite]

The key was in a separate file when I initially created the configuration using system-config-network (keys-Wireless). However, I moved it into ifcfg-Wireless for simplicity of administration. I tried following a tutorial I saw somewhere (I think it was on ipw2200.sf.net) with regard to the iwconfig, but it seemed to fail with setting the key to open (not restricted).

I'll give it a go with a hex key, and report back.

James

[jgxenite]

OK, it works fine with a hex WEP key :D. It seems that there is a problem with ASCII WEP keys, but I'm not entirely sure where that problems lies...

James