Re: [gentoo-user] NetworkManager and/or WICD

[Mike Edenfield]

On 11/3/2009 11:16 PM, Iain Buchanan wrote:
> On Tue, 2009-11-03 at 21:52 -0500, Mike Edenfield wrote:

>>    When I attempt to use either of those
>> utilities to get onto my wireless network, the NIC refuses to stay
>> connected to the base station for more than a few seconds at a time.
>> Instead, it continually disassociates and deauthenticates, only for
>> nm/wicd to hop right back on.  However, if I manually configure
>> wpa_supplicant for a given SSID and start it via the init script
>> directly, I don't have any such problems.
>
> Have you stopped your net.wlan0 script?  Also remove it from the default
> runlevel, and set "rc_hotplug="!net.wlan0 !net.eth0" in /etc/rc.conf (if
> you're using openrc).

I hadn't done that initially, but I did this time, and still get the 
same issue.  I'm having trouble determining if the problem is 
NetworkManager telling the NIC to disassociate, or the NIC telling 
NetworkManager to disassociate.

As long as NetworkManager is running, my dmesg output shows this 
happening about once every 15 seconds or so (I don't know what any of 
those status codes mean, or they may help troubleshoot the problem :) )

wlan0: authenticate with AP 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec
wlan0: authenticated
wlan0: associate with AP 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec
wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec (capab=0x411 status=12 aid=1)
wlan0: AP denied association (code=12)
wlan0: associate with AP 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec
wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec (capab=0x411 status=12 aid=1)
wlan0: AP denied association (code=12)
wlan0: associate with AP 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec
wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec (capab=0x411 status=12 aid=1)
wlan0: AP denied association (code=12)
wlan0: association with AP 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec timed out
wlan0: authenticate with AP 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec
wlan0: authenticated
wlan0: associate with AP 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec
wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec (capab=0x411 status=0 aid=1)
wlan0: associated
wlan0: disassociated (Reason: 14)
wlan0: deauthenticated (Reason: 6)

The syslog output from NetworkManager shows basically the same cycle:

Nov 04 14:12:11 [NetworkManager] <info>  Activation (wlan0) successful, 
device activated._
Nov 04 14:12:11 [NetworkManager] <info>  Activation (wlan0) Stage 5 of 5 
(IP Configure Commit) complete._
Nov 04 14:12:38 [NetworkManager] <info>  (wlan0): supplicant connection 
state:  completed -> disconnected_
Nov 04 14:12:38 [NetworkManager] <info>  (wlan0): supplicant connection 
state:  disconnected -> scanning_
Nov 04 14:12:38 [NetworkManager] <info>  (wlan0): supplicant connection 
state:  scanning -> disconnected_
Nov 04 14:12:40 [NetworkManager] <info>  (wlan0): supplicant connection 
state:  disconnected -> associating_
Nov 04 14:12:41 [NetworkManager] <info>  (wlan0): supplicant connection 
state:  associating -> disconnected_
Nov 04 14:12:50 [NetworkManager] <info>  (wlan0): supplicant connection 
state:  disconnected -> scanning_
Nov 04 14:12:52 [NetworkManager] <info>  (wlan0): supplicant connection 
state:  scanning -> associating_
Nov 04 14:12:52 [NetworkManager] <info>  (wlan0): supplicant connection 
state:  associating -> disconnected_
Nov 04 14:12:53 [NetworkManager] <info>  (wlan0): device state change: 8 
-> 3 (reason 11)_
Nov 04 14:12:53 [NetworkManager] <info>  (wlan0): deactivating device 
(reason: 11)._

As soon as I stop NetworkManager and start net.wlan0, it jumps onto the 
AP and stays there for good:

wlan0: authenticate with AP 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec
wlan0: authenticated
wlan0: associate with AP 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec
wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:1e:58:04:1e:ec (capab=0x411 status=0 aid=2)
wlan0: associated

>> Additionally, I can't get either applet to actually save settings (like
>> known networks, passwords, etc.) which means that I'm continually
>> interrupted by a prompt for the wireless password.
>
> Do you have seahorse (gnome)?  Depending on how it's setup, you should
> only have to provide the master password once for nm to access all your
> keys.

I do have seahorse, and when I first boot up it asks me for the default 
keyring password and connects to the AP automatically.  Every time after 
that, when the connection bounces, syslog shows:

Nov 04 14:13:21 [NetworkManager] <info>  Activation (wlan0/wireless): 
connection 'Auto Informagration' has security, and secrets exist.  No 
new secrets needed._

but NetworkManager presents the WPA pass phrase dialog anyway.

--Mike