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Linux Support for Wireless Laptop Internet?
scubacuda asks: "I'm looking for a good "all you can eat" cellular data plan for my laptop. So far, I've looked into T-mobile, Earthlink, and Verizon's wireless Internet options. Any suggestions on price, availability, and speed? The real kicker for me is Linux support, which, I've been told by all three companies, is NOT available. (Any and all hacks would be greatly appreciated!)" This particular market is still in a great degree of flux, especially with landscape-changing deals like the AT&T/Cingular merger going on in the background and issue of going for cellular or WiFi connectivity service. Are there any wireless carriers that you've been able to get working on a Linux laptop? If so, what did you have to do to attain your wireless laptop nirvana?
I'm a Canadian, but I've successfully used wireless Internet connections in the U.S. using GSM (AT&T Wireless) and iDEN (NexTel) networks with a linux laptop. The idea is to think simple, and set up the wireless connection with an existing mobile phone and a PPP connection!
In the case of GSM, all that was necessary was a USB cable to a Motorola C333 to the laptop, then using PPP over the connection. Setting up was no harder than setting up a regular modem connection. The phone was free (after signing up to a plan) and the USB cable was less than $20. Data plans vary, but GSM coverage is decent in all the metropolitan areas that I was in (including Detriot, Chicago and New Jersey).
Similarly, I was able to use a Motorola iDEN phone with a serial cable to connect to the serial port of the computer and the specialized Motorola serial port on the phone. Once again, with a PPP connection to the Internet, there is nothing more to the connection than what's necessary to the dial-up modem connection. The phone itself is a wireless modem that is detected as a serial modem device. A data plan was included with the phone package (as I recall) and coverage was decent in all the metropolitan areas that I was in (see above).
We tried using various PCMCIA and PC Card based solutions for our connections, but we always seemed to have driver problems both in Windows and in linux. Sometimes the devices would seem to work, and then sometimes it wouldn't. For doing demos on the road for a web application, this was not acceptable. We found the best way was to use a phone-based solution for reliability for our mobile applications.
All in all, setting up a wireless connection is easy once you have the cables. With the price of phones these days dropping, getting your linux-based laptop (or any laptop for that matter) on the Internet wirelessly is easier and more cost effective than ever.
These are the good old days you'll be telling your children about. Make them worthwhile.
I hate that something like this even need linux support. I mean, it's basicaly a modem - it should emulate a simple piece of hardware and work on any combination of hardware and software without fancy client software. Imagine if you had to have fancy client with all these unneeded bells and whistles for your 2400 Baud external modem back in the day.
Don't Tread on Me
I've found that a typical SprintPCS phone will appear as a modem when connected with the optional USB connection. If you dial #777 (which equates to #PPP), you'll be connected through the "Vision" inet service. Sprint doesn't advertise this and, naturally, doesn't want people using their "all you can eat" inet service with a laptop or desktop for that matter. The speed is underwhelming but I haven't found anything good in this respect unless you've got the new Verizon service in the select cities.
Life is the leading cause of death in America.
I bet if you ask them if they supported Firefox, the answer would be no, too. Support means they have easy instructions to repeat to the caller, not that other things don't work with it.
http://www.ka9q.net/5220.html
/power display (that would be from the second serial port).. other than that, works fine, very stable...
I have such a card and it works just fine for me... the only downside is you don't have a link stability
I've been using the Sierra Wireless Aircard 750 with Linux for over a year. I can't say I am excited about the service itself, which is supposed to be about 56k. In other words, it is slow. BUT, when I am patient, I can ssh to my servers at work and sometimes accomplish something. It works just fine for web browsing, email, instant messaging, and retrieving maps with gpsdrive.
--dingletec--
The T-Mobile GPRS cards usually Just Work(tm) since they use serial and the AT command set. Just have to use PPP and off you go.
Its not the fastest, but its cheap. ($30/mo)
Good luck!
-- dieman - Scott Dier
I got a new Panasonic Toughbook CF-T2. It has a wireless net card built in. It has no built-in CD drive, so I bought an external USB CD drive, plugged it in, put in the Suse 9.2 install CD, powered it up, and selected my install options. After an hour and a few CD changes, the system was up and running. It correctly repartitioned the hard drive so it's dual boot. It detected everything correctly. The wireless net card was detected but not activated. I used Yast to activate it, and it detected the wireless link and got an IP address. At this point there was a problem, though: the wireless card was eth1 and the Ethernet card was eth0. Even though eth0 didn't have a link, it was for some reason trying to be the default route. No problem. I just used Yast to deactivate eth0 (since I never use it) and now everything works fine.
Oh, and I also used Yast to configure all the ACPI and powersaving features, and they work. I close it, it suspends to disk. It throttles the CPU, blanks the screen, etc, as needed. There are some bugs in the suspend-to-disk feature, though. It's usable but I'm looking forward to installing the next version.
Summary: everything basically worked, no drivers to download, no kernel recompiles. I think it was easier than it would have been if I had tried to install Win XP. I think with Win XP I would have had to download drivers, etc. But I'm not sure; I've never tried it.
At least for Verizon's EVDO we've got a horde of folk in our IT dept. using it thanks mostly to Phil Karn's notes on getting the card working in Linux.
Might want to dig a little deeper and see if "no support" really just means "we don't know if it works and don't know how to support Linux." Hopefully some folks further down will have info on the other services.
Disclaimer: I happen to work for one of the companies involved with EVDO.
It's my understanding that this setup will work under Linux. The 8200 is effectively the same as an 8100 for data access purposes.
Note that this plan is not really "unlimited". If you use too much bandwidth they will come down on you. Also, using it with a computer is "not allowed", they want you to buy a real data plan for that. However, it works anyway!
This setup has worked well for my needs (mostly voice service with occasional Internet access both from the phone and on a laptop). YMMV.
www.sprintusers.com are very active user forums where issues like this are discussed.
Get their Vision plan, and you have unlimited data for $15/month. Just don't go crazy; there have been reports of people having their line disconnected because they were using data 24/7.
Of course, Sprint won't tell you about this; they want to sell you a connection card and the extra phone line.
As for reception it's simple: if you're near an interstate, it's great. If you're not, NO SOUP FOR YOU.
Add usbserialThe next step is to set up pppd for the T-Mobile GPRS service. I have the "VPN" service, but most users with unlimited access will have the regular one. The main difference is that the "VPN" service gets you a public IP address and must be specifically requested. In places where internet3.voicestream.com is used, internet2.voicestream.com should be replaced if this is the case.The
What corporations mean by "support" is one or two OSes that are standardized enough for the bottom-end support people to walk the users through simple scripts, i.e. "ensure that the computer is plugged in and turned on, click start, click setting, click network and dialup connections, etc..."
The last Verizon tech I talked to didn't know what dhcp was. There's no way these people could deal with something as varied *nix, and frankly you don't want them to. If the hardware works and the protocols are supported you're good to go. If you have a problem reboot the modem. You won't get much else in the way of useful information of the support staff anyway, even if you are running windows.
Actually - it usually does. You have to figure out how to configure it yourself, of course - ether as an USB Phone modem or Bluetooth Modem, but apart from this all you need to know is gprs configuration parameters (gprs access *point* name, user, password).
The best I have seen from this are motorolla phones with miniUsb connector. They have simple and proper support for usb modem.
Those software packages and fancy config dialogs - screw them. provider can't avoid infrastructure standards, so - use them.
Note that he said laptop "nirvana", not hell. =)
And Bluetooth. I'm not avare of bluetooth support in recent linux releases, but I happily use bluetooth with my ibook laptop and Nokia 6600 wherever I go. Bluetooth defines wireless modem profile, and from there, it's a piece of cake.
"Remind me, can I take a phone with a US priceplan into every state yet..and use it?"
Yes. I do.
What has this to do with connecting a laptop to the cellular network? Oh, right - nothing. That's because you're a useless, hating troll.
Get thee back under thy rock, or I shall be AGAIN forced to say "Billy Goat!"
Ce n'est pas un vrai mouvement de robot!
One Site that could help alot.
Linux-wireless.com More info here than you probably want, and everything you need.
I'm sorry, I'm to tired to be witty at the moment so this message will have to do.
My friend has T-Mobile and a Nokia bluetooth phone. He has a little USB bluetooth dongle attached to his laptop. He connects wirelessly to his cell phone with the bluetooth. Then the cell phone's unlimited data service provides the laptop with an internet connection via the bluetooth. This required no support from T-Mobile.
He set up a page about it here.
The GeekNights podcast is going strong. Listen!
The cellular modem looks like a regular modem to the laptop. It uses traditional AT commands and there's some special phone numbers you're supposed to send it. The O'Reilly book "Linux Unwired" has a good section about this. T-Mobile seems to have the best deal going, if you're in their coverage area.
http://nextelbroadband.com
And, for hardware, you can choose between a PCMCIA card (which probably requires Windoze drivers) and a modem with an ethernet port. I assume the modem with ethernet doesn't require any special drivers or software (although that could be a bad assumption).
If you're looking for support, you're screwed.
If you're looking for functionality I have written documents for my company's knowledgebase.
I do work for a large wireless carrier, and I have made this information available on my personal website as I haven't yet received approval to make it available on our external support site and can e-mail you my url(will not post it to avoid being slashdotted)if you want e-mail me at chiane25@hotmail.com if you are interested.
Methods of tethering I've written about are IrDA, bluetooth, PC Cards(all that we sell) as well as USB.
I really should create an account on slashdot to rake in some karma.
I've used a Sierra Wireless AirCard 555 (verizon wireless) with linux. Although they claim the card is 144kbps, the ping round-trip time is pretty slow, and makes sshing pretty unpleasant.
After initializing the card for the first time (using windows, it needs to update the firmware, etc.), the card works like a regular com-port/modem. Beware of wvdial though, i had to patch it to make it work reliably with the AirCard. Also see http://centerclick.org/aircard555/
I recently dumped the aircard and replaced it with a GSM phone Nokia 6820. Which not only has a fold-out QWERTY keyboard, both a commercial and a free ssh client, and bluetooth, but also an IR port which emulates a modem when put next to the IR port on a laptop. Then just dial *99# and you're in business, even when traveling abroad. (The AirCard doesn't support data calls outside of the US.)
I think it's a better deal than the dedicated wireless cards, unless you're planning on using it constantly. It appears that the speed on the 6820 (with AT&T / Cingular service) via IR is better than the AirCard too.
Linux Unwired, written by Roger Weeks, Edd Dumbill, Brian Jepson and published by our friends at O'Reilly, is an invaluable reference for anything that is Linux and wireless. It has several chapters on 802.11 (picking a card, setting it up, using security, setting up or building a Linux access point), and also covers a variety of other systems: Bluetooth, IrDA, cellular networking, and GPS. Their wireless chapter gives instructions and suggested equipment for (IIRC) AT&T Wireless, T-Mobile, Verizon, and possibly one or two others. It's reasonably priced, and chock full of useful stuff--I would definitely recommend picking up a copy of it to learn how to do this.
(Note: I am not associated with O'Reilly in any relationship other than being a satisfied customer.)
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I did this 3 years ago, for a cross-country drive (Tampa, FL to Los Angeles, CA, 2500 miles, 2.5 days). I wanted to "broadcast" my drive, so I had my Linux laptop capturing from a webcam, and sending the pictures back up to my web server.
:)
:) Oh, and never drive it in a U-Haul. It took 5 days with only one real sleep stop.
I used the Nextel im1100. The speed wasn't great (or even good most of the time), but it let me get the images up slowly. I could get one frame every 5 to 10 seconds sent up, which was more than enough to entertain my friends, who would check up on my progress every few hours.
You have to do a ppp script, just like you would dialing up on a conventional modem to an ISP. The init string was something odd. I think it was AT&S0=0 . The dial string was simply "ATDT". If you search around on DejaNews, you can find the right init string, if I'm mistaken.
There are other providers who's modems work exactly the same way. When I was researching it 3 years ago, they all acted like serial cards. I picked Nextel, because I already had a couple cell phones with them, and I could simply add it to my account. I don't know if things have really changed, but when I was looking at them, they advertise a "max" speed, which is *MUCH* higher than your real connection speed. In other words, you'll never see the speeds they offer. Generally it'll be 9600 baud, with really bad latency. 400ms+ pings were the norm.
Nextel will tell you specifically that they won't work on anything but Windows, but trust me, it works fine. It's the difference between what the support people know, and the way it really is.
The im1100 has it's own battery, it doesn't depend on the laptop for power. For my drive, I had the laptop and the modem plugged into a power inverter. I got pulled over twice on that drive. The cops gave my setup a really funny look, but didn't really say anything about it. Oddly enough, driving 2500 miles, you really start questioning if the speed limit should be so low..
I kept asking myself, "My car can easily do 160mph. I'm doing 75mph. If I doubled my speed, I'd cut this drive time in half. It's 800 miles to the next state. At 75, that's 10.6hrs. at 100, that's 8hrs. At 130mph (a nice cruise speed for my car) that's 6.1 hours. 6.1 hours sounds a lot better than 10.6 hours."
Right about the time I'd start trying it, is when I'd get pulled over. Since I was on I-10 in fuckin' Wyle E. Coyote country, where the cactus outnumber the humans 100000:1 they were ok with my 5mph over. They just wanted to remind me to slow down. I'm good with that. I like warnings a lot more than tickets.
Oh, and if you try to figure out my average speed for the drive (41mph), I did stop in El Paso for 12 hours, and had 6 fuel stops (4 of them I was kinda fuzzy from lack of sleep and a constant caffeine buzz). I also hit shitty traffic in San Antonio, and tried to stop in Bum-stick Arizona for cigarettes (couldn't find my brand), and again in Phoenix (again, couldn't find my brand). I was twitching by the time I got to California, and it was 2 days to find a store that had my brand.
It's an interesting drive. Everyone should try it once by themselves, just to say they did it.
Serious? Seriousness is well above my pay grade.
> Uhhhh, we only support Windows. I don't think this computer can connect to the Internet.
.com"
A support technician of suspect intelligence once told me (and I quote): "I'm sorry sir, Suns don't work on the internet".
This was a Sun Enterprise 150 server; about 1999 -- when every third commericial on TV was "Sun: we're the dot in
Do daemons dream of electric sleep()?
I've been using the Merlin C201 PCMCIA card under Linux for nearly 2 years now. The card shows up as a regular modem which you run PPP on. I've got an extensive page on how to do this setup at http://www.tummy.com/Community/Articles/merlin-c20 1/.
The service is through Sprint, and costs $80/month for all "you can eat". Apparently, the service agreement for the $10/month net with your phone prohibits the use of a laptop with it, but there are people using USB adapters or similar to access the net over the phone. The setup is similar to the PCMCIA card, using PPP.
I also have a page on using the LG-5350 phone and USB cable to get net access using PPP with Linux at http://www.tummy.com/Community/Articles/lg5350/
Sprint coverage is pretty good. The first trip I took with it was up into the mountains, where I was able to get extremely good coverage from my camp site. Another crowd would wonder WTF I was doing with a laptop when camping, but the /. crowd will understand, I'm sure.
The speed is pretty good. I can do downloads at 12 to 15KB/sec, and at one point while camping I ran an incremental backup of my laptop up to a my server. I think it pushed 600MB of data across it, uploaded, at 7KB/sec average.
The real killer is the latency. It runs, on average, 500ms (half a second). For web page downloads it's not so bad, but for anything interactive it's pretty nasty. Latency usually ranges between 250ms and 1000ms, but if coverage lapses or is spotty it can be several seconds.
That said, I love the connectivity. These days you can get WiFi in most locations if you are willing to go to a place that has it. The CDMA is great for times when I want to use the net from a place that doesn't have it, or a place where their WiFi is wedged because of a flaky AP or a butt-head with a virus or running file sharing.
Sean
T-mobile, my carrier or choice, works as well. YMMV handset to handset but there's TONS of stuff out there on how to tether GSM handsets to most OSes. They offer GPRS service at $20/$30 per mo. unlimited web and mail only/full unblocked usage respectively. It's a bit slower than 1x - feels about like 33.6 dial-up. Honestly, sometimes, it can feel excruciatingly slow. Try killing the connect and redialing. That often cures it. But hey, it's ALL YOU CAN EAT at dial-up prices almost and not $80 a month. I use it with my ibook or pda on the train from San Bernardino area of SoCal to LA on my daily commute and can reliably stream 24k music streams and surf and email just fine. As for tethering, to date I've used an S/E T68i, unlocked S/E 637, Nokia 3650 and now I'm trying a Motorola unlocked V551. I've used them all via bluetooth on both OS X and Linux and a couple of those on windows. Also on Palm and PPC. As for support Tmobile has a fairly knowledgeable group. They seem to work both state-side and off-shore using a tier system. The t1-t2 group seems to be off-shore, are very helpful, still hard to understand at times and the t2's seem very knowledgeable. None of them will ever hesitate to escalate your call. The T3's will basically go to all ends to solve something. I know, I stumped one. I figured it out myself and called him back and gave him my findings. He seemed happy to hear it. Basically, they seem to honestly care about customer service. As for Linux support I think if you push the issue you might get help. Just go in with the ability to help them help you. Make them feel confident that you can translate the Mac and windows way of doing things into what you need. Their coverage isn't as good as VZW but is good enough where I use it. Farthest I've tried it was Cedar City, UT with decent coverage from here to there.
Most important thing to remember. If you're going to get on a contract I strongly suggest that you do all of your research for the how-to's up front. Get the equipment all at once and get it going as fast as you can. The reason I say that is most carriers give you a roughly 15 day try-out before you must commit. Getting it all to work is half the battle. The user experience with the working product and getting comfortable with that is the rest of it. You may also want to consider Cingualr. Good network but they also charge $80/mo. for all-you-can-eat. However, they do support data useage over pre-pay. Only one I know of in the states. It's $0.02/kb though so be careful. A $50 card will be good enough to get