Performing a Wireless Scan and Connecting to Available Wireless Networks

You can scan for and connect to available wireless networks by using the netadm command.

Use the netadm scan-wifi link-name command to scan a wireless link to obtain a list of available wireless networks.

Use the netadm select-wifi link-name command to select and connect to a wireless network from the scan results on the link that is specified as link-name. The select-wifi link-name subcommand prompts you for a WiFi selection, a key, and a key slot, if required.

For information about the netadm subcommands, see netadm Subcommands.

Note - You must have already created a key prior to using the netadm select-wifi command.

You can also trigger a subsequent scan of the network to search for available wireless networks by using the netadm scan-wifi link-name command. Note that a subsequent scan might not trigger a scan event, if the new scan results are identical to the existing scan results. The nwamd daemon performs the scan, regardless of whether the data has changed since the last scan.

In the following example, the netadm scan-wifi command is used to perform a scan of the wireless link, net1. The netadm select-wifi command is then used to display a list of wireless networks from which to select. The list that is displayed is based on the results of the scan that was previously performed on net1.

Example 3-7 Connecting to Wireless Networks

$ netadm select-wifi net1
1: ESSID home BSSID 0:b:e:85:26:c0
2: ESSID neighbor1 BSSID 0:b:e:49:2f:80
3: ESSID testing BSSID 0:40:96:29:e9:d8
4: Other
Choose WLAN to connect to [1-4]: 1
$

In this example, the wireless network that is represented by the number 1, selects the home network.

Example 3-8 Connecting to a Wireless Network That Is Not Listed

$ netadm select-wifi net1
1: ESSID home BSSID 0:b:e:85:26:c0
2: ESSID neighbor1 BSSID 0:b:e:49:2f:80
3: ESSID testing BSSID 0:40:96:29:e9:d8
4: Other
Choose WLAN to connect to [1-4]: 4
Enter WLAN name: clear
1: None
2: WEP
3: WPA
Enter security mode:1
$

In this example, the Other option to select a wireless network that is not listed, which is represented by the number 4, prompts you to enter the name of the wireless network and the security mode.

If the WLAN requires a key, you are prompted to enter the key and key slot, if WEP is specified for the security mode. For example:

Enter WLAN key for ESSID home: mywlankey
Enter key slot [1-4]: 1

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