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Oracle Solaris Administration: Network Interfaces and Network Virtualization     Oracle Solaris 11 Information Library
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Document Information

Preface

1.  Overview of the Networking Stack

Network Configuration in This Oracle Solaris Release

The Network Stack in Oracle Solaris

Network Devices and Datalink Names

Administration of Other Link Types

Part I Network Auto-Magic

2.  Introduction to NWAM

3.  NWAM Configuration and Administration (Overview)

4.  NWAM Profile Configuration (Tasks)

5.  NWAM Profile Administration (Tasks)

6.  About the NWAM Graphical User Interface

Part II Datalink and Interface Configuration

7.  Using Datalink and Interface Configuration Commands on Profiles

8.  Datalink Configuration and Administration

9.  Configuring an IP Interface

10.  Configuring Wireless Interface Communications on Oracle Solaris

WiFi Communications Task Map

Communicating Over WiFi Interfaces

Finding a WiFi Network

Commercial WiFi Networks

Municipal WiFi Networks

Private WiFi Networks

Planning for WiFi Communications

How to Prepare a System for WiFi Communications

Connecting and Using WiFi on Oracle Solaris Systems

How to Connect to a WiFi Network

How to Monitor the WiFi Link

Secure WiFi Communications

How to Set Up an Encrypted WiFi Network Connection

11.  Administering Bridges

12.  Administering Link Aggregations

13.  Administering VLANs

14.  Introducing IPMP

15.  Administering IPMP

16.  Exchanging Network Connectivity Information With LLDP

Part III Network Virtualization and Resource Management

17.  Introducing Network Virtualization and Resource Control (Overview)

18.  Planning for Network Virtualization and Resource Control

19.  Configuring Virtual Networks (Tasks)

20.  Using Link Protection in Virtualized Environments

21.  Managing Network Resources

22.  Monitoring Network Traffic and Resource Usage

Glossary

Index

Connecting and Using WiFi on Oracle Solaris Systems

This section contains tasks for establishing and monitoring WiFi connections for a laptop or desktop computer that runs Oracle Solaris.

How to Connect to a WiFi Network

Before You Begin

The following procedure assumes that you have followed the instructions in How to Prepare a System for WiFi Communications.

  1. Become an administrator.

    For more information, see How to Obtain Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris Administration: Security Services.

  2. Check for available links.
    # dladm show-link
    LINK       CLASS    MTU    STATE    BRIDGE     OVER
    ath0       phys     1500   up       --         --
    e1000g0    phys     1500   up       --         --

    In this example, the output indicates that two links are available. The ath0 link supports WiFi communications. The e1000g link is for attaching the system to a wired network.

  3. Configure the WiFi interface.

    Use the following steps to configure the interface:

    • Create the interface that supports WiFi:

      # ipadm create-ip ath0
    • Verify that the link has been plumbed:

      # ipadm show-if
      IFNAME      CLASS        STATE     ACTIVE     OVER
      lo0         loopback     ok        yes        --
      e1000g0     ip           ok        yes        --
      ath0        ip           ok        yes        --
  4. Check for available networks.
    # dladm scan-wifi
     LINK       ESSID         BSSID/IBSSID       SEC     STRENGTH   MODE   SPEED
     ath0       net1         00:0e:38:49:01:d0  none     good       g      54Mb
     ath0       net2         00:0e:38:49:02:f0  none     very weak  g      54Mb
     ath0       net3         00:0d:ed:a5:47:e0  none     very good  g      54Mb
     

    The example output of the scan-wifi command displays information about the available WiFi networks at the current location. The information in the output includes:

    LINK

    Link name to be used in the WiFi connection.

    ESSID

    Extended Service Set ID. The ESSID is the name of the WiFi network, such as net1, net2, and net3 in the example output.

    BSSID/IBSSID

    Basic Service Set ID, the unique identifier for a particular ESSID. The BSSID is the 48-bit MAC address of the nearby access point that serves the network with a particular ESSID.

    SEC

    Type of security that is needed to access the network. The values are none or WEP. For information about WEP, refer to Secure WiFi Communications.

    STRENGTH

    Strength of the radio signals from the WiFi networks that are available at your location.

    MODE

    Version of the 802 .11 protocol that is run by the network. The modes are a, b, or g, or these modes in combination.

    SPEED

    Speed in megabits per second of the particular network.

  5. Connect to a WiFi network.

    Do either of the following:

    • Connect to the unsecured WiFi network with the strongest signal.

      # dladm connect-wifi
    • Connect to an unsecured network by specifying its ESSID.

      # dladm connect-wifi -e ESSID

      The connect-wifi subcommand of dladm has several more options for connecting to a WiFi network. For complete details, refer to the dladm(1M) man page.

  6. Configure an IP address for the interface.

    Do either of the following:

    • Obtain an IP address from a DHCP server.

      # ipadm create-addr -T dhcp addrobj

      where addrobj uses the naming convention interface/user–defined–string.

      If the WiFi network does not support DHCP, you receive the following message:

      ipadm: interface: interface does not exist or cannot be managed using DHCP
    • Configure a static IP address:

      Use this option if you have a dedicated IP address for the system.

      # ipadm create-addr -T static -a address addrobj
  7. Check the status of the WiFi network to which the system is connected.
    # dladm show-wifi
    LINK       STATUS        ESSID         SEC     STRENGTH   MODE   SPEED
    ath0       connected     net3         none    very good   g      36Mb

    In this example, the output indicates that the system is now connected to the net3 network. The earlier scan-wifi output indicated that net3 had the strongest signal among the available networks. The dladm show-wifi command automatically chooses the WiFi network with strongest signal, unless you directly specify a different network.

  8. Access the Internet through the WiFi network.

    Do either of the following, depending on the network to which the system is connected:

    • If the access point offers free service, you can now run a browser or an application of your choice.

    • If the access point is in a commercial hot spot that requires a fee, follow the instructions provided at the current location. Typically, you run a browser, supply a key, and give credit card information to the network provider.

  9. Conclude the session.

    Do one of the following:

    • Terminate the WiFi session but leave the system running.

      # dladm disconnect-wifi 
    • Terminate a particular WiFi session when more than one session is currently running.

      # dladm disconnect-wifi link

      where link represents the interface that was used for the session.

    • Cleanly shut down the system while the WiFi session is running.

      # shutdown -g0 -i5

      You do not need to explicitly disconnect the WiFi session prior to turning off the system through the shutdown command.

Example 10-1 Connecting to a Specific WiFi Network

The following example shows a typical scenario that you might encounter when using a laptop that runs Oracle Solaris in an Internet coffee house.

Learn whether a WiFi link is available.

# dladm show-wifi
ath0             type: non-vlan    mtu: 1500         device: ath0

The ath0 link is installed on the laptop. Configure the ath0 interface, and verify that it is up.

# ipadm create-ip ath0
IFNAME     STATE    CURRENT     PERSISTENT
lo0        ok       -m-v-----46 ---
ath0       ok       bm-------46 -46

Display the available WiFi links at your location.

# dladm scan-wifi
 LINK       ESSID         BSSID/IBSSID       SEC     STRENGTH   MODE   SPEED
 ath0       net1         00:0e:38:49:01:d0  none     weak       g      54Mb
 ath0       net2         00:0e:38:49:02:f0  none     very weak  g      54Mb
 ath0       net3         00:0d:ed:a5:47:e0  wep      very good  g      54Mb
 ath0       citinet      00:40:96:2a:56:b5  none     good       b      11Mb

The output indicates that net3 has the best signal. net3 requires a key, for which the provider for the coffee house charges a fee. citinet is a free network provided by the local town.

Connect to the citinet network.

# dladm connect-wifi -e citinet

The -e option of connect-wifi takes the ESSID of the preferred WiFi network as its argument. The argument in this command is citinet, the ESSID of the free local network. The dladm connect-wifi command offers several options for connecting to the WiFi network. For more information, refer to the dladm(1M) man page.

Configure an IP address for the WiFi interface.

# ipadm create-addr -T static -a 10.192.16.3/8 ath0/v4
# ipadm show-addr
ADDROBJ           TYPE     STATE        ADDR
lo0/v4            static   ok           127.0.0.1/8
e1000g0/v4        static   ok           129.146.69.34/24
ath0/v4static     static   ok           10.192.16.3/8
lo0/v6            static   ok           ::1/128

This example assumes that you have the static IP address 10.192.16.3/24 configured on your laptop.

# dladm show-wifi
LINK       STATUS        ESSID         SEC     STRENGTH   MODE   SPEED
ath0       connected     citinet       none    good       g      11Mb

The output indicates that the laptop is now connected to network citinet.

# firefox

The home page for the Firefox browser displays.

Run a browser or other application to commence your work over the WiFi network.

# dladm disconnect-wifi
# dladm show-wifi
LINK       STATUS        ESSID         SEC     STRENGTH   MODE   SPEED
ath0       disconnected   --            --       --       --       --

The output of show-wifi verifies that you have disconnected the ath0 link from the WiFi network.

How to Monitor the WiFi Link

This procedure shows how to monitor the status of a WiFi link through standard networking tools, and change link properties through the linkprop subcommand.

  1. Become an administrator.

    For more information, see How to Obtain Administrative Rights in Oracle Solaris Administration: Security Services.

  2. Connect to the WiFi network, as described in How to Connect to a WiFi Network.
  3. View the properties of the link.

    Use the following syntax:

    # dladm show-linkprop interface

    For example, you would use the following syntax to show the status of the connection established over the ath0 link:

    # dladm show-linkprop ath0
    PROPERTY        VALUE           DEFAULT         POSSIBLE
    channel         5               --              -- 
    powermode       off             off             off,fast,max
    radio           ?               on              on,off 
    speed           36               --              1,2,5.5,6,9,11,12,18,24,36,48,54
  4. Set a fixed speed for the link.

    Caution

    Caution - Oracle Solaris automatically chooses the optimal speed for the WiFi connection. Modifying the initial speed of the link might cause reduced performance or prevent the establishment of certain WiFi connections.


    You can modify the link speed to one of the possible values for speed that is listed in the show-linkprop output.

    # dladm set-linkprop -p speed=value link
  5. Check the packet flow over the link.
    # netstat -I ath0 -i 5
       input   ath0      output       input  (Total)    output
    packets errs  packets errs  colls  packets errs  packets errs  colls
    317     0     106     0     0      2905    0     571     0     0
    14      0     0       0     0      20      0     0       0     0
    7       0     0       0     0      16      0     1       0     0
    5       0     0       0     0      9       0     0       0     0
    304     0     10      0     0      631     0     316     0     0
    338     0     9       0     0      722     0     381     0     0
    294     0     7       0     0      670     0     371     0     0
    306     0     5       0     0      649     0     338     0     0
    289     0     5       0     0      597     0     301     0     0

Example 10-2 Set the Speed of a Link

This example shows how to set the speed of a link after you have connected to a WiFi network

# dladm show-linkprop -p speed ath0
PROPERTY        VALUE           DEFAULT         POSSIBLE
speed           24               --              1,2,5,6,9,11,12,18,24,36,48,54
# dladm set-linkprop -p speed=36 ath0

# dladm show-linkprop -p speed ath0
PROPERTY        VALUE           DEFAULT         POSSIBLE
speed           36               --              1,2,5,6,9,11,12,18,24,36,48,54