Gentoo Linux AMD64 Handbook

Configuring your Network
hostname and domainname provided by the DHCP server.
In that case, use
# dhcpcd -HD eth0
If this works (try pinging some internet server, like Google [http://www.google.com]), then you are
all set and ready to continue. Skip the rest of this section and continue with Preparing the Disks [
part=1&chap=4].
Preparing for Wireless Access
Note
Support for the iwconfig command is only available on x86, amd64 and ppc Installation CDs.
You can still get the extensions working otherwise by following the instructions of the linuxwlan-ng
project [ftp://ftp.linux-wlan.org/pub/linux-wlan-ng/README].
If you are using a wireless (802.11) card, you may need to configure your wireless settings before
going any further. To see the current wireless settings on your card, you can use iwconfig. Running
iwconfig might show something like:
Example 3.15. Showing the current wireless settings
# iwconfig eth0
eth0 IEEE 802.11-DS ESSID:"GentooNode"
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.442GHz Access Point: 00:09:5B:11:CC:F2
Bit Rate:11Mb/s Tx-Power=20 dBm Sensitivity=0/65535
Retry limit:16 RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality:25/10 Signal level:-51 dBm Noise level:-102 dBm
Rx invalid nwid:5901 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0 Tx
excessive retries:237 Invalid misc:350282 Missed beacon:84
Note
Some wireless cards may have a device name of wlan0 or ra0 instead of eth0. Run iwconfig
without any command-line parameters to determine the correct device name.
For most users, there are only two settings that might be important to change, the ESSID (aka wireless
network name) or the WEP key. If the ESSID and Access Point address listed are already that of your
access point and you are not using WEP, then your wireless is working. If you need to change your
ESSID, or add a WEP key, you can issue the following commands:
Note
If your wireless network is set up with WPA or WPA2, you will need to use wpa_supplicant.
For more information on configuring wireless networking in Gentoo Linux, please read the
Wireless Networking [part=4&chap=4] chapter in the Gentoo Handbook.
Example 3.16. Changing ESSID and/or adding WEP key
(This sets the network name to "GentooNode")
# iwconfig eth0 essid GentooNode
(This sets a hex WEP key)
# iwconfig eth0 key 1234123412341234abcd
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