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OK, I know that I am crossing out the most popular choices out there, but there is a reason for that. I am working on a BeagleBone Black running an ultra light version of Ubuntu 13.04 and I currently have it hooked up on the router via Ethernet. I only interact with the BeagleBone through ssh and I like to keep everything on the command line (X is not even installed). Ideally I want to connect to the router wirelessly, through the USB dongle I have attached to it, but:

  1. The storage capacity of this microcontroller is limited, therefore the ~250MB of the network manager with its command line tools is a solution that does not "fit".
  2. Wicd seemed like a great alternative. wicd-curses is exactly what I am looking for: a clear and easy to use command line interface, easy to scan for networks, select yours and configure passwords, etc. However, when I try to connect to a network it crashes gloriously and I failed to solve the problem.
  3. wpa_supplicant does provide what I need, but "the hard way", so I want to avoid it, if possible.

Are you aware of any other application that can help me connect to my WPA wireless network through command line, without having to configure everything manually?

George
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1 Answers1

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I suggest you do:

sudo vim /etc/network/interfaces

Add the wireless stanzas similar to:

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

#auto eth0
iface eth0 inet dhcp

auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet static
address 192.168.1.100
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.1.1
wpa-ssid <your_network>
wpa-psk <your_secret_key>
dns-nameservers 8.8.8.8 192.168.1.1

Please be certain the address is outside the pool used by the DHCP server in the router or access point. Proofread, save and close vim. Of course, substitute your details here.

On boot, the wireless should be connected at the requested address automatically.

chili555
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