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+<title>Network Hardware Configuration</title>
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+<table summary="Header navigation table" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0"
+cellspacing="0">
+<tr>
+<th colspan="3" align="center">Slackware Linux Essentials</th>
+</tr>
+
+<tr>
+<td width="10%" align="left" valign="bottom"><a href="network-configuration.html"
+accesskey="P">Prev</a></td>
+<td width="80%" align="center" valign="bottom">Chapter 5 Network Configuration</td>
+<td width="10%" align="right" valign="bottom"><a href="network-configuration-tcpip.html"
+accesskey="N">Next</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+
+<hr align="LEFT" width="100%" />
+</div>
+
+<div class="SECT1">
+<h1 class="SECT1"><a id="NETWORK-CONFIGURATION-HARDWARE"
+name="NETWORK-CONFIGURATION-HARDWARE">5.2 Network Hardware Configuration</a></h1>
+
+<p>Having decided that you wish to bring your Slackware machine on to some form of
+network, the first thing you'll need is a Linux-compatible network card. You will need to
+take a little care to ensure that the card is truly Linux-compatible (please refer to the
+Linux Documentation Project and/or the kernel documentation for information on the
+current status of your proposed network card). As a general rule, you will most likely be
+pleasantly surprised by the number of networking cards that are supported under the more
+modern kernels. Having said that, I'd still suggest referring to any of the various Linux
+hardware compatibility lists (such as <a
+href="http://www.eskimo.com/%7Elo/linux/hardwarelinks.html" target="_top">The GNU/Linux
+Beginners Group Hardware Compatibility Links</a> and <a
+href="http://www.linux.org/docs/ldp/howto/Hardware-HOWTO/" target="_top">The Linux
+Documentation Project Hardware HOWTO</a>) that are available on the Internet before
+purchasing your card. A little extra time spent in research can save days or even weeks
+trying to troubleshoot a card that isn't compatible with Linux at all.</p>
+
+<p>When you visit the Linux Hardware Compatibility lists available on the Internet, or
+when you refer to the kernel documentation installed on your machine, it would be wise to
+note which kernel module you'll need to use to support your network card.</p>
+
+<div class="SECT2">
+<h2 class="SECT2"><a id="NETWORK-CONFIGURATION-HARDWARE-MODULES"
+name="NETWORK-CONFIGURATION-HARDWARE-MODULES">5.2.1 Loading Network Modules</a></h2>
+
+<p>Kernel modules that are to be loaded on boot-up are loaded from the <tt
+class="FILENAME">rc.modules</tt> file in <tt class="FILENAME">/etc/rc.d</tt> or by the
+kernel's auto module loading started by <tt class="FILENAME">/etc/rc.d/rc.hotplug</tt>.
+The default <tt class="FILENAME">rc.modules</tt> file includes a Network device support
+section. If you open <tt class="FILENAME">rc.modules</tt> and look for that section,
+you'll notice that it first checks for an executable <tt
+class="FILENAME">rc.netdevice</tt> file in <tt class="FILENAME">/etc/rc.d/</tt>. This
+script is created if <tt class="COMMAND">setup</tt> successfully autoprobes your network
+device during installation.</p>
+
+<p>Below that &#8220;if&#8221; block is a list of network devices and modprobe lines,
+each commented out. Find your device and uncomment the corresponding modprobe line, then
+save the file. Running <tt class="FILENAME">rc.modules</tt> as <tt
+class="USERNAME">root</tt> should now load your network device driver (as well as any
+other modules that are listed and uncommented). Note that some modules (such as the
+ne2000 driver) require parameters; make sure you select the correct line.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="SECT2">
+<h2 class="SECT2"><a id="NETWORK-CONFIGURATION-HARDWARE-LAN"
+name="NETWORK-CONFIGURATION-HARDWARE-LAN">5.2.2 LAN (10/100/1000Base-T and Base-2)
+cards</a></h2>
+
+<p>This heading encompasses all of the internal PCI and ISA networking cards. Drivers for
+these cards are provided via loadable kernel modules as covered in the previous
+paragraph. <tt class="FILENAME">/sbin/netconfig</tt> should have probed for your card and
+successfully set up your <tt class="FILENAME">rc.netdevice</tt> file. If this did not
+occur, the most likely problem would be that the module that you're attempting to load
+for a given card is incorrect (it is not unheard of for different generations of the same
+brand of card from the same manufacturer to require different modules). If you are
+certain that the module that you're attempting to load is the correct one, your next best
+bet would be to refer to the documentation for the module in an attempt to discover
+whether or not specific parameters are required during when the module is
+initialized.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="SECT2">
+<h2 class="SECT2"><a id="NETWORK-CONFIGURATION-HARDWARE-MODEMS"
+name="NETWORK-CONFIGURATION-HARDWARE-MODEMS">5.2.3 Modems</a></h2>
+
+<p>Like LAN cards, modems can come with various bus support options. Until recently, most
+modems were 8 or 16 bit ISA cards. With the efforts of Intel and motherboard
+manufacturers everywhere to finally kill off the ISA bus completely, it is common now to
+find that most modems are either external modems that connect to a serial or USB port or
+are internal PCI modems. If you wish for your modem to work with Linux, it is <span
+class="emphasis"><i class="EMPHASIS">VITALLY</i></span> important to research your
+prospective modem purchase, particularly if you are considering purchasing a PCI modem.
+Many, if not most, PCI modems available on store shelves these days are WinModems.
+WinModems lack some basic hardware on the modem card itself: the functions performed by
+this hardware are typically offloaded onto the CPU by the modem driver and the Windows
+operating system. This means that they do not have the standard serial interface that
+PPPD will be expecting to see when you try to dial out to your Internet Service
+Provider.</p>
+
+<p>If you want to be absolutely sure that the modem you're purchasing will work with
+Linux, purchase an external hardware modem that connects to the serial port on your PC.
+These are guaranteed to work better and be less trouble to install and maintain, though
+they require external power and tend to cost more.</p>
+
+<p>There are several web sites that provide drivers and assistance for configuring
+WinModem based devices. Some users have reported success configuring and installing
+drivers for the various winmodems, including Lucent, Conexant, and Rockwell chipsets. As
+the required software for these devices is not an included part of Slackware, and varies
+from driver to driver, we will not go into detail on them.</p>
+</div>
+
+<div class="SECT2">
+<h2 class="SECT2"><a id="NETWORK-CONFIGURATION-HARDWARE-PCMCIA"
+name="NETWORK-CONFIGURATION-HARDWARE-PCMCIA">5.2.4 PCMCIA</a></h2>
+
+<p>As part of your Slackware install, you are given the opportunity to install the pcmcia
+package (in the &#8220;A&#8221; series of packages). This package contains the
+applications and setup files required to work with PCMCIA cards under Slackware. It is
+important to note that the pcmcia package only installs the generic software required to
+work with PCMCIA cards under Slackware. It does NOT install any drivers or modules. The
+available modules and drivers will be in the <tt class="FILENAME">/lib/modules/`uname
+-r`/pcmcia</tt> directory. You may need to do some experimentation to find a module that
+will work with your network card.</p>
+
+<p>You will need to edit <tt class="FILENAME">/etc/pcmcia/network.opts</tt> (for an
+Ethernet card) or <tt class="FILENAME">/etc/pcmcia/wireless.opts</tt> (if you have a
+wireless networking card). Like most Slackware configuration files, these two files are
+very well commented and it should be easy to determine which modifications need to be
+made.</p>
+</div>
+</div>
+
+<div class="NAVFOOTER">
+<hr align="LEFT" width="100%" />
+<table summary="Footer navigation table" width="100%" border="0" cellpadding="0"
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+accesskey="P">Prev</a></td>
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+
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+<td width="33%" align="left" valign="top">Network Configuration</td>
+<td width="34%" align="center" valign="top"><a href="network-configuration.html"
+accesskey="U">Up</a></td>
+<td width="33%" align="right" valign="top">TCP/IP Configuration</td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+</div>
+</body>
+</html>
+