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Element14 - Wi-Pi User Manual

The document provides instructions for installing and configuring a Wi-Pi USB WiFi adapter on a Raspberry Pi running Raspbian. It requires editing the /etc/network/interfaces configuration file to add wireless network settings for the wlan0 interface. The network services then need to be restarted and tests run to verify a connection, such as accessing a webpage or pinging the router, is successfully established over the wireless interface.

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miztemp
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161 views

Element14 - Wi-Pi User Manual

The document provides instructions for installing and configuring a Wi-Pi USB WiFi adapter on a Raspberry Pi running Raspbian. It requires editing the /etc/network/interfaces configuration file to add wireless network settings for the wlan0 interface. The network services then need to be restarted and tests run to verify a connection, such as accessing a webpage or pinging the router, is successfully established over the wireless interface.

Uploaded by

miztemp
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Wi-Pi Installation Procedure for Raspbian

on Raspberry Pi

Wi-Pi Installation Procedure for Raspbian on Raspberry Pi


Doc ID: WiPiUM
Rev. 1.0, 11/12/2012

Wi-Pi Installation Procedure for Raspbian on Raspberry Pi


Prerequisites
Hardware

 Raspberry Pi Model B, Model B(512 MB)


 Wi-Pi USB WiFi network interface card
 USB hub to connect keyboard and mouse
 NOT connected to a cable LAN

Software

 Raspbian Wheezy onwards

Information

 Know your WiFi network basic settings see table below


 Know your routers IP address, and make sure it is connected to
the internet.

One obvious point. One USB socket will now be dedicated to Wi-Pi. That means you are going to need to use a
USB hub to connect a keyboard and mouse.
Operating System Support
Raspbian already has Wi-Pis drivers built in, so the process of downloading the driver and installing it is not
necessary. However, there are still a few actions necessary before Wi-Pi can be fully operational on your
Raspberry Pi.
Editing Files
If you arent familiar with editing text files, now is the time to learn! It is better to use a command line editor like
vi or nano, both of which are already installed on Raspberry Pi. Whichever one is choosen, it is important they are
run as the root or superuser, otherwise any edits made will not be saved due to security restrictions. This is
achieved by using the command sudo before starting the selected editor. sudo means superuser do, and is a
way becoming the administrator for the computer, albeit for the duration of the command:
sudo vi <file to be edited>, or
sudo nano <file to be edited>
If you prefer to use an editor from the desktop like Leafpad, you can, but you must start it with the command line
command
sudo leafpad <file to be edited>
Also note that if you havent already made sure you have changed directory to the place where the files to be
edited are located, you need to include the full path to the file as well.

Wi-Pi Installation Procedure for Raspbian on Raspberry Pi


Doc ID: WiPiUM
Rev. 1.0, 11/12/2012

Editing The Wi-Pi Configuration Files and Starting Network Services

1. Configure Wireless Settings


So, knowing that the driver is already installed, configuring the wireless settings should be
straightforward. In other words, telling the operating system what the WiFi access point name is, what
type of encryption is in use on that access point, and the password all the normal things that youd see
from a Windows computer when you scan for WiFi networks. Unfortunately, there is no scan feature
here, so we must know this detail beforehand. To help, you can note the required detail in the table
below:
Parameter

Write Your Details Below

ESSID
The is the WiFi name your wireless router
uses to identify itself.
Encryption Type
Usually, this falls into to two main groups,
WEP and WPA/WPA2.
Encryption Key
The alphanumeric key you have to enter to
gain access to your WiFi network.
The file we need to edit is called interfaces, and it is located in folder /etc/network. So, if we were using
Nano, the command we need to use would is
root@raspberrypi:~# sudo nano /etc/network/interfaces
The file will already have a network entry for the localhost, or loopback network interface, and the
Ethernet socket, known as eth0. Were going to add a new interface called wlan0,
There are two slightly different ways of editing this file, depending on which of type broad types of
encryption is in use on the WiFi network you wish to connect to.
In the case of WPA/WPA2, add the following lines to the end of the interfaces document:
auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wpa-ssid <name of your WiFi network>
wpa-psk <password of your WiFi network>

Wi-Pi Installation Procedure for Raspbian on Raspberry Pi


Doc ID: WiPiUM
Rev. 1.0, 11/12/2012

In the case of WEP, add the following instead


auto wlan0
iface wlan0 inet dhcp
wireless-essid <name of your WiFi network>
wireless-key <password of your WiFi network>
Make sure these files are typed exactly as they are presented here, and also note that you do not type the
< and > brackets.
2. Restart the Network Services
Even though the above procedure may have been exactly, the network services already running on the
Raspberry Pi need to be told to stop, adopt the new settings, and start again. For that to happen,
network services on the Raspberry Pi need to be restarted, or better still, reboot Raspberry Pi. Make sure
the Wi-Pi card is plugged in to the USB socket before the restart is performed.
Restarting the network is achieved with the following command
root@raspberrypi:~# sudo /etc/init.d/networking restart
3. Verify everything is working
There are few ways to check that everything is working the way it should.
- First of all, try to open a public web page, for example using Midori, Raspbians lightweight browser.
If that is successful, such a web page can be browsed, the installation has succeeded.
- If the webpage could not be viewed, try the next step. Send a ping to your local router by using the
ping command. Using the command line, type something like ping 192.168.1.1, (assuming your router
address is 192.168.1.1 it will be unique to your own setup. If successful, you should see a series of
responses that look a little like this
64 bytes from 192.168.1.1: icmp_req=1 ttl=254 time=6.86 ms
Press Ctrl-c to stop exit ping.
-

If that didnt work, its time to look a little closer to the wireless interface itself. Again, in the
command line, type ifconfig. You should get a response made up of three main sections, which are
the key interfaces eth0, lo, and wlan0. If the wlan0 section exists, that is good it means part of
your configuration worked go and check your typing, and the WiFi access point information you
have entered. If, within that section, you have an entry that reads
inet addr: 192.168.1.43 (or some other address)
that is good, and means you have succeeded. There will be a problem elsewhere related to your WiFi
access point or router that needs to be resolved.

Wi-Pi Installation Procedure for Raspbian on Raspberry Pi


Doc ID: WiPiUM
Rev. 1.0, 11/12/2012

Revisions
24-Aug-2012
18-Oct-2012

Revision 1.0
Revision 1.1

Raspbian user guide created


Raspbian user guide amended

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