USB WiFi adapter for PBs

[Ebrahim Mayat]

On Jul 26, 2006, at 9:23 AM, Jason DeVita wrote:
> Ebrahim,
>
> Sorry to be so slow on the response.  I haven't had much free time  
> lately. You are indeed correct that you won't need to download a  
> driver separately.  It should be included with the kernel source.   
> However, according to the berlios.de site pointed to above, there  
> is a separate tool that is required to run the airport card, after  
> the kernel has been installed.  I don't know anything about this,  
> but that's what site says. So you may want to read about that.  One  
> more thing to note, according to the site, is that the main kernel  
> doesn't fully support WPA (only WEP). Though it sounds like there  
> is another kernel branch that fully supports WPA, if necessary.
>
> You mentioned ppckernel.org.  I looked at the config files for some  
> of the pre-built kernels there, and I couldn't find any that  
> include the BCM43xx drivers.  So it seems you will have to build  
> your own.  You can get the kernel source from http:// 
> www.kernel.org.  (in the old days, ppc specific features were  
> difficult to get into the main kernel tree, so separate ppc kernel  
> trees were maintained.  Nowadays however, most of the ppc  
> development is put directly into the main tree.  Thus, you can just  
> download the main kernel without having to worry about ppc patches  
> or whatever)
>
> As for building the kernel, it's been a while since I've done it,  
> especially on YDL (I mostly run Debian-x86 now...).  So you might  
> want to google-check what I say.  Or maybe someone else reading  
> this can fact-check.
>
> The terrasoft link you provided is for 2.2 and 2.4 kernels, and is  
> outdated.  There are small but important differences between  
> compiling the 2.4 and 2.6 kernels.  For the most part, the  
> instructions will be the same for YDL versus other distros.  So you  
> can just google for a good kernel building how-to.  This:
>
> http://www.digitalhermit.com/linux/Kernel-Build-HOWTO.html
>
> is sort of the standard how-to.  It is very comprehensive.  So if  
> you want to really understand what you're doing, it could be a good  
> place to start.
>
> I'll attempt here an executive summary:
>
> =====================================
> [1] Download the kernel source from www.kernel.org.  Get the latest  
> stable version (currently 2.6.17.7).  Make sure to get the full  
> source and not just the patch.
>
> (from here on out, I'll assume we're running as root.  It is not  
> necessary to do so until later, but this will simplify things.)
>
> [2] Unpack the kernel
>
>    # mv /PATH_TO_WHERE_YOU_DOWNLOADED_IT/linux_2.6.17.7.tar.bz2 / 
> usr/src/
>    # cd /usr/src
>    # bunzip2 linux_2.6.17.7.tar.bz2
>    # tar xf linux_2.6.17.7.tar
>    # cd linux_2.6.17.7
>
> [3] Configure the kernel.  Since you are only changing one thing,  
> it's best to start with the default YDL kernel config.
>
>    # cp /boot/config-2.6.xx-blah-blah .config
>    # make mrproper
>    # make menuconfig
>
> A menu-based configurator will come up -- this is where you need to  
> tell the kernel to compile support for the bcm driver.  For this  
> step, follow the instructions from the gentoo forum page listed above.
>
> [4] Build and install the kernel and modules
>
>    # make vmlinux
>
> (go get a snack)
>
>    # make modules
>
> (go have some coffee)
>
> Assuming no errors above
>
>    # make modules_install
>    # cp arch/ppc/boot/vmlinux /boot/vmlinux-2.6.17.7
>    # cp System.map /boot/System.map-2.6.17.7
>    # ln -s /boot/System.map-2.6.17.7 /boot/System.map
>
> [5] Configure yaboot.  Open up /etc/yaboot.conf in a text editor,  
> and copy the section that starts with
>
>    image=/vmlinux-2.6.xx-blah
>
> including all the indented lines below it.  In the (now) second  
> instance, change "image=/boot/vmvlinux-2.6-xx-blah" to "image=/boot/ 
> vmlinux-2.6.17.7" and change "label=linux" to  
> "label=myhairisonfire" (or whatever name you desire).  Then run
>
>    # /sbin/ybin
>
> to set the changes.
>
> [6] Reboot and pray.  Upon rebooting, you'll get the normal choice  
> of cdrom, osx, or linux.  After you choose linux, yaboot will give  
> you a prompt (only for a couple seconds -- so be ready, or else it  
> will boot the old kernel).  Type "myhairisonfire" (or whatever name  
> you chose) at the prompt and you will boot the new kernel.  If  
> things go bad, you can return to the old kernel by rebooting.
> =====================================
>
> Well, hopefully I haven't made any mistakes.  Report back with any  
> question or problems!  The nice thing about building a kernel for  
> the first time is that it is a win-win situation.  Either  
> everything will work just fine, or you'll get to learn a lot about  
> how linux works!
>
> -J

Hello Jason

Thank you so much for the detailed response. I will run this by as  
soon as I have some time.

Much appreciated. :-)
Ebrahim