Going Wireless in the Library with Your Linux Laptop

 
 
  You'll need:
  1. Laptop running Linux
  2. 802.11b wireless card or integrated wireless support in your laptop
  3. Cisco VPN client software for Linux
  4. Some files from a Windows install of Marist-distributed Cisco VPN software

Process:

  1. Configure your wireless card if you have not done so already. This includes installing the appropriate drivers along with the wireless-tools package.
  2. Go to the Library. This will likely involve physical movement.
  3. Install the Windows VPN client provided by Resnet on some Windows PC.
  4. After the install completes, grab the folders Certificates and profiles out of the install directory. Transfer them to your laptop.
  5. Obtain a copy of the Cisco VPN clinet for Linux. It's free, but most sites that have it will require a password to get it. Some don't.
  6. Untar the package and run the install script, vpn_install. Follow the installation procedure.
  7. chmod -R o-w /etc/CiscoSystemsVPNClient
  8. Copy the contents of the Certificates folder and the profiles to /etc/CiscoVPN/Certificates and /etc/CiscoVPN/Profiles respectively. (Certificates may or may not actually be necessary).
  9. In the Profiles directory, there is a file with a pcf extention. This file contains a the parameters necessary to gain access to the Libary's wireless network. You shouldn't need to change the contents, but you might want to rename it to something shorter, such as airfox.pcf.
  10. Bring up the wireless network interface on your laptop (ifconfig eth0 up) and ensure that your DHCP client is running (dhcpcd start). iwlist should see a network with the ESSID "airfox" if you're within range.
  11. If you did not specify it to automatically start at boot, run /etc/rc.d/vpnclient_init start now. This will insert a kernel module necessary for the client to run. You'll get a warning after it is inserted.
  12. Now just start the VPN client: /usr/local/bin/vpnclient connect airfox (or whatever the name of your .pcf file is). The client will attempt to negotiate a connection, and you'll be prompted for your k-account and password.
  13. You're online.

Getting up and running under OSX or Solaris should not be too much different, with the excpetion that you'll need to download a different client and adjust the paths accordingly. Apparently the OSX client has a GUI interface much like it's Windows counterpart.


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