CentOS - Nov 2015 - SOLVED: Help with Intel 6235 Wireless on CentOS 7 (pointer to good reading?)

Dear Experts,

I would like to ask your advise on good reading about how to add WiFi
device, and how to control its settings on CentOS.

Sounds really dumb, but this is what I am NOT able to do on CentOS 7 what
I was able to do in the past, beginning somewhere since RedHat 5 or 6,
through Fedora and up to CentOS 6.

In brief: my card is Intel 6235; CentOS 7 (fully updatted), latest kernel
(3.10.0-229.20.1), relevant Intel firmware version for my card is in
/lib/firmware (together with large bunch of other Intel WiFi firmware),
relevant modules are loaded in kernel:

iwlwifi
iwldvm
mac80211
cfg80211

"/sbin/ifconfig -a" shows my device in the list renamed to wlp3s0
(according to PCI slot numbering I figure), dmesg shows device brought up
successfully detected and renamed as above. lspci shows device with its
correct full name (Network controller: Intel Corporation ... 6235"

Now comes the fun part (no, troublesome for me part). When I click on the
NetworkManager Applet in right top corner, there are no WiFi devices. I go
to Network Settings from there. My device is in the list under name "PCI
Unknown". I click on that, the device is described as
"unmanaged", and
there is no way to make changes to the contrary to other devices (correct
MAC address is displayed).

OK, I assume I just need to declare device as NM_CONTROLLED. There is no
relevant /etc/sysconfig/ifcfg-wlp3s0 - where I know I can declare that. I
use "nmtui" to add configuration, then add to ifcfg-wlp3s0

NM_CONTROLLED="yes"

line. Reboot. Still the same.

Just for comparison I booted Ubuntu 14.0.4 x86_64 live CD. Yes, it can see
my wireless, and I can connect to WiFi networks. Kernel is just a notch
newer (3.13.0.24) which shouldn't matter according to Intel information
which kernel versions this device is supported in. List of relevant kernel
modules loaded by ubuntu is exactly the same. I don't see anything weird
like the need to separately load firmware as kernel module (yes, indeed
I'm going nuts, that would be "freebsd-ism" I guess).

I do not want to have Ubuntu (or Debian which likely will work out of the
box too) on this laptop. So, apparently I need a pointer to good reading
on how do we do it on CentOS 7 "dirty way" - when "click here,
choose in
menu that" doesn't work.

Thanks a lot for your advises!

Valeri

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Valeri Galtsev
Sr System Administrator
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics
University of Chicago
Phone: 773-702-4247
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

My original problem is solved: it turns out that I just needed to install

NetworkManager-wifi

rpm (which adds WiFi plugin to network manager). Now I'm back in happy GUI
world in which everything "just works". Like on Macintosh... only
better
;-)

Valeri

PS beats me why I needed to install it separately though, i.e. why it
wasn't installed with "development workstation" (plus bunch of
extras) rpm
set...

On Wed, November 25, 2015 1:44 pm, Valeri Galtsev wrote:
> Dear Experts,
>
> I would like to ask your advise on good reading about how to add WiFi
device, and how to control its settings on CentOS.
>
> Sounds really dumb, but this is what I am NOT able to do on CentOS 7
what
> I was able to do in the past, beginning somewhere since RedHat 5 or 6,
through Fedora and up to CentOS 6.
>
> In brief: my card is Intel 6235; CentOS 7 (fully updatted), latest
kernel
> (3.10.0-229.20.1), relevant Intel firmware version for my card is in
/lib/firmware (together with large bunch of other Intel WiFi firmware),
relevant modules are loaded in kernel:
>
> iwlwifi
> iwldvm
> mac80211
> cfg80211
>
> "/sbin/ifconfig -a" shows my device in the list renamed to wlp3s0
(according to PCI slot numbering I figure), dmesg shows device brought
up
> successfully detected and renamed as above. lspci shows device with its
correct full name (Network controller: Intel Corporation ...
6235"
>
> Now comes the fun part (no, troublesome for me part). When I click on
the
> NetworkManager Applet in right top corner, there are no WiFi devices. I
go
> to Network Settings from there. My device is in the list under name
"PCI
Unknown". I click on that, the device is described as
"unmanaged", and
there is no way to make changes to the contrary to other devices
(correct
> MAC address is displayed).
>
> OK, I assume I just need to declare device as NM_CONTROLLED. There is no
relevant /etc/sysconfig/ifcfg-wlp3s0 - where I know I can declare that.
I
> use "nmtui" to add configuration, then add to ifcfg-wlp3s0
>
> NM_CONTROLLED="yes"
>
> line. Reboot. Still the same.
>
> Just for comparison I booted Ubuntu 14.0.4 x86_64 live CD. Yes, it can
see
> my wireless, and I can connect to WiFi networks. Kernel is just a notch
newer (3.13.0.24) which shouldn't matter according to Intel information
which kernel versions this device is supported in. List of relevant
kernel
> modules loaded by ubuntu is exactly the same. I don't see anything
weird
like the need to separately load firmware as kernel module (yes, indeed
I'm going nuts, that would be "freebsd-ism" I
guess).
>
> I do not want to have Ubuntu (or Debian which likely will work out of
the
> box too) on this laptop. So, apparently I need a pointer to good reading
on how do we do it on CentOS 7 "dirty way" - when "click here,
choose in
menu that" doesn't work.
>
> Thanks a lot for your advises!
>
> Valeri
>
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> Valeri Galtsev
> Sr System Administrator
> Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
> Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics
> University of Chicago
> Phone: 773-702-4247
> ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> CentOS mailing list
> CentOS at centos.org
> https://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
>

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Valeri Galtsev
Sr System Administrator
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics
University of Chicago
Phone: 773-702-4247
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Valeri Galtsev wrote:
> My original problem is solved: it turns out that I just needed to install
>
> NetworkManager-wifi
>
> rpm (which adds WiFi plugin to network manager). Now I'm back in happy
GUI
> world in which everything "just works". Like on Macintosh... only
better
> ;-)
>
> PS beats me why I needed to install it separately though, i.e. why it
> wasn't installed with "development workstation" (plus bunch
of extras) rpm
> set...
>
Really?! Hmmm, I'm really tired of some CentOS 7 workstations babbling and
babbling in the log about not authorized something wifi, even though I
thought I disabled wifi... Maybe I need to see what NetworkManager bits
and pieces were installed, and if there's something I can uninstall....

        mark