[pkg-wpa-devel] What's wrong with the new configuration scheme, IMO

[Kel Modderman]

Reinhard Tartler wrote:
> I have made some thoughts about a package which works like this:
>
>  * Start wpasupplicant as system service (daemon).
>  * Make the daemon use an action script.
>  * the action script checks what location we connected to (look at the
>    essid), and does this:
>    * determine which network alias in /e/n/i this location is associated
>    * call ifupdown like this: 'ifup $IFACE=$LOCATION'
>   

Please read: http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=287223

>  * On disconnection, the action script ifdowns $IFACE
>
> This package makes the following assumptions:
>
>  * Only one interface is to be managed
>  * The user provides a usable wpa_supplicant.conf
>  * all locations are configured in /e/n/i
>   

When a user supplied conffile for a wpa_sup init daemon is used, then 
wpa-stanzas in /e/n/i should probably be no-act or this system would get 
very obfuscated. But I am open to suggestion, what do you think?
>  * by default, it assumes that the alias in /e/n/i matches the essid
>  * otherwise check a mapping file [optional]
>   

Without some worthy workaround/solution to the above mentioned problem 
(in #287223), mapping may be the only option, right now. Unless of 
course someone can make wpa_supplicant upstream pass on a shell variable 
to the action script containing the network block's alias.

>  
> Problems which I still have to think about:
>
>  * What happens if we connect to a yet unconfigured location?
>    * Ideally, we would need to inform the user and ask him to provide
>      configuration to /e/n/i
>    * at least, it should log this event via syslog
>   

Maybe just ask for a dhcp lease and log the event somewhere.

>  * What if there have been no locations configured yet? (shall
>    wpasupplicant run anyway, allowing managing of wpa_supplicant.conf 
>    via wpa_cli/wpa_gui, or should it doesn't start the daemon at all?)
>  * ifdown will bring the link down. Does this confuse wpasupplicant too
>    much?
>   

Yes, you cannot bring the interface down or wpa_supplicant will stop 
scanning. Refer to gentoo's wpa_supplicant ebuild/action-script and 
baselayout integration (and also discussed on the mailing list by Roy 
Sharples).

> I think this follows the guessnet/ifplugd configuration scheme, but I
> haven't looked too much into guessnet yet. I intend to work on such a
> package this weekend. But I hope you can understand that I/(we?) don't
> want this functionality in the 'wpasupplicant' package.
>   

I would prefer to move away from using wpa_supplicant as the roaming 
daemon itself, and use a more generic approach like that used by the 
project Felix recently mentioned 
(http://www.tummy.com/Community/software/wifiroamd/). I think that exact 
project would probably be quite OK if it were modified to map aliases 
and call ifupdown. This would have the advantage of supporting 
non-wpa_supplicant supported devices too (ralink, zd1211, acx, rl8180 etc).

Those are my initial thoughts.

Thanks, Kel.