Network Setup wizard

The network setup wizard will help you connect to an wired ethernet or wireless network.

It works with most network adapters and configurations but not with all of them. Please note that not all adapters work the same way. Some may require additional steps.

If you are new to networking please read the glossary so you can understand the explanations that follow.

This document will not tell you all there is to know about networks, or how to set-up a network, just how to connect to an existing network.

The steps you'll have to follow to connect to the network are:

Ensure that there is a driver loaded for your adapter so Puppy can see it as a valid device (a.k.a an "interface").
If you have wireless: set up the wireless parameters
Assign an IP address to your device.
Select if you want this configuration to be used the next time you start Puppy.

Those simple steps are explained in more detail throughout this document.

If you have trouble connecting to your network, you can ask for help on the Puppy forum following the link from the main Puppy page

Loading Drivers

Sometimes puppy can identify your particular adapter and load a driver automatically. If this was the case you will see an interface listed in the Interfaces section, along with the driver used and a button to configure the interface. Lucky you!

If you don't see a driver or a device that corresponds to the adapter you want to use you will have to load it manually.

To manually load a driver you will first need to know what driver you need. For this you will need the adapter brand, model and version. Once you have this information, you can try the following options to find out your driver:

Go to the adapter's documentation or the manufacturer's web site and look for either the driver name or the chipset.

Try pressing the "Load module" button and see if any of the descriptions mentions your adapter.

Search on the Internet using the adapter brand, model and version.

Ask in the Puppy forum. Always provide as much information as you can about your adapter or chipset.

Now that you know what driver you need:

On the main window of the wizard click on the "Load module" button

Select the driver from the list

Click OK

The following special entries exist in the driver list:

auto

Forces the wizard to try all the drivers included with Puppy against your adapter.

ndiswrapper

Some adapters do not have a native linux driver. In that case you may be able to use the MS Windows driver included with your adapter. The MS Windows driver consists of a file with extension .inf and another with extension .cat.

Only use these drivers if you are sure there is not a native driver or if you have been advised to do so.

You'll be able to find the Windows drivers in the floppy or CD that came with your adapter.

The wizard will prompt you for the location of the inf file.

specify

Sometimes you will need a driver that does not come on the Puppy LiveCD. In that case you will need to install the driver following the instructions on the driver and then load the driver using this option. It will prompt for the name of the driver.

Configuring the devices

Once a driver for your adapter is loaded, you will see a button to configure your device. When you click on that button a configuration window will open.

Here you will see the following buttons:

Wireless

The wizard will only show this button if your adapter is identified as a wireless adapter. You will be able to scan for wireless networks and set the wireless parameters here.

Note: The wizard only supports open networks and networks encrypted with WEP and WPA-PSK/TKIP. If you need to use other WAP configurations , you will need to search in the Puppy forum for instructions. Hopefully the wizard will soon have that functionality.

Test

Use this button to verify that your adapter is connected to the network.

Auto DHCP

This is the easiest and most common way to acquire an IP address. Most networks provide a DHCP server which will provide this address.

Static IP

In some situations you may want to specify an specific IP address. If you don't know if you need one, then it's almost sure that you don't need one.

You will need to provide the following:

Static IP: This is the address you want to computer to use.

Netmask: Mask that specifies what part of a subnetwork will be visible.

Gateway: This is the address of the server (or router) that connects you to the internet.

DNS Servers: Address for the servers that convert the address names into numeric IPs.

If you connect directly to your modem, your ISP should give you these values from your ISP.
If you are using a router check your router's status page to get these values.
If you are connecting to a network that you do not manage ask your network administrator for these values.

Glossary

adapter

This is the piece of hardware that connects your computer to the network. Some adapters go inside the computer in which case you will see a network connection comming out of the computer. Some others are external and connect to the USB or PCMCI port.

Chipset

Chipset is the collection of electronic components inside an adapter. adapters from different manufacturers may use the same chipset. In that case it is most likelly they will also use the same Driver. While different versions of the same adapter may use different chipsets in which case they may require different drivers.

Driver / Module

This is the piece of software that works as the glue between the operating system and the adapter. Without a driver, the operating system does not know how to talk to the adapter. In this context Driver and Module are used interchangeably.

Device

This is the logical name used by the operating system to refer to each particular adapter as seen by the driver. They have names such as "eth0" or "ra1" or "wlan0". The name of the deviced is assigned by the driver.

Wireless

Wireless networking is usually referred to as WiFi. It is a way to connect to the network through a wireless access point that is itself connected to the network. There are many wireless protocols (bluethoot, RF, CellPhone, etc) but in this case we will be referring only to WiFi.

IP address

Every adapter connected to a network has a number that uniquely identifies it from any other device.

net-setup

Network Setup wizard

Loading Drivers

Configuring the devices

Glossary