Changes

Over recent years it has become increasingly common for computers to be connected to local area networks and the internet via wireless Wi-Fi connections. This has spread from the home and the coffee shop into the enterprise, especially with the advent of increased wireless security and faster standards such as wireless N802.11n.

Unless a public and unsecured wireless network is available (for example at a library, coffee shop or book store), it will be necessary to configure Fedora with appropriate access credentials to gain access to a secured WiFi network. The first step of this process is to identify the any networks that are within range of the Fedora system. To do so, simply left click on the NetworkManager icon in the desktop top panel. This will drop down a menu containing all detected networks, the respective signal strength of each network and a number of menu options. A typical Fedora NetworkManager menu is illustrated in the following figure:

As we can see from the above menu, there were quite a few networks available at the time the screenshot was taken. Some of these appear to be secure networks (as indicated by the icon next to the signal strength meter ) and some are unsecured. To configure access to an open network, simply click on the desired network in the menu. The NetworkManager icon will subsequently change to display two green dots and a spinning circle as it attempts to establish a connection and obtain an IP address if appropriate:

Select the authentication type used by the base station and enter the appropriate authentication key and corresponding settings. These settings will depend on the type and configuration of the wireless network to which a connection is being established. Contact the adminsitrator administrator of the network or the documentation for the base station for guidance on the correct settings to use. Once the information has been entered, click on the connect button, enter a keyring password is if prompted to do so and wait while the NetworkManager establishes the connection (indicated by the appearance of the signal strength meter icon in the desktop panel).

Wi-Fi networks are given a name when they are created known as an ''SSID'' and it is the SSID which is displayed for each network in the NetworkManager menu. As an extra measure of security, some administrators configure their networks not to broadcast the SSID, essentially making the network invisible to anyone scanning for networks. In such scenarios, the only way to connect to the network is by specifying the SSID, thereby making it impossible for anyone without knowledge of the SSID to even attempt to establish a connection.

To connect to a hidden network from a Fedora system , begin by finding out the SSID and authentication key for the network from the network administrator. With this information available, left click on the NetworkManager icon in the top desktop panel and select ''Connect to Hidden Wireless Network'' from the resulting menu. This will display the ''Connect to a Hidden Wireless Network'' dialog. In this dialog, enter the SSID into the ''Network Name'' field, select the security type and click on ''Connect''.

* Make sure that you are attempting to connect to the correct wireless network. If more than one network is detected by the NetworkManager applet, veirfy verify that you clicked on the correct entry in the menu.