Member Avatar for kahaj

I just installed Red Hat 9.0. I'm a Linux newb. I cannot figure out how to install my Netgear wireless router. Any tips on what I need to do in order to get this accomplished?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by AceofSpades19

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Since clarified the goal is for your laptop to reach the Red Hat box over Wi‑Fi, here are concise, practical options and checks that build on the earlier replies from and without repeating them.

The simplest, most reliable setup is to let the Netgear router be the wireless access point and put the Red Hat machine on the same LAN. On the Red Hat side confirm the NIC is up, get/assign an IP, and make whatever service you want reachable (ssh, smb, nfs). Quick checks and commands:

ifconfig -a
dhclient eth0                     # request DHCP
ifconfig eth0 192.168.1.50 up     # static test IP (if needed)
route -n
iptables -L -n
/etc/init.d/sshd start
ping 192.168.1.1                  # test router

If the laptop can ping the router but not the Red Hat box, verify the Red Hat IP, firewall rules, and that the service is listening.

If you need the Red Hat box to act as the wireless host (no router involved), confirm the wireless card supports AP/master mode before investing time. Use iwconfig/iwlist or check dmesg and lsmod to identify the driver, then consult hostapd/wpa_supplicant for AP configuration. Many cards/drivers lack master mode; in that case a supported USB adapter or continuing to use the router is easier. See hostapd docs and the kernel wireless wiki for chipset/driver details:

Short troubleshooting checklist: check cable/link LEDs, tail -f /var/log/messages or dmesg for firmware errors, temporarily flush iptables for testing (use caution), and verify both machines use the same subnet/mask. If wireless connectivity problems persist, identify the wireless chipset and search the kernel wireless wiki or Netgear docs for known issues:

Recommended Answers

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Member Avatar for linux

What do you mean? You mean to get online with your machine? Just plug it into the modem, then into the ethernet port on the back of your computer. RHL should just pick up the connection and auto-connect.

If I'm understanding your question.

Member Avatar for kahaj

Well, I'm not connecting this machine to the internet. I'm just wanting to be able to communicate wirelessly with it from my laptop.

Member Avatar for linux

Then you should be able to just plug the machine into the router with a CAT5 or CAT6 cable, then plug the router into the modem, and transmit that way.

Member Avatar for AceofSpades19

Red Hat 9 is very old, it probably does not support your laptop hardware very well. I suggest (if you want to use a red hat distro) to use either CentOS 5.2, or Fedora 9

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