Network setup with NetworkManager

[EdorFaus]

Hi all,

I just got my Ben NanoNote today, and after flashing the latest firmware 
onto it wanted to set it up so networking with it is automatic.

Now, I'm using NetworkManager on my PC, and figured it should be 
possible to set it up with that somehow. And, well, with some work, I 
figured out how to make it work - using NM's connection sharing - and 
it's pretty simple once I know how, so figured I should share it.

First off, I had to make the MAC address static, as per the wiki[1].
(Is there a good reason it isn't static by default?)

Then, I changed the network setup of the NanoNote, editing the lan 
section of /etc/config/network to look like this:

config interface lan
	option ifname	usb0
	option proto	static
	option ipaddr	10.42.43.4
	option netmask	255.255.255.0
	option gateway  10.42.43.1
	option dns      10.42.43.1

This is because NetworkManager's connection sharing hardcodes the 
network used - it always uses 10.42.43.1 for itself, and gives out 
addresses with DHCP in the .10 to .100 range (though some sources online 
says it gives out .10 to .254, up to .100 is used on my system).
I picked .4 for the NanoNote just as a random IP in the non-DHCP range.

Now, reboot the Ben, to make sure the MAC address etc. is set up right.

Then, connect it to your PC via USB. NetworkManager sees it as a new 
network, and tries to connect to it with DHCP - this will fail after a 
little while, and is no problem.

(Note: the following paragraph has not been tested exactly by me, but 
should work, see explanation below that.)

Right-click the network applet and select "Edit Connections...", and go 
to the Wired tab if it doesn't start there. Click the "Auto usb0" 
connection that was created automatically when you connected the 
NanoNote, and click the Edit... button. On the "Wired" tab, make sure 
the "MAC address" field contains the NanoNote's static MAC address, and 
on the "IPv4 Settings" tab, change Method to "Shared to other 
computers". Click "Apply" at the bottom to save.

That should be all that is needed; if it didn't already connect just 
click the applet icon and select the Auto usb0 connection. The next time 
you connect the NanoNote it should be connected automatically.

Now, as mentioned above, this isn't the exact setup I have personally, 
in part because I've been messing around with it a bit to make this 
work, and in part because I have another profile for the standard 
network setup on the NanoNote (that doesn't give it Internet).

In my setup, I've left the "Auto usb0" connection alone except to 
uncheck the "Connect automatically" checkbox, and have instead added a 
new connection (called "Ben NanoNote (shared)") which is not available 
to all users (so I don't need admin access to change it), but is 
otherwise set up as above (with "Connect automatically" checked).

With this setup, all I have to do is plug in my NanoNote, and the 
networking Just Works(tm), without me having to change any config files 
on my PC (just had to use the graphical network configuration tool).
NetworkManager also takes care of turning things back off when I unplug 
the NanoNote.

So, mission accomplished - now just to play around with it some more...
I'm liking what I've seen so far. :)


[1] http://en.qi-hardware.com/wiki/Ethernet_over_USB#Static_Mac_Address
(by the way - shouldn't the fw_setenv line here use "mem=32M" like in 
the defaults, instead of just "32M"? )

-- 
Regards,
Frode Austvik