However, I’d appreciate getting it’s WiFi adapter to work as an AP before I start re-installing. As I ponder the ever elusive best way forward, my present understanding is as follows:
To get WiFi in Linux working, there’s the (1) driver (iwlwifi), specific adapter’s (2) firmware and (3) WPA configuration.
As such, I start out with “lspci –k” as to see if a (kernel) module is being loaded for the particular hardware:
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00:14.3 Network controller: Intel Corporation Cannon Point-LP CNVi [Wireless-AC] (rev 30)
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Device 0034
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00:1f.6 Ethernet controller: Intel Corporation Ethernet Connection (6) I219-V (rev 30)
Subsystem: Intel Corporation Device 2074
Kernel driver in use: e1000e
Kernel modules: e1000e
So, I understand the “iwlwifi” package is to be installed. Yet all contemplations thereof, be it “iwlwifi” , “IWLWIFI”, “iwlwifi-firmware”, “iwlwifi-9560-firmware”, “firmware-iwlwifi” etc fails with:
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No package [i][b]iwlwifi-in-whatever-way-its-typed[/b][/i] available.
Error: Nothing to do
Which begs the question. How does one determine a package’s correct name for a particular distro and how do you know which (healthy) repo to source it from ? Alternatively, when does one throw in the towel and start thinking “build from source” … ?
Had I been successful to this point, I believe I’d now need to source the specific adapter’s firmware (aka microcode) which is loaded into the adapter (hardware) via the driver (iwlwifi package). The firmware / microcode for the Intel Wireless-AC 9560 being iwlwifi-9000-pu-b0-jf-b0-46.ucode downloadable from https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en ... rking.html, extracted and simply placed directly in the /lib/firmware folder.
In all regards, the iwlwifi (driver) will upload the specific chip’s firmware (*.ucode content) to the physical adapter. This being the confusing part for Windows users migrating to Linux. The driver (iwlwifi) can only then communicate with the adapter once the adapter has the firmware loaded.
The setup is then concluded by installing the “wpa_supplicant” package as to specify the AP’s details (SSID and password) via:
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$ wpa_passphrase "SSID" PASSWD >> /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf
$ wpa_supplicant -i <interface> -c /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf -B dhclient <interface>
However, since the adapter is to function as an WiFi AP, is there any other packages / caveats that needs to be considered?
** The only time I get the WiFi to work, is with an Ubuntu GUI installation **