Configure modem Vodafone Huawei E220 in OpenSUSE 11/Ubuntu 9

There’s many way to make USB modem Vodafone Huawei E220 work on openSUSE 11, this modem work in Ubuntu 9.04 also, so i think this will work on different (latest) version of openSUSE or Ubuntu. USB modem Huawei E220 is run out of the box in OpenSUSE 11 and Ubuntu 9, it’s completelly detected.

To make it run we can use one of this program:

1. NetworkManager
2. Wvdial
3. UMTSmon
4. Vodafone Mobile Connect Card Driver for Linux
5. KInternet
6. smpppd
7. kppp
8. HSOconnect

I’m going to show how to configure Vodafone Huawei E220 in NetworkManager, wvdial, UMTSmon, and Vodafone Mobile Connect.

Issues in Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) on Linux
Before we got into that, there’s a problem when using ppp on Linux. Sometimes after we make a successfull connection using one of the program, it set the wrong DNS on /etc/resolv.conf usually to 10.11.12.13 and 10.11.12.14, so we still not connect to the internet. This is not always happen, some other time it set correct DNS. But in my case it’s almost always set bogus DNS, so usually after the connection is establish I open /etc/resolv.conf with text editor (Vi, Kwrite, Gedit, etc) then set the correct DNS.

Where do i get the correct DNS ? well i just run this modem in Windows, see the DNS and then get back to Linux to set the correct DNS. Off course if you only use one GSM card, you only need to do this once. To make thing simple on changing the DNS, I make another file (eg, “/etc/resolv-true.conf“) with the correct DNS, after the connection is establish in the console I type “CP /etc/resolv-true.conf /etc/resolv.conf“, it will replace /etc/resolv.conf that had wrong DNS with my file. I almost always to do this every time  😦 .

I don’t know what issues this is, in openSuse 11 it’s always set wrong DNS, but it’s not always in Ubuntu 9. Maybe it’s modem or ppp version issues. However i’m trying Vodafone K3520 / Huawei K3520 in openSuse 11 and Ubuntu 9, it always get the correct DNS, really weird.

Ref:
– https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=467004
– http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=445711
– http://umtsmon.sourceforge.net/docs/OLS.umts.paper.pdf

Issues using Firefox
If we make a connection besides using NetworkManager,  it’s likely that you wont be able to use Mozilla Firefox, we can’t browse anything. The reason is I got it from here. it said “even if a  connection is made, software like Gaim and Firefox will refuse to connect because according to them there is no connection. Apparently they use libnm to ask NetworkManager if the system is on-line or not”.

But we still can use Opera or Konqueror, even this is annoying since Firefox is one of the best browser.

Updated 11-01-2010:
Ok, what we need to is just untick Work Offline menu (File –> Work Offline). Apparently firefox just make the browser to work offline if NetworkManager is not in use 🙂 . This is firefox bug by the way.

Ref:
– https://bugzilla.mozilla.org/show_bug.cgi?id=424626

Detecting Device
After we plug the modem to PC/Laptop use, we can use the command like “dmesg | grep modem” or “dmesg | grep HUAWEI” to see if our modem is detected.

if you get output something like above picture, then you got your modem detected.

NetworkManager
The simplest and reliable way to make ppp connection using Huawei E220 modem is NetworkManager (KNetworkManager in KDE). Here is the step:

1. Klik on KNetworkManager Icon then New connection … –> ttyUSB0

2. Insert Username, Password, Number, and APN from your operator/provider. In my case I only insert those field. Click Next.

3. Just click Next

4. Set Baud rate to 9600. Click Next.

5. Just click Next

6. Set the Connection Name, you can use any name. I’m just using my operator name. You can click “Connect & Save” to start connecting or just click “Save” to save the configuration.

7. To connect, click on KNetworkManager Icon then the name of the connection. After succesfull connection, you’ll see the KNetworkManager icon is changed.

WvDial
WvDial is a Point-to-Point Protocol dialer, it’s console based. Wvdial is used as a connection by Vodafone Mobile Connect, smpppd, KInternet. WvDial save and loads its configuration from /etc/wvdial.conf. To get a best practice using wvdial we can start by delete default /etc/wvdial.conf (e.g “rm /etc/wvdial.conf”  in openSuse as root, or “sudo rm /etc/wvdial.conf” in Ubuntu).

Open a console and now let’s see how wvdial detect our modem. To configure wvdial we need to do it as root. Here is the step:

1. Type “wvdialconf /etc/wvdial.conf“, then ENTER. The output is like  picture below.

Here is the content of generated /etc/wvdial.conf:
[Dialer Defaults]
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Modem Type = Analog Modem
; Phone =
ISDN = 0
; Username =
Init1 = ATZ
; Password =
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0
Baud = 9600

2. Here is my /etc/wvdial.conf:
[Dialer Defaults]
Init1 = ATZ
Init2 = ATQ0 V1 E1 S0=0 &C1 &D2 +FCLASS=0
Init3 = AT+CGDCONT=1, "IP", "AXIS"
Modem = /dev/ttyUSB0
Phone = *99#
Idle Seconds = 300
Modem Type = Analog Modem
Stupid Mode = 1
Compuserve = 0
Baud = 9600
Auto DNS = 1
Dial Command = ATDT
Ask Password = 0
ISDN = 0
Password = 123456
Username = axis

Just like using NetworkManager we need to provide Username, Password, Phone Number, and APN. APN is set in Init3 parameter using AT+CGDCONT command, replace it with APN from your provider only if your connection need APN, otherwise we can remove Init3 string. Note on modem, change it if your device mapping is not set to /dev/ttyUSB0.

3. To establish a connection type “wvdial” in the console, the output will likely like this:

Output above is on Ubuntu, it resolve correct DNS, so you can begin browsing. Output below is when it set wrong DNS on openSuse, need to edit /etc/resolv.conf manually.

note: For the screenshoot i’m using Ubuntu 9.04, still in the same machine.  Somehow my openSuse 11 always set the wrong DNS after wvdial command. Maybe you wont find this problem. So just remove the sudo command in openSuse.

UMTSmon
Get umtsmon from here, here, or openSuse one click install file. To get umtsmon detect our huawei e220 modem, we need huawei_umtsmodem package, get it from here or this one click install file. Install both files and it should detect our modem.

1. Open umtsmon, it will analyze the modem, detect card and signal strength.

2. Click menu Connection –> Manage Profiles …, it should be empty on Manage Profiles box in the first run. Press Add profile… button.

3. Type Profile Name, then press Create button.

4. Set the APN, username, and password. Press Save button.

5. New profile is now in the list. Close the Manage Profile box.

6. Click menu Connection –> Connect or press Connect button. Set the profile we want to activate, then press OK button.

7. Umtsmon is setting up internet connection.

8. Successfull connection will look something like this.

Ref:
– http://en.opensuse.org/Umtsmon
– http://en.opensuse.org/Huawei_UMTS_USB_Stick

Vodafone Mobile Connect Card Driver for Linux
Get vodafone mobile connect card driver for linux and it’s dependencies from here.

1. Open vodafone mobile connect card driver for linux, then create new profile using menu Tools –> Profiles –> New Profile

2. Set Profile Name, username, password, and APN.

Check Use static DNS checkbox, if you want to set DNS manually. Then press OK button.

3. Click the Connect button to establish a connection.

4. Successfull connection shown like picture below.

Ref:
– http://www.howtoforge.com/vodafone_mobile_connect_card_driver_linux
– http://www.vodafonebetavine.net/bvcms/documents/vmc/installation-en.pdf

New connection …

openSUSE 11 on Lenovo 3000 G430

My laptop is Lenovo 3000 G430, i don’t really sure what it’s official name. Sometimes it’s called LENOVO IdeaPad G430 953, 953 is my laptop series. I was using openSUSE 11 and Widows Vista as operating system, and here is the result: on openSUSE 11 everything is fine except for the touchpad, wifi, and dial-up modem (maybe), it is not working. on Windows Vista everything is working, thanks to the drivers on Windows Vista version.

Only openSUSE 11 and Fedora 9-10, linux distros that succesfully installed. Ubuntu 8.04 and Linux Mint was failed on installation process.

I think Lenovo 3000 G430 is very Widows Vista oriented, they only provide drivers for Windows Vista. Even I can’t install Windows XP, it’s raised error message when booting from the installation CD. When i try openSUSE 11 installation CD on other laptop, the touchpad is working, but when i try openSolaris 2008 live CD on my laptop, the touchpad is woking 😀 . I spend many time to get the touchpad works, it’s just keep failed, it’s gave me a headache just to make the touchpad working. Maybe someone can help me? And also my wifi device still not working even after i get instruction from this sites.

Overall, i almost satisfied with the colaboration of Lenovo 3000 G430 and openSUSE 11, many of hardware device isn’t working on Windows Vista if I dont install the driver, but openSUSE 11 has done a good job. Maybe if the touchpad and wifi is working with openSUSE 11, I will be very pleased and can get rid off Windows 😛 . Just sharing my experiences….

Updated 03-08-2009:
Finally WIFI is working using Ndiswrapper, because my wireless PCI device is not supported by Linux at this momment.

My wireless is BCM4310 with device PID is 14e4:4315 as state here it is not supportted 😦 , so i install ndiswrapper using OpenSUSE 1-Click Install. Using Ndiswrapper we need INF file from Windows driver which is bcmwl5.inf , i got it from here and here and here, there is 482.1kb and 727.3kb version, just use the 727.3kb version.

Updated 28-09-2009:
Now i’ve got Ubuntu 9.04 installed. Everything work fine except for touchpad need to press Fn+F8 twice to get it working. Wifi NO NEED Ndiswrapper, but sometimes need to turn on wifi from Windows.

Updated 26-03-2010:
Activate wifi toggle first, if the wifi led is not on that’s mean wifi is off. To get wifi on without switching on from Windows, just type “modprobe ndiswrapper” from console as root. The wifi led should light by now. I think this is the way for wifi device that use ndiswrapper to install the driver.

Installing Oracle 11g on openSUSE 11

Refer to this link to prepare the instalation. Follow every steps mentioned. Here is the steps:

1. Install openSUSE 11.0 with “C/C++ Development” selection.
2. Download and Install orarun package. Enable and set password for newly created user oracle by orarun.
3. Change some environment variables – ORACLE_HOME, ORACLE_SID, TNS_ADMIN in /etc/profile.d/oracle.sh.
4. Set updated kernel parameters by executing /etc/init.d/oracle start or rcoracle start.
5. Download and extract Oracle Oracle 11gR1 SW.
6. login as user oracle and run Oracle Universal Installer “database/runInstaller“. Just follow step by step questions of Oracle installer.

On my experience the setup isn’t working after I try to login (from console) as “oracle” user and start installation (step 6).
The orarun setup create “oracle” user as “System Users” not as “Local Users”, so i decide to delete “oracle” user and make the user manually from Yast –> Security And Users –> User and Group Management. Set Default Group to “oinstall” and additional groups to “dba” and “disk”.

Note: Do not create user from console (using useradd command), the created user not registered with X Server (and i dont know how to register user with X Server 🙂 ), caused failed when try to start installation.

After “oracle” user is created, login as “oracle” user from console then start installation by typing “./runInstaller”. Just fill every required information, and keep press next or press yes if there’s prerequisite check warning, until installation is finished. After installation is finished we can browse to oracle database using Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control using address https://%5BHOST_NAME%5D:1158/em

Installation Screenshot

Starting Oracle database after Reboot/Restarting
Oracle 11g database is not automatically started when we turn on computer/laptop, this is steps to start oracle database:
1. Open console, login as “oracle” user

2. login to sqlplus, then type “STARTUP” to start database.

3. Exit from sqlplus (type “exit”)

4. Start Oracle Net Listener, type “lsnrctl start [LISTENER]”

5. Start Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control service, type “emctl start dbconsole”

Oracle Enterprise Manager Database Control Screenshot

My frequently important Linux command

– Extract tar.gz files
> tar –xvzf FILE_NAME.tar.gz

– Compress to tar.gz
> tar –cvzf OUTPUT_FILE_NAME.tar.gz FOLDER_OR_FILES_BEING_COMPRESS/

– Extract tar.bz2 files
> tar –xvjf FILE_NAME.tar.bz2

– Compress to tar.bz2
> tar –cvjf OUTPUT_FILE_NAME.tar.bz2 FOLDER_OR_FILES_BEING_COMPRESS/

– Start/Restart network
> /etc/init.d/network [start|restart]

– Force kill process
> kill -9 [PID]

– Show services/process
> ps aux

– Show services/process with filter
> ps aux | grep [FILTER]

– SSH
> ssh [USERNAME]@[HOST/IP] <enter then enter pasword>

– Change files or folder owner (must as root)
> chown USERNAME:GROUP FILE_NAME_OR_FOLDER_NAME

– Change folder owner and it’s subdirectory (must as root)
> chown -R USERNAME:GROUP FOLDER_NAME

– Start Mysql service on openSuse 11
> service mysql start (as root)
then type “mysql” to login into Mysql

– SCP , transfer files over network
(for single file)
> scp [USER@HOST:]SOURCE_FILE_NAME USER@HOST:DESTINATION_DIRECTORY
(eg. “> scp Twilight.avi root@168.27.10.200:/home/root/movie“)
then enter destination password.

(for directory with multiple files)
> scp –r [USER@HOST:]SOURCE_DIRECTORY_NAME USER@HOST:DESTINATION_DIRECTORY
(eg. “> scp –r Movies budi@140.27.10.240:/home/budi“)
then enter destination password.

Other samples:
“> scp –r budi@140.27.10.240:/home/budi/SexyImage .” , will copies “SexyImage” directory from user “budi” at “140.27.10.240” to our current directory. We need to provide user “budi” password.

– Remove folder
> rm -rf FOLDER_NAME

Setting PATH or Environment Variables on Linux

There is few ways to set path or environment variables in linux. Not every linux distros had the same way to do this, but the commons way we can set path using this three methods:

– using file ~/.bashrc
– using file ~/.bash_profile
– create bash file (*.sh) in folder /etc/profile.d/

Sometimes in a linux distro can use all that three methods, sometimes it isn’t, based on the distro. We only have to use one of that three methods to setting path or environment variables.

I don’t really know what is the different between setting path in ~/.bashrc or in ~/.bash_profile, the result is the same 🙂 . It’s user level bash file, the setting is only work for current user. I think when a user login or a user open a shell terminal, it will read settings on those two files (user own version). To set path in that two files just open in text editor or using VI editor, and enter the path, usually in the last line. Save and reopen shell terminal. The sample will look like:

export JAVA_HOME=/opt/jdk1.6.0
PATH=$PATH:$JAVA_HOME/bin:.
export PATH


Other alternative is create .sh in folder /etc/profile.d/, for example blablabla.sh. To create file in that folder we need root access, and the setting will apply in all user, so it’s system wide setting (that’s i called it). Again i think when linux boot and run, it will read every *.sh files in the folder and set the linux system based on the files. But notes, not every linux distro set linux system using this method, sometimes it’s not working. So in the blablabla.sh, enter path setting like in above sample. Save and reboot your computer.

If there’s other ways, please tell me. Thanks.

Linux I use

Currently I was using 3 (three) linux distro that is SuSE 10.1, Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron), and PCLinuxOS 2007. I’m not linux expert but I always want to know more about linux. Also i’m not too active and often using linux, basically I still cant (will never) get rid off Windows from my life 😛 , cool and great games run on it 😀 . Well, I think linux still can’t compete Windows ease of use. Its okay, I will always love linux anyway.

This is a little review and some captures linux distro I use. FYI, my favorite distro is SuSE 10.1 and I still find out why Ubuntu is became so popular.

• Ubuntu 8.04

Based on DistroWatch, Ubuntu is the most popular linux distro. That’s why I downloaded and install it. I dont know why Ubuntu became most popular distro, SuSE 10.1 is better 😀 . Well I think Ubuntu is very organize in the menus and folder, also the repository is complete.

Fresh installation of Ubuntu don’t support restricted multimedia format (such as MP3, AVI), we have to install the codecs from Ubuntu repository. But that don’t work for me, I don’t have internet connection in my home, so i have to manually install the codecs. I’m able to play MP3 from this article, but I still not able to play video format like AVI, DIVX, etc.

Ubuntu 8.04

Ubuntu 8.04

Ubuntu 8.04

• PCLinuxOS 2007

PCLinuxOS is a great linux distro, it’s support almost all basic requirement of a PC’s, especially it can play various restricted multimedia format. It’s suitable for beginner user that do not know how to set up everything after installation. The minus is maybe lack of packages in the repository.

PCLinuxOS 2007

PCLinuxOS 2007

PCLinuxOS 2007

• SuSE 10.1

Here comes the best distro, it’s linux SuSE 10.1!.

SuSE is always my favorite distro, main thing is because it graphics and complete packages. SuSE is very details in every aspects, the graphics is so smooth. There’s so many application you can install because it’s using five installation CD or one DVD, and one add-on CD. We don’t have to much internet connection when installing something.

Fresh installation will not play restristed multimedia format, but it’s easy, to play MP3 in xmms just install xmms-lib-mad, or compile and install xine-lib to get Kaffeine and amaroK works, or compile and install MPlayer but you have to settings few thing before MPlayer become comfortable to run.

SuSE 10.1

SuSE 10.1

SuSE 10.1

SuSE 10.1

Ok I realize that multimedia stuff is one of main thing when I decide to choose some distro. What is a PC’s without hearing a music and watching video? 😀 . Next I want to try Linux Mint and OpenSuse 11.0. I already download OpenSuse 11.0 DVD ISO, from the screenshot this OpenSuse will be amazing. I have to set up my computer first 😛 .