GET WIRELESS NETWORK INFO WITH IWCONFIG

Most Linux users are familiar with the ifconfig utility, which is used to configure Ethernet devices. It displays statistics, such as the number of packets transmitted and received, as well as display information, such as the IP address, MAC address, and details on the network card. You can also use ifconfig to reconfigure Ethernet devices.

Wireless users use the iwconfig tool to manage the wireless capabilities of their wireless network cards, such as the Apple airport card in PPC machines or any number of a variety of PCMCIA cards.

Executing iwconfig on a system with a wireless network gives you information about the wireless link: It tells you the Extended Service Session Identification (ESSID) of the network, mode, frequency, access point MAC addresses, bit rate, transmit power, and link sensitivity. It also tells you whether encryption support is enabled, if power management is enabled, link quality, and other details.

With iwconfig, you can change much of this information. You can change the ESSID that the wireless device is associated with, as well as the operating frequency, mode, sensitivity threshold, etc. The man page for iwconfig provides all the details on the various options you can set.

Part of the wireless tools package, iwconfig is already available in many Linux distributions. It's also available on the Wireless Tools for Linux Web page.

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