Install the USB WiFi adapter driver on Linux. For Linux computer system enthusiasts, installing network card drivers is a must-do.
Best WIFI Adapters for Hacking in Kali Linux 2023 – Install the USB WiFi adapter driver on Linux
Look at the picture above to know what to say next, yes, it is to teach everyone how to install network card (network adapter) drivers in Linux systems.
Many times when we install a CentOS system or Ubuntu system, or some other type of UNIX system, we will find that there is no network card information, generally this means that the network card driver is not configured, but the server communication as long as it is based on the network for data transmission, so the solution is to reinstall the system’s network card driver.
Install the USB WiFi adapter driver on Linux
The ideas about the installation of network card drivers are shared with you here:
1. First of all, you can start to check from our hardware to check whether there is an abnormality in the network card itself;
2. Completed the first step, then the next is to check the model of the network card chip, our more common network card chips are Intel RC82545EM, Realtek 8139D, rtl8832au, Broadcom NetXtreme, 3Com 3C940, SIS900, VIA VT6105L and so on.
You can view the network card chip information of this machine through LSPCI.
lspci command – USB WiFi adapter driver
3. The third step is to check whether the current system contains the corresponding model of network card driver, and view the directory:
/lib/modules/release/kernel/drivrs/net
4. The last step is to check whether the network card driver is loaded
lsmodThis command can view all module information that the current system has loaded to.- If the network card is not loaded, it needs to be loaded using
modprobefollowed by the name of the module file.
Syntax of the modprobe command:
modprobe [Options] module file
Description of the options for the modprobe command:
| Options | Description of the options |
| -r，–remove | The purpose of this option is to specify a module for unloading |
| -l，–list | Lists all available modules |
| -c，–show-conf | Displays the setup information for all modules |
| -K，–autoclean | Sets the specified module to autoclean automatic cleanup mode |
| -a，–all | Load a matching set of modules |
| -n，–show | It just shows what is about to be done, but doesn’t actually do it |
| -v，–verbose | Displays detailed output information when the command is executed |
| -q，–quiet | Using this option does not display an error message |
The above introduces some ideas about the installation of network card (wireless network adapter) driver, and then we will talk about the two ways to compile and install the network card (wireless network adapter), which are to use RPM packages for installation and installation using source packages, and the demonstration installation method is shown below.
Method 1: RPM/Source RPM driver package installation method
Here we will take the Broadcom NetXtreme II network card on the IBM X3650 server as an example to install.
1. First of all, we need to download the network card driver corresponding to the server model in IBM’s official website, and then use a USB flash drive or other tools to transfer it to our Linux server, and then compile it.
$ rpm -ivh bnx2-.src.rpm
$ cd /root/rpmbuild
$ rpmbuild -bb SPECS/bnx2.spec
2. The second step is to compile the driver package just downloaded
$ cd /root/rpmbuild/RPMS/X86_64
$ rpm -ivh bnx2-.x86_64.rpm
After successful installation, they will be displayed in this path:
/lib/modules//extra/bnx2.ko
Copy the generated module files to a directory:
/lib/modules//kernel/drivers/net
3. Next, load the driver
$ insmod
$ modprobe bnx2
Choose one of the above two methods.
4. After loading, check the loading of the network card driver
$ lsmod | grep bnx2
If the output of the command contains the bnx2 module, it means that the NIC driver compilation is successful.
5. Activate the network card and check the status of the network card
$ ifconfig eth0 up
In the middle is the NIC device name, here eth0 is used as an example.
$ ifconfig -a
View the information of the NIC.
Linux USB WiFi adapter driver – Linux PCI network card driver
Method 2: Source code driver package installation method
In this piece, we will take the installation of Realtek RTL8168/8111 network card as an example for experimental illustration.
1. First of all, you need to download the source code from Realtek’s official website, then upload it to the Linux system, and then create a directory and extract the source code to this directory.
$ mkdir /temp
$ cd /temp
$ tar jxvf r8168-8.aaa.bb.tar.bz2
2. Compile and install the source code
$ cd r8168.aaa.bb
$ make clean modules
$ make install
$ depmod -a
This step is used to check the dependencies between modules
$ insmod ./src/r8168.ko
Load the r8168 module
$ lsmod | grep r8168
Finally, check that the 8168 module is loaded
The above are two ways to install the network card driver.
Most Linux is used as a server, so the need for networking is very important.
In Linux, the network is divided into two layers, namely the network stack protocol support layer and the device driver layer, the network stack is a separate part of the hardware, mainly used to support TCP/IP and other protocols, and the network device driver layer is the middle layer connecting the network extension layer and the network hardware.
