Connecting the MoodleBox to a Wifi Network

ralfkrause

I tried the AP+STA usage with the Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W and the MoodleBox-4.0.0.
https://discuss.moodlebox.net/d/285-raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-and-moodlebox

Nicolas

ralfkrause https://discuss.moodlebox.net/d/285-raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-and-moodlebox

The info in this post is outdated with MoodleBox 4.6.0 and later. Don't use it.

ralfkrause

Okay, I found the next step ... I can enable and disable the wifi connection to my smartphone hotspot.

I configured the file /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/WifiSTA.nmconnection with the ssid and the password for my smartphone hotspot. And then I tried the commands for activating and deactivating the wlan0 network.

root@moodlebox:/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections# sudo nmcli device up wlan0
Device 'wlan0' successfully activated with 'c530dfb4-d269-4397-825b-461a6d5314b7'.
root@moodlebox:/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections# sudo nmcli device down wlan0
Device 'wlan0' successfully disconnected.
root@moodlebox:/etc/NetworkManager/system-connections#

Yes, I could see on my smartphone that the hotspot was used by a connected device. The icon was switched on and off. The ifconfig command has shown the ip address for wlan0 while the connection was on. But I could not get a ping answer from any server and I could get no external web page in the browser.

Ralf

ralfkrause

Nicolas The info in this post is outdated with MoodleBox 4.6.0 and later. Don't use it.

Yes, the infos in post https://discuss.moodlebox.net/d/285-raspberry-pi-zero-2-w-and-moodlebox will work with Bullseye. I tested the AP+STA mode with MoodleBox-4.0.0 which uses Bullseye and not Bookworm.

Now I want to get the external wifi connection with MoodleBox-4.7.0 and Bookworm. I edit the file /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/WifiSTA.nmconnection with the correct ssid and password of my smartphone hotspot. Yes, if the smartphone hotspot is switched on the MoodleBox automatically connects to the hotspot. The MoodleBox gets the internet time and sets up the system clock of the MoodleBox.

But if I try to get an external webpage https://moodlebox.net or ping to moodlebox.net the system can't use the connection. Is there a problem with dns and the routing? Or is there a mistake in my setting?

Ralf

Nicolas

ralfkrause Can you please show us the way to do this for Bookworm?

Just edit the file /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/WifiSTA.nmconnection, indicating the SSID and password of your wireless access point, then reboot.

ralfkrause

Connecting the MoodleBox to a Wifi Network works fine with MoodleBox-4.5.1 and Bullseye.

To test the AP+STA mode once more with Bullseye I copy a new microSD card with the MoodleBox-4.5.1 image ... this is the latest Bullseye version.. I edit the file /etc/wpa_supplicant/wpa_supplicant.conf and set the ssid and the password of my smartphone hotspot ... and also the regulation country DE for my location. I save the file. And I reboot the MoodleBox while my smartphone hotspot is switched on.

The MoodleBox-4.5.1 automatically connects to the smartphone hotspot. The system clock is set to the internet time. My first test is to get the webpage https://moodlebox.net from the internet ... yes, it works. And the second test is to update the MoodleBox to Moodle 4.1.9+ (20240326) ... this is currently the latest version of Moodle 4.1.x. I update Moodle via git pull ... and yes, this test also works fine.

For this post the MoodleBox is connected to the smartphone hotspot and it works in the same way as it would work with an ethernet cable. These AP+STA settings work with MoodleBox-4.5.1 (and less down to 4.0.0). These settings work with Bullseye but not with Bookworm.

Ralf

Nicolas

ralfkrause These settings work with Bullseye but not with Bookworm.

Obviously. Any network setting under Bullseye won't work with Bookworm, don't even try :-)

ralfkrause

Nicolas found a fix for Bookworm. https://github.com/moodlebox/moodlebox/issues/334

To repair the problem for MoodleBox-4.6.0 and MoodleBox-4.7.0 you have to open the terminal. Edit the file /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/WifiSTA.nmconnection with your ssid and password. Then you must run the command sudo nmcli con mod WifiSTA ipv4.route-metric 99. These steps only must be done once.

With a restart the MoodleBox automatically connects to the wifi when the wifi is available.

danmcguire

What is the latest recommendation for connecting a MoodleBox on Raspberry Pi 4B to the internet via a smartphone? I need a recommendation that would enable the average 4th grade teacher in Ghana to connect their MoodleBox to the internet.

ralfkrause

danmcguire I need a recommendation that would enable the average 4th grade teacher in Ghana to connect their MoodleBox to the internet.

The problem is that you need to connect with a terminal to configure a system file /etc/NetworkManager/system-connections/WifiSTA.nmconnection for the ssid and the password of your smartphone hotspot. And you must change this configuration every time when you change the ssid or the password for your smartphone hotspot.

There is no easier way to do this. The MoodleBox has no configuration page for this use case.

danmcguire

ralfkrause Will it ever be possible to have an easier way?

Ratna

danmcguire

Never say ever!

Seriously, I never believed that a wireless interface could be a "sender" (base station) and a receiver (ad-hoc station) at the same time. Suddenly it became possible. So it is matter of time until the RPi developers and Nicolas make it easier.
;-)