Network Configuration on Linux

Notes on configuring network connectivity under Linux with iwd and wpa_supplicant.

Technical Docs linuxnetworkingguide

Published 2025-06-30 · Updated 2025-07-12

by @notkaramel

Network Configuration

iwd

  • Required for DHCP: systemd-resolved or dhcpcd (recommended)

Connection

  • Start the DHCPCD daemon from root
sudo systemctl enable dhcpcd.service
sudo systemctl start dhcpcd.service
# sudo dhcpcd
  • Start the IWD service
sudo systemctl enable iwd.service
sudo systemctl start iwd.service

802.1x networks

  • You must create a config file in /var/lib/iwd/ that ends with "ssid.8021x"
  • If the file has special character (dot, comman, at sign, etc.), the config file name must be hex encoded

For example, wpa.mcgill.ca

Encoding:

echo -n "wpa.mcgill.ca" | od -A n -t x1 | sed 's/ *//g'
# should return 7770612e6d6367696c6c2e6361

Create a config file

sudo cd /var/lib/iwd/ sudo touch =7770612e6d6367696c6c2e6361.8021x

Edit the file


- To configurate the network using EAP-PEAP and MsCHAPv2: (for example, as a McGill Student)

[Security] EAP-Method=PEAP EAP-Identity=anonymous EAP-PEAP-Phase2-Method=MSCHAPV2 EAP-PEAP-Phase2-Identity=your.email@mail.mcgill.ca EAP-PEAP-Phase2-Password=yourpassword

[Settings] AutoConnect=true
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