just received 8 laptops and trying to setup

[allyearround]

hello all.
our community center in Thailand has just received a donation of 8 of these laptops.
my problem is i am in Australia and and in charge of the community wireless system in Thailand.
I was in Thailand in May and setup a wireless network for the missionary' families and for the community school center for UNOH (Urban Neighbors of Hope ).
i have an Xlin long range (7km) Access Point wireless unit in the compound and can be accessed by all the families involved with the community center in the Klong Toey Slum Bangkok.
this unit is connected to an indoor wireless unit for office use.
i can access and control all computers in the center from here in Australia but trying to help set up these new laptops is proving to be a problem from here and trying to talk someone through it is also a bit hard.
all the computers that access this network have their own ip-address so as to control them from here in Australia, the problem is that the person i have trying to set up the wireless network tells me that the software on these new laptops don't have access to an ip-setup. They are picking up the outdoor wireless unit and are connecting with the password but because they cant set an ip-address with the software installed, they cant access the internet.
can some one explain to me so that i can then pass on the information how to set the ip-address for each unit.
with thanks
john maher
UNOH Australia

[ncarrol]

I am not the best reference, but I see you have not received a reply.
Here are two references that may help:
http://wiki.laptop.org/go/New_Users
in the section static address. Or, search the wiki with "static address"

This is repeated in:
http://olpcnews.com/forum/index.php?topic=1954.msg15428#msg15428

You use the /sbin/iwconfig command to set the address or you can modify startup parameters.
The information is stored in /home/olpc/.sugar/default/nm/netconfig . Newer versions of the software changed this to I think /home/olpc/nm/netconfig.

Hope this gets you started.

[ektoric]

As with any deployment, if you plan on remote IT assistance, you will have to alter the "out of the box" unit with special software that allows you remote control.

By default, the XOs use DHCP to acquire an IP address. Does your access point / router provide DHCP functionality? In the XO Neighborhood view, are they able to see your access point's "circle"? What kind of authentication does your access point have (WEP2 / WPA / etc.)? If you've got these issues worked out, then the XOs should be able to obtain IP information (address, subnet, dns, etc.) from your DHCP server and they should be able to get on the net.

If you want to remotely control these units, you can create your admin user account on each of these units and SSH in to them (preferably with your private key instead of a weak password). But since the XO does not have a wired ethernet port, you will need the XO to meet you half way and get online first!

In short, I'm afraid your question is a little too broad to give specific help.
Hope I didn't make things worse! ;p

[chicago]

Hello, Thanks for sharing that article of that article.It helped me also lot in setting up my laptops.