Minimal install + wireless = Catch 22

Rocky Linux Tech Help
1

Hi,

Usually when I install Rocky Linux I’m always starting from a minimal install and then gradually add all components as needed, be it on a server or on a desktop. I also take care to have a wired connection ready during the install.

Currently I’m in an environment where I only have a wireless connection. I started installing Rocky Linux 9 (minimal). In the installer the network interface of my Dell XPS 13 shows OK, and I’m also able to connect to the local wireless access point.

Unfortunately after rebooting I don’t have a wireless connection anymore. The network profile shows OK, and I also have a wlp2s0 wireless interface. But there’s no way to activate it. Seems like some stuff needed by wireless is only available in the installer but missing in a minimal installation.

Any suggestions ?

2

As far as I can tell, the NetworkManager-wifi package is missing from the minimal installation. I’m currently wondering how I could circumvent this situation.

  1. Connect the wifi in the installer.
  2. Configure a remote installation mirror instead of the ISO.
  3. Choose a custom installation with a package group that provides NetworkManager-wifi.
  4. Apparently it’s not possible to add individual packages to the installation, only profiles and groups.

So the question is: how can I add NetworkManager-wifi to my installation without installing the whole GNOME kitchen sink?

3

I’ll answer this myself, since I just found the solution.

After installing the minimal system and rebooting, mount the USB disk and install the NetworkManager-wifi RPM manually. It depends on three other packages in the same directory, so rpm -ivh --test comes in handy.

After rebooting, wireless works perfectly even on a bare bones minimal installation.

Cheers,

Niki

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4

I wrote a little blog article about the subject :

5

I would suggest that you replace rpm -ivh with dnf install
Both can install local package file. The latter can be later found in dnf history. That is occasionally convenient, on “When did I? What did I?” moments.

The following output is from AlmaLinux 9, so Rocky might differ:

# dnf -q rq --groupmember NetworkManager-wifi
NetworkManager-wifi-1:1.46.0-13.el9_4.x86_64
NetworkManager-wifi-1:1.46.0-18.el9_4.x86_64
NetworkManager-wifi-1:1.46.0-19.el9_4.x86_64
NetworkManager-wifi-1:1.46.0-4.el9_4.x86_64
NetworkManager-wifi-1:1.46.0-8.el9_4.x86_64
  @networkmanager-submodules

# dnf -q group info networkmanager-submodules
Group: Common NetworkManager submodules
 Description: This group contains NetworkManager submodules that are commonly used, but may not be wanted in some streamlined configurations.
 Default Packages:
   NetworkManager-bluetooth
   NetworkManager-wifi
   NetworkManager-wwan
   dnsmasq
   iptables-nft

The gist is that the NetworkManager-wifi is in group Common NetworkManager submodules.

IIRC, the interactive installer has software selection part, where one selects main selection, like Minimal, Workstation, Virtual Host, etc. I think there is second panel for some additional “groups”, like Development Tools, Network Servers, Office Suite, etc. That list may depend on the main selection, and overall the options on the “Minimal ISO” may be more restricted.

I wrote “IIRC”, as I never pay attention to that part. I either just pick “Minimal”, or have kickstart file to set that. (If I had kickstart file, then I could list additional packages there.)

The point is that there is a slim chance that one could choose the Common NetworkManager submodules already in the installer. I might be wrong though.

Another thing is that there is probably ‘repodata’ directory in the Mimimal ISO, near the packages. In the mounted /mnt/minimal directory? If so, one could:

# dnf config-manager --add-repo file:///mnt/minimal

and then:

# dnf install NetworkManager-wifi

Before umounting the stick, one should:

# dnf repolist
# dnf config-manager --set-disabled <repoid_of_the_miminal_repo>

or else dnf keeps looking for repo from the non-existent /mnt/minimal

Rather than mount -v /dev/sdb1 /mnt/, I prefer:

# mkdir /mnt/iso
# mount -v /dev/sdb1 /mnt/iso

On the logic that I might have to mount more than one thing simultaneously, and if /mnt is already taken … it is more intuitive (for me) to have /mnt/iso and /mnt/iso2 rather than /mnt and /something_else.

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