Catena Ansible Role: iwd-network

Manage system wireless network via iwd (iNet wireless daemon), a daemon for managing Wireless devices on Linux. iwd can work in standalone mode or in combination with comprehensive network managers like systemd-networkd. This Ansible role works well with systemd-networkd role that uses systemd-networkd to manage system network, and systemd-resolved role that manages system DNS resolver with systemd-resolved.

Role default variables

Variable	Default	Info
catena_iwd_conf	[]	Manage main.conf configuration file. Configures system-wide settings for iwd.
catena_iwd_network	[]	Create /var/lib/iwd/*.open,*.psk,*.8021x wireless configuration files for networks.
catena_iwd_conf_cleanup	no	Remove existing configuration files: /etc/iwd/*.conf.
catena_iwd_network_cleanup	no	Remove existing network configuration files: /var/lib/iwd/*.open,*.psk,*.8021x.

catena_iwd_conf

Manage iwd.config - Configuration file for wireless daemon.

The /etc/iwd/main.conf configuration file configures the system-wide settings for iwd. If no main.conf is present, then default values are chosen.

# Default
catena_iwd_conf: []

# Example
catena_iwd_conf:
  # Create `/etc/iwd/main.conf`
  - name: main
    options:
      # Define [General] section
      General:
        # Network configuration feature disabled by default
        EnableNetworkConfiguration: "false"
      # Define [Network] section
      Network:
        # Resolution method used by the system. By default is systemd
        NameResolvingService: "systemd"
      # Define [Scan] section
      Scan:
        # Prevent periodic scans for available networks while disconnected. By default is true.
        DisablePeriodicScan: "true"

catena_iwd_network

Manage iwd.network - Network configuration for wireless daemon.

iwd monitors the directory /var/lib/iwd for changes and updates its state accordingly. Network configuration files are based on the network's SSID and security type. The name consist of the encoding of the SSID followed by .open, .psk or .8021x.

# Default
catena_iwd_network: []

# Example
catena_iwd_network:
  # Wireless network configuration files (.open, .psk or .8021x)
  # Create `/var/lib/iwd/wifi_network.psk`, wifi_network is the SSID
  - name: wifi_network.psk
    options:
      # Define [Security] section
      Security:
        # WPA-Personal password for the network.
        # Required for WPA3-Personal (SAE) or if PreSharedKey is not provided.
        Passphrase: "{{ wifi_Passphrase }}"
        # Processed 64-char hex string passphrase for the network.
        # Mandatory if Passphrase is omitted.
        PreSharedKey: "{{ wifi_PreSharedKey }}"
  # Create `/var/lib/iwd/ap_network.8021x` file, where ap_network is the SSID
  - name: ap_network.8021x
    options:
      # Define [Security] section
      Security:
        # Network Authentication Settings
        # https://man.archlinux.org/man/iwd.network.5#Network_Authentication_Settings
        EAP-Method: PWD
        EAP-Identity: "{{ ap_Email }}"
        EAP-Password: "{{ ap_Password }}"
      # Define [Settings] section
      Settings:
        # Automatically connect to this network
        AutoConnect: "true"

When only the Passphrase is provided, iwd will automatically append the PreSharedKey to the file at the first connect. By accessing the machine, the PreSharedKey can be retrieved reading the file /var/lib/iwd/{SSID}.psk. After that, only the PreSharedKey can be passed to the role in order to use the network.