R8168.ko issues / Diskless MD issues

[Steakboy]

Hi All,

I am trying to install a diskless MD, which has an on board NIC that needs the R8168 driver.

There are loads of forum posts I've seen and followed to get this running, but after a few minutes, I get the error 'line 1: can't open /tmp/net-eth0.conf' and the kernel panic attempting to kill message. '

The mother board is an A74ML-K with a gigabit Realtek NIC.

A lot of the posts on the forum refer to a folder - '/usr/pluto/diskless/', but there is no folder called diskless in /usr/pluto.

I added a new NIC to the mb, but this didn't allow me to boot over the LAN.

I'm close to tears...

Russell

[Steakboy]

I forgot to include - the onboard Realtek NIC on the mb for the hybrid is also not live. NetworkManager seems to be disabled, however the 2nd NIC works no problem.

[kyfalcon]

Is your onboard nic possibly turned off in bios? Also you may have to swap eth0 and eth1. This can be a problem. There should be a post concerning this in the forum.

[seth]

 
Hi. I have 2 MD's with the dreaded 8168 NIC driver issue.

You will find the relevant data to get your new driver complied here:

http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Realtek_8168

Please do not use the driver I have listed for the 7.10 version. Build a new one using the instructions at the top of the page.

Best Regards,

Seth


Perhaps if I have time this evening, I will post up my 8.10 version of the 8168 driver. Save you some compile time, not that it takes long.

[purps]

seth's advice here is also very useful http://forum.linuxmce.org/index.php?topic=6806.0

Cheers,
Matt.

[Steakboy]

OK, I ended up messing about with too much, so I wiped and started again today.

The problem I have now, with trying to get a network boot, is in the webadmin page, I have the external NIC as eth0 and the internal as eth0:1.

When I try a /etc/init.d/networking restart, the eth0:1 device doesnt get recognised.

Also, in the web admin networking page, eth0 and eth0:1 both have the same mac address.

I am guessing there's an mce file I need to amend somewhere?

Currently, I recieve a DHGCP address on the diskless MD, but then follows a few PXE errors (E11 ARP timeout, E38 TFTP can't open a connection).

[Steakboy]

SO I have made a couple of changes, and now I tftp boot again, before getting the same error as before -

"IP-Config: no response after 60 secs - giving up
/init: .:line 1: can't open /tmp/net-eth0.conf
[ 63.267760] kernel panic - not syncing: Attemped to kill init!"

[kyfalcon]

try swapping the lines going into your nic cards. Worth a try

[Steakboy]

I've switched the patch leads into the NICs, and I get no DHCP packets back, so I don't get anywhere with a PXE boot.

The 2nd (external) NIC is playing up, and from another thread on the net, I've seen a reference to a /etc/dhcp3/dhcpd.conf file, which references fugue.com, so I don't knwo if the 2nd NIC needs to be working fully?

I'm from the networking side of life, so linux isn't a strong (or even weak) point. Big learning curve since starting this!

Edit: I have perhaps jumped the gun with this, and it's not an R8169 issue? I'm not sure at all...

[Steakboy]

So, it does seem that I need to r8169/8111 driver for this card, however I can see in the verbose during the tftpboot that there's mention of the rtl8139 driver.

The rtl8139 is for 10/100 only, and this is definately a gigabit NIC.

How would I go about forcing the 8169/8111 driver onto the MD during boot?

[ardirtbiker]

You can grab the latest Realtek driver for that NIC from the RealTek website.   You'll have to follow the instructions in http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Unrecognized_NIC   and this http://wiki.linuxmce.org/index.php/Realtek_8168..
This all gets done from your CORE/Hybrid machine... you'll have to create the initial MD via the admin web page > Media Directors..  once the directory under /usr/pluto/diskless/xx   (xx is the MD number) is created, you'll have to follow the instructions on the Unrecognized NIC link  and/or  the Realtek link

Dennis

[Steakboy]

I've created the MD as a diskless MD in the web admin page, but when I look in /usr/pluto/ there is no folder called diskless?

I've rebooted and the MD is definitely there, and set up as diskless. It has the device number of #34, but still does not show in dolphin. 

[purps]

Don't do anything in web admin, that's not necessary.

Did you do something simliar to this as per the link I posted earlier...

Code Select Expand

cp r8168.ko /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/kernel/drivers/net/
mv /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/kernel/drivers/net/r8169.ko /lib/modules/2.6.22-14-generic/kernel/drivers/net/r8169.bak
depmod -a
/usr/pluto/bin/Diskless_BuildDefaultImage.sh

...before trying to reboot the MD again?

[Steakboy]

Hi, sorry for the delay - I had a short break away from London.

I did run what you suggested. Everything ran OK, but again I have a line telling me 'etho: link down' on the MD after it has loaded some things from the core.

[Steakboy]

I'm wondering if it would be easier to have this running with a HDD and kubuntu installed... Would I be right?