Trouble Connecting eth0 in Bionic32 (SOLVED)

[rockedge]

I am running a Bionic32+25 to experiment with @wiak 's add-on WDL sfs and I discovered while setting up the upupbb that the eth0 and eth1 ethernet devices are not detected after repeated attempts, and hence not configuring or connecting.

Swapped out the kernel to a 5.6.4-rt3 (i686) I had compiled some time ago, then rebooted and the machine connected to the network automatically.

Machine is a DELL PowerEdge R210 II and this is the first time Bionic32 has done that. I tried all 3 network tools several times over but the cards were just not detected. No worries it's going again but I thought I'd mention it.

[watchdog]

I have a laptop with ancient eth0 which is not detected in any puppy without a script in /root/Startup like the following:

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#!/bin/sh
ethtool -s eth0 speed 100 duplex full

Something like this is happening to you?

[rockedge]

It does sound similar. I will give this script a try.

[rcrsn51]

Was the problem that the eth0 interface was not being created? Run: ifconfig -a

Was it because the interface could not be made active? Run: ifconfig, then: ifconfig eth0 up

Was there a driver/configuration problem that prevented a successful DHCP request?

[rockedge]

@rcrsn51

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ifconfig eth0 up

resulted in

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SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory

This is the stock kernel 4.9.163-lxpup-32-pae

Both eth0 and eth1 appear with

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ifconfig -a

[s243a]

@rcrsn51

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ifconfig eth0 up

resulted in

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SIOCSIFFLAGS: No such file or directory

This is the stock kernel 4.9.163-lxpup-32-pae

Is there a button on your machine to turn on and off your wifi? I recall having this issue before on TazPup and it was related to that button.

[rockedge]

this is a DELL PowerEdge blade server R210 II, it has eno0 (eth0) and eno1 (eth1) with 2 separate ethernet cards and no Wifi at all. Also has no sound card and basic VESA graphics.
It isn't designed as a home consumer desktop, more commercial grade server. But since I was given it for free as it was replaced, I stuffed another used HDD into it and I now compile Puppy stuff and build WeeDog's and test out different OS's on it. Also can do full virtualization so QEMU runs really well as does VirtualBox.

[rockedge]

I swapped back in the kernel 4.6.163 and it can not really see the ethX devices. Switched in 5.6.4-rt3 and it connects to eth0 automatically on reboot.

Looks like some firm ware is not there in 4.6 ?

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Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries NetXtreme II BCM5716 Gigabit Ethernet [14e4:163b] (rev 20)
• Kernel Driver: bnx2
--
Ethernet controller [0200]: Broadcom Inc. and subsidiaries NetXtreme II BCM5716 Gigabit Ethernet [14e4:163b] (rev 20)
• Kernel Driver: bnx2
• Memory Used: 80.00 KB
• Path: /lib/modules/5.6.4-rt3/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/broadcom/bnx2.ko
• Driver Version: 2.2.6
• Description: QLogic BCM5706/5708/5709/5716 Driver

[rcrsn51]

Run: modinfo bnx2

Check in /lib/firmware to see if the folder "bnx2" is there.

Then run: dmesg | grep bnx2

[bigpup]

The Linux kernel being used is important to supporting hardware.
You do not say what the age is of these Ethernet cards.
But in a much newer kernel 5 series support is there.
Seems to me the older 4 series kernel just does not have the needed support in it.
The hardware does need to exist when the kernel was compiled and configured.
Firmware and kernel modules can be added to Puppy Linux.
But I find it easier to just change the kernel to a newer one.

I have a very new computer that Puppy runs great on.
But it will only work if the Puppy version is using a very new Linux kernel series 5.
The hardware support is not in series 4 or even some series 5 kernels.

[rockedge]

every version of Bionic32 has worked up to Delta +24 on this exact machine.

It is +25 with the kernel 4.6.163-lxpup that it fails

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# modinfo bnx2
filename:       /lib/modules/4.9.163-lxpup-32-pae/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/broadcom/bnx2.ko
firmware:       bnx2/bnx2-rv2p-09ax-6.0.17.fw
firmware:       bnx2/bnx2-rv2p-09-6.0.17.fw
firmware:       bnx2/bnx2-mips-09-6.2.1b.fw
firmware:       bnx2/bnx2-rv2p-06-6.0.15.fw
firmware:       bnx2/bnx2-mips-06-6.2.3.fw
version:        2.2.6
license:        GPL
description:    QLogic BCM5706/5708/5709/5716 Driver
author:         Michael Chan <mchan@broadcom.com>
srcversion:     1818B36E3CB9BBD68B96C13
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000163Csv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000163Bsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000163Asv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d00001639sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d000016ACsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d000016AAsv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d000016AAsv0000103Csd00003102bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000164Csv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000164Asv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000164Asv0000103Csd00003106bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000014E4d0000164Asv0000103Csd00003101bc*sc*i*
depends:        
retpoline:      Y
intree:         Y
vermagic:       4.9.163-lxpup-32-pae SMP mod_unload modversions 686 
signat:         PKCS#7
signer:         
sig_key:        
sig_hashalgo:   md4
parm:           disable_msi:Disable Message Signaled Interrupt (MSI) (int)


# dmesg|grep bnx2
bnx2: QLogic bnx2 Gigabit Ethernet Driver v2.2.6 (January 29, 2014)
bnx2 0000:01:00.0 eth0: Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5716 1000Base-T (C0) PCI Express found at mem c0000000, IRQ 16, node addr d4:ae:52:c5:3b:54
bnx2 0000:01:00.1 eth1: Broadcom NetXtreme II BCM5716 1000Base-T (C0) PCI Express found at mem c2000000, IRQ 17, node addr d4:ae:52:c5:3b:55
bnx2 0000:01:00.0: Direct firmware load for bnx2/bnx2-mips-09-6.2.1b.fw failed with error -2
bnx2: Can't load firmware file "bnx2/bnx2-mips-09-6.2.1b.fw"
bnx2 0000:01:00.1: Direct firmware load for bnx2/bnx2-mips-09-6.2.1b.fw failed with error -2
bnx2: Can't load firmware file "bnx2/bnx2-mips-09-6.2.1b.fw"

and as far as I can tell, both eth0 and eth1 are being detected.
Bionic32+24 uses the same kernel and connects immediately

[rcrsn51]

The error message is pretty clear - it's a failure to load the firmware.

My second suggestion was to check in /lib/firmware. Is the bnx2 firmware there?

[rockedge]

Yes I know. But the "why?" is still on the table. Does fine in +24 and does not in +25

I'll reboot into it to check again.

[rcrsn51]

My second suggestion was to check in /lib/firmware. Is the bnx2 firmware there?

Yes I know.

That doesn't answer my question.

[rockedge]

Give me a moment! I'm juggling 5 running operating systems and killing bugs in this forum's code at the same time.

yes it is there. An entire directory called bnx2 in /lib/firmware

what do you think "let me reboot into it" means?

Believe me, I can be as big a prick as you any day.

[rcrsn51]

Then I would copy the bnx2 firmware folder from the setup that works and paste it into the setup that does not work.

If it still doesn't work, there must be something fundamentally broken in the +25 version.

[rockedge]

yes that is worth a try. The directory looks the same in Bionic32+19 as well but there it works! Hmmmmm maybe try the zdrv from +24 and reboot? First I'll give the copy it over a try though.

UPDATE!
I found a discrepancy.....in Bionic32+19 there is a file "bnx2-mips-06-6.2.3.fw" and "bnx2-mips-09-6.2.1b.fw in Bionic32+25 the directory is the same EXCEPT for those files, which are missing.

[rcrsn51]

bnx2-mips-09-6.2.1b.fw

That's the one reported missing by dmesg.

[rockedge]

@rcrsn51
That was it!

Copied those 2 files over to +25's /lib/firmware/bnx2 then ran the Simple Network Connection Tool and the system connected immediately!

Thanks, your help led the way.

[rcrsn51]

The dmesg diagnostic doesn't lie. If it cannot find a firmware file, there is going to be a good reason why not.

[rockedge]

The dmesg diagnostic doesn't lie. If it cannot find a firmware file, there is going to be a good reason why not.

Unless the machine's called HAL ? I'd be concerned if one of mine started calling me "Dave"

[peebee]

UPDATE!
I found a discrepancy.....in Bionic32+19 there is a file "bnx2-mips-06-6.2.3.fw" and "bnx2-mips-09-6.2.1b.fw in Bionic32+25 the directory is the same EXCEPT for those files, which are missing.

Can't understand this - the firmware is in the fdrv and the fdrv has not changed since +0 as far as I can recall.....

[rockedge]

@peebee It just occured to me to look at what kernels all of the Bionic32's have installed and / or run on this PowerEdge machine, and not one of them is running the stock kernel! The Delta+25 is the first version I've booted with the 4.6.163_lxpup kernel.

So I checked the /lib/firmware in the zdrv of a few of the Bionic32 +XX with the 4.6.163_lxpup and these 2 files are not in any of them!

I never noticed until now when experimenting with adding a WDL_GO sfs plugin for Bionic32 and I was working with the latest stock version. On this machine all the other Bionic's have real time kernels I've compiled for 32 bit with AUFS patched running in them.

Sorry for the panic...but at least now I know just adding the file(s) to the zdrv.sfs for kernel 4.6.163_lxpup from a newer kernel, is an easy fix and allows this server to connect.

[s243a]

@peebee It just occured to me to look at what kernels all of the Bionic32's have installed and / or run on this PowerEdge machine, and not one of them is running the stock kernel! The Delta+25 is the first version I've booted with the 4.6.163_lxpup kernel.

So I checked the /lib/firmware in the zdrv of a few of the Bionic32 +XX with the 4.6.163_lxpup and these 2 files are not in any of them!

I never noticed until now when experimenting with adding a WDL_GO sfs plugin for Bionic32 and I was working with the latest stock version. On this machine all the other Bionic's have real time kernels I've compiled for 32 bit with AUFS patched running in them.

Sorry for the panic...but at least now I know just adding the file(s) to the zdrv.sfs for kernel 4.6.163_lxpup from a newer kernel, is an easy fix and allows this server to connect.

For some of the kernels the firmware is separated into an F-Drive.