NIC for Linux 6.2?

Felecha

Golden Member
Sep 24, 2000
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Anyone got a definitive, for-sure answer for me on this one?

At school we've got RedHat Linux 6.2 on the lab machines, so I put it on the home computer, too. I can't get it to recognize my Linksys LNE100TX card. The box says "Tested with Linux" right there on the front, and there's a second driver floppy with the tulip driver as source code, tulip.c.
I went to the Linksys site and got some docs that I followed very carefully. Got it to compile and got it in the right spot in the filesystem, did all the configuration correctly as far as I know. The IP addresses must be the same as how it's set up for Windows, nespah?

In the compile process I came to the last step, modprobe tulip.o, and it said tulip.o not found. I can see it right there, the file is right there! I set the permissions to 777 and everything I could think of. At boot, it says insmod fails, and the initialization has failed.

At RedHat.com, it turns out the 6.2 Compatibility list specifies that this card is not compatible. And I've seen lots of posts at other forums where people are ranting about its incompatibility. I called Linksys tech support, and the guy declined to talk about it. I reminded him it says Linux right on the box, and he said there's info on the web but not on the support line. I told him that's bad. Humfff.

Anyway, before going for another card, anyone got a definitive yes or no for me? If you think it should work, can we get into the details of what I might have done wrong??

Thanks so much.

F
 

Felecha

Golden Member
Sep 24, 2000
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I keep seeing this thing about compiling the kernel with a driver in it. Sounds scary. Haven't learned about that one yet. Could that be the problem???

The docs from Linksys gave two options -- if my Linux supports modules (it passed the test that indicated that it did), compile just the driver. Else compile the whole thing.

Maybe?

Felecha
 

trend

Senior member
Nov 7, 1999
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ha... first of all... linksys give the most problems concerning nics... they use the tulip.c driver.... all you have to do (probably best if you are learning linux) is compile the module to make the the tulip.c tulip.o and insmod tulip.o
here is the directions for compiling and all for my d-link so you get an idea


The procedure to activate DFE-530TX+ on Red Hat 6.X linux is as follows:

step 1: ftp the driver from
ftp://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/pub/linux/drivers/rtl8139.c

step 2: compile:
The instruction for compiling the driver is include at the end of
the driver file. (run this instruction at /usr/src/linux)
Or you can use the Makefile included in the driver diskette \Linux.

step 3: insert the driver as module:
insmod rtl8139.o
(run 'lsmod' to see if the module is inserted)

step 4: bind your card to an IP address

/sbin/ifconfig eth0 ${IPADDR} broadcast ${BROADCAST}
netmask ${NETMASK}
(run 'netstat -i' to see if there is a interface 'eth0')

step 5: add your card to IP routing table, then add gateway also your card:
/sbin/route add -net ${NETWORK} netmask ${NETMASK} eth0
(should be able to ping local network now)
gateway:
/sbin/route add default gw ${GATEWAY} netmask 0.0.0.0 metric 1

step 6: start inet deamon.
/usr/sbin/inetd
(you are on the network now)

*make sure that your kernel is built with network, fast_ethernet and module
support. Otherwise, you have to rebuild your kernel.
(1:go to /usr/src/linux directory
2:run 'make menuconfig' or 'make config'
3:mark the options list above.
4:exit and rebuild your kernel.
make dep;make clean;make zImage
the file 'zImage' will be at /usr/src/linux/arch/i386/boot/zImage
5:modify /etc/lilo.conf.(this file specify where kernel image is)
6:run 'lilo' )

You cna run 'netconfig' which will do step 4,5,6 for you.
Then just add a line at the beginning of '/etc/rc.d/init.d/network'.
'insmod /your driver path/rtl8139.o'

then your driver will work every time you boot.




some of the steps you don't have to do for obvious reasons... but you could also compile it into the kernel (i think the 2.2.X kernel has support for tulip.... i am pretty sure)...


www.linuxhelp.net and guides tab will tell you a bunch of info...
also... HA! i hope you know what you are doing... HA... i would NEVER EVER suggest installing anything except the newest version of a distro (linux isn't like windows... only giving new options and better guis... linux fixes exloits from previous versions)...
i say mandrake is a great newbie distro.. just got winged off that (i might go back because it has great laptop support) but now i am running debian which is soo much better.. i think.. i love it

lession 1: edit /etc/inetd.conf and put "#" infront of everyting!!!
 

Damaged

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
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Compile the drivers: you've done that. Then put them in /lib/modules/<kernel you're running>/net. Don't know what kernel you're running, then uname -a will tell 'ya.

Now, cd /lib/modules/<kernel you're running>, then depmod -a, then insmod tulip. Voila done.

Edit your /etc/modules.conf file and add alias eth0 tulip to make sure it loads at boot.

Now you can configure the interface: ifconfig eth0 <ip address> netmask <proper netmask> up. Done.

ifconfig to make see if it's configed and up. Now see if you can ping the IP you assigned the card. If you can it's working. Now see if you can ping 64.58.76.176 (one server for www.yahoo.com).

trend: you do NOT know what you are talking about here AT all, so please show some restraint. start inetd? Do actually know what that does?!?!?!?! Very wrong, and completely inappropriate, amongst other things like telling the guy to get the 8139 driver. That's for RealTek chipsets (most notably).
 

bex0rs

Golden Member
Oct 20, 2000
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.... Or save yourself the hassle and buy a &quot;supported&quot; NIC.

~bex0rs
 

Felecha

Golden Member
Sep 24, 2000
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That's what I'm after, really -- anyone know for sure what will work on RedHat 6.2?? Not any other version, just specifically 6.2. And not from a list of compatibles, but hoping someone could say -- &quot;I run 6.2 and my Acme card works.&quot;
 

Felecha

Golden Member
Sep 24, 2000
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Damaged -- thanks for your help, maybe you can find the last piece of the puzzle for me?

You refer to &quot;the drivers&quot; -- are there more than just the tulip.c and its tulip.o? That's all I've been doing.

Earlier today I went to the website of the driver's author -- Becker -- and got the latest version. I compiled it and moved the version that came on the floppy to another folder and put the new one into /lib/modules/2.2.14-5.0/net.

Just now I did -- cd lib/modules/2.2.14-5.0, ran depmod -a, and got &quot;*** Unresolved symbols in /lib/modules/2.2.14-5.0/net tulip.o&quot;

So I deleted the newer tulip.o and brought back the earlier tulip.o and the depmod -a seemed to do its thing, that is it returned me to the prompt without objection.

Then insmod tulip gave me &quot;/lib/modules/2.2.14-5.0/net tulip.o: init_module: Device or resource busy&quot;

I looked in /etc and found no file named modules.conf, at the root or anywhere else. I did a search in File Manager and found no such file on the computer, even searched for content - &quot;alias&quot; - thinking modules.conf might be a file full of statements using the term alias.

I looked at the contents of several other .conf files in /etc, but didn't see any with alias mentioned and didn't want to just play with that one.

Does this give you anything to go on? It's tantalizing to think that it might really be doable (you say you've done it) and there's just one thing not right.

I remember the thrill of setting up my home network last month, struggling with a new thing for me, and finally gettigt the last thing set right in the configurations, with some help from a friend, and ... it worked!!

As my teacher tells us, &quot;Working is good.&quot;

Thanks

Felecha
 

Damaged

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
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The unresolved symbols typically measn that the compiled driver wasn't compiled for the kernel version that you have. Did you compile it on the box you're installing it on? If not, then that could be the problem. Also that problem can happen if something else is using the same IRQ or I/O settings as the NIC. And, finally, it can be caused by trying to load the same module twice. So, you can do an lsmod to list all loaded modules, then you can try doing an rmmod tulip if you see that module already loaded.

See if you can manually load the pci-scan.o module, then the new tulip.o module, then see if you can config the card. If so, I can tell you how to make all that work at boot time for you...hopefully.

The issue with the newer Linksys LNE100TX cards (version 4) is probably due to something that Linksys decided to do with the DEC chipset that the card is based on (meaning the probably reprogrammed some settings). Linksys buys these chipsets from DEC and then makes their NIC based on it. The tulip driver is really a driver for cards based on a generic DEC 21x4x chip.

Hopefully that helps you understand what may be going on here.

What you need is the object file, which you've figured out is the tulip.o file. The tulip.c file is the source code for the driver.

If the /etc/modules.conf isn't there (sometimes it's called conf.modules) it's okay to create it and add the entry I'm suggesting.

Push comes to shove there are switches for that nic when inserting the module which allow you to set certain parameters like i/o and irq, etc. If you were to cat /proc/interrupts and cat /proc/ioports you should be able to determine what those settings may be.
 

Felecha

Golden Member
Sep 24, 2000
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I did compile it on this machine. I have indeed run the command insmod more than once today, if that means &quot;load the same module twice&quot;. I looked at &quot;man insmod&quot; and &quot;man init_module&quot; and got some sense of things from that, but this is new territory for me. I'm a student at the local tech, beginning computer programming, so I understand compiling c (at least in Windows). And plainly the process here is taking that compiled .o file (like an exe?) and insert it (insmod = insert module?) into the place where Linux will find it at boot and use it in initializing eth0.

I did see in the man pages that there were lots of switches available that forced this and that.

What about pci-scan.o? The floppy actually contains a file &quot;netdrivers.tgz&quot; which unzips to give lots of source files. When I followed directions after unzipping and ran &quot;make&quot;, it went through the list apparently compiling them all until it had a problem with one of them (that was yesterday, and I don't have a record of the exact results. Still, maybe 6 or 7 object (.o) files were created, including tulip.o and pci-scan.o. Do I need pci-scan.o in there, too?

By the way, at boot I now get:

&quot;Bringing up interface eth0 insmod: /lib/modules/2.2.134-5.0/net/tulip.o: insmod eth0 failed
Delaying eth0 initialization&quot;

Also, I found conf.modules and alias eth0 tulip was already in there.
Thanks

F
 

Felecha

Golden Member
Sep 24, 2000
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Amazing!! It worked!!! I'm coming to you from Linux!!!!

I went back and found the pci-scan.o file and put it in /lib/modules/2.2.14-5.0/net and ran insmod and it showed up with lsmod. Tulip was not there. It again balked with the older tulip.o from the floppy, but I went back and put the latest tulip.o in there and insmod worked, and it showed with lsmod!!

I ran ifconfig and it showed, and I booted and it initialized, and I opened Netscape and it fired right up!!

Thank you, Damaged, this is thrilling. And I've been dragged up a learning curve that felt almost vertical!!

Before we're done, can you say anything about why pci-scan seems to have been needed here? It wasn't even mentioned in the documentation from Linksys. I'm glad I recognized the file name from the other day, and could find it again. Tulip wouldn't respond to insmod until pci-scan was done first????

Thank you, thank you.

You do Linux for a living, maybe?
 

Damaged

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
3,020
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Yay!!! :)

I believe pci-scan does pretty much what it says: scans the pci bus and help auto configure the settings for that driver. I'm not sure I'd have to look at the source to see exactly what it's doing, but that's the gist of it.

I don't admin any Linux boxen for a living, I do some stuff on the side, but it's pretty basic. I'm a network engineer by trade, but I have a strong affinity for systems stuff. I like to know the nitty gritty of stuff. I've just been messing around with Linux for a little over 3 years now. I started out with RH 5.0 which turned out to be a very broken distro so you ended up learning a lot pretty quick if you were diligent enough. Don't ever ask me about GUI tools cause I don't use them. I do everything via CLI. Doesn't make me better than anyone else, it's just that's what I've learned.

Sorry I didn't mention the pci-scan module, I actually thought I had, or that you had seen that in the README file from Linksys.
 

Felecha

Golden Member
Sep 24, 2000
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Thanks again.

Now I gotta figure out why my email won't work. When Netscape Messenger goes to get the mail from my ISP it returns &quot;Authorization failed&quot;. I've checked and multi-checked the fields in the Netscape Options. Pop server, SMTP server info correct, I know the password is correct because I went back to Windows and tested by sending myself a couple of messages. I left a message with tech support at the ISP, but they take forever to get back to you. Sigh. I wanted to email my teacher in triumph. She had said that if we wanted to install linux at home, go ahead, but don't call her for support outside of class. And if anyone had a cable connection at home, and could get it to work, by all means tell the class about it. I just got cable a couple of weeks ago, and it's been very frustrating not to be able to connect from Linux, since there's a fair amount of stuff on the web that's handy to check out, and I hated booting back to Windows when I needed to go online.

Never done, it's always uphill.

Best wishes

F
 

Damaged

Diamond Member
Oct 11, 1999
3,020
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You aren't trying to make it use ssl or encrypted passwords or anything like that are you? Because it probably won't work with those options checked.

Make sure you have your correct mail username in the mailserver username field (This is NOT your username on the linux box, this is your ISP mail username). I don't know what this is at it varies from system to system, but if you have mail working on another computer double check your settings there.

Also don't change the port settings: POP3 is port 110 and SMTP is port 25. Don't mess with those.
 

Felecha

Golden Member
Sep 24, 2000
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Problem at the ISP, I guess. I had switched back and forth between Windows and Linux a couple of times -- worked in W, not in L! The ISP tech guy finally called, and we checked things, and he said, &quot;yes your password is correct, but it's failing here, too, with a TelNet test.&quot; So he reset the password on the server, and suddenly it worked! It's been a long day, and working is good, and so I'm not going to wonder any longer about what makes what work.

Thanks, and good night.
 

Felecha

Golden Member
Sep 24, 2000
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Damaged -- are you still there?

New problem.

After about a day of working OK, the initialization of the NIC seems to be &quot;hanging&quot; sometimes when I boot to linux. Not always, maybe half the time. When it gets to the step &quot;bringing up eth0&quot;, it just sits there for anywhere from 15 seconds to as long as a minute and a half. Disconcerting, what to speak of the frustration. I do boot back and forth frequently enough (&quot;Oh darn, gotta go back to Windows to do or get something, be right back!&quot;) that I really hope I can get past this one. Any hope?? Do I do a linux version of (reinstalling the driver&quot;?

Thanks again. My teacher was delighted to hear it worked, told me I must be very smart, but I told her you did the trick.