Problem with iface line in /etc/networking/interfaces

robert77546 · 03-09-2010, 05:06 PM

Hi,
I have single board computer with 4 built in Ethernet channels but I need 5 so I have added a quad Ethernet card. I have tried to use the interface file in /etc/networks/ to setup the network. I get a message that says:

debian:/etc/network# /etc/init.d/networking restart
Reconfiguring network interfaces.../etc/network/interfaces:20: too many parameters for iface line
ifdown: couldn't read interfaces file "/etc/network/interfaces"
/etc/network/interfaces:20: too many parameters for iface line
ifup: couldn't read interfaces file "/etc/network/interfaces"
failed.

My interface file looks like:
# This file describes the network interfaces available on your system
# and how to activate them. For more information, see interfaces(5).

# The loopback network interface
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

# The primary network interface
auto eth0 eth1 eth2 eth3 eth4 eth5 eth6 eth7
mapping eth0 eth1 eth2 eth3 eth4 eth5 eth6 eth7
map 00:40:9e:00:9d:b2 lan
map 00:40:9e:00:9d:b0 front1
map 00:40:9e:00:9d:b1 front2
map 00:40:9e:00:9d:b3 back2
map 00:10:73:01:40:f4 ipx0
map 00:10:73:01:40:f5 ipx1
map 00:10:73:01:40:f6 ipx2
map 00:10:73:01:40:f7 ipx3
iface lan inet dhcp
iface ipx0 ipx static frame 802.2 netnum 0x001000
iface ipx1 ipx static frame 802.2 netnum 0x002000
iface ipx2 ipx static frame 802.2 netnum 0x003000
iface ipx3 ipx static frame 802.2 netnum 0x004000

What am I doing wrong?

debian:/etc/network# uname -a
Linux debian 2.6.29.6-rt23-rev03 #1 SMP Tue Sep 1 07:30:49 EDT 2009 i686 GNU/Linux
debian:/etc/network#

Thanks

Robert

markoellermann · 04-01-2010, 05:23 PM

I think you are trying to specify too many settings on the iface line.

From the interfaces manual page (man interfaces) -

Quote:

Stanzas defining logical interfaces start with a line consisting of the word "iface" followed by the name of the logical interface. In simple configurations without mapping stanzas this name should simply be the name of the physical interface to which it is to be applied. (The default mapping script is, in effect, the echo command.) The interface name is followed by the name of the address family that the interface uses. This will be "inet" for TCP/IP networking, but there is also some support for IPX networking ("ipx"), and IPv6 networking ("inet6"). Following that is the name of the method used to configure the interface.

Additional options can be given on subsequent lines in the stanza. Which options are available depends on the family and method, as described below. Additional options can be made available by other Debian packages.

So IFAICT, you should have -

Code:

iface ipx0 ipx static
    frame 802.2
    netnum 0x001000
iface ipx1 ipx static
    frame 802.2
    netnum 0x002000
iface ipx2 ipx static
    frame 802.2
    netnum 0x003000
iface ipx3 ipx static
    frame 802.2
    netnum 0x004000

Hope this helps.