Wired network setup problems in Vector Linux 6.0 on Advent 6412 DVD laptop

darjeelingtee · 06-17-2011, 01:13 PM

Hi all,

I am in the process of reviving a legacy laptop using Vector Linux 6.0. Once past the x window issues associated with these old machines (and the SIS 630 chipset in general) the setup worked very well.

However, I have been unable to get the wired network working. Vector linux suggests eth0 is connected but I have no internet access in browsers or for slapt-get etc. The following is the process I have gone through so far (I am a convert to linux as of last month and networking isnt my forte so go easy!).

lspci output:

Code:

root:# lspci
00:00.0 Host bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 630 Host (rev 31)
00:00.1 IDE interface: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 5513 [IDE] (rev d0)
00:01.0 ISA bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS85C503/5513 (LPC Bridge)
00:01.1 Ethernet controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS900 PCI Fast Ethernet (rev 82)
00:01.2 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 1.1 Controller (rev 07)
00:01.3 USB Controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] USB 1.1 Controller (rev 07)
00:01.4 Multimedia audio controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS PCI Audio Accelerator (rev 02)
00:01.6 Modem: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] AC'97 Modem Controller (rev a0)
00:02.0 PCI bridge: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] Virtual PCI-to-PCI bridge (AGP)
00:03.0 CardBus bridge: O2 Micro, Inc. OZ6812 CardBus Controller (rev 05)
01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] 630/730 PCI/AGP VGA Display Adapter (rev 31)

ifconfig output:

Code:

root:# ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:a0:cc:c7:47:a3  
          inet addr:192.168.0.4  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST NOTRAILERS RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:5325 errors:623 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:1225
          TX packets:6358 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:582621 (568.9 KiB)  TX bytes:533017 (520.5 KiB)
          Interrupt:10 Base address:0xd000 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:1021 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:1021 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:112104 (109.4 KiB)  TX bytes:112104 (109.4 KiB)

netstat output:

Code:

root:# netstat -r
Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags   MSS Window  irtt Iface
192.168.0.0     *               255.255.255.0   U         0 0          0 eth0
loopback        *               255.0.0.0       U         0 0          0 lo
default         192.168.0.4     0.0.0.0         UG        0 0          0 eth0
default         192.168.0.1     0.0.0.0         UG        0 0          0 eth0

Outcome of pinging the router (Netgear DGN2000):

Code:

root:# ping -c 5 192.168.0.1
PING 192.168.0.1 (192.168.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=1 ttl=64 time=0.738 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.712 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=0.724 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=0.697 ms

--- 192.168.0.1 ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 4 received, 20% packet loss, time 4000ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.697/0.717/0.738/0.036 ms

Outcome of pinging linux questions IP:

Code:

root:# ping -c 5 75.126.162.205        
PING 75.126.162.205 (75.126.162.205) 56(84) bytes of data.
From 192.168.0.4 icmp_seq=2 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.0.4 icmp_seq=3 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.0.4 icmp_seq=4 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.0.4 icmp_seq=5 Destination Host Unreachable

--- 75.126.162.205 ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 0 received, +4 errors, 100% packet loss, time 4000ms
, pipe 3

Outcome of pinging www.linuxquestions.org:

Code:

root:# ping -c 5 www.linuxquestions.org
PING www.linuxquestions.org (75.126.162.205) 56(84) bytes of data.
From 192.168.0.4 icmp_seq=2 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.0.4 icmp_seq=3 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.0.4 icmp_seq=4 Destination Host Unreachable
From 192.168.0.4 icmp_seq=5 Destination Host Unreachable

--- www.linuxquestions.org ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 0 received, +4 errors, 100% packet loss, time 8345ms
, pipe 3

In short and to the best of my knowledge this means I can ping the router but nothing else. You will see that I have attempted to change the default gateway but this has not helped. I suspect a DNS problem.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Cheers, Matt

camorri · 06-18-2011, 06:25 AM

I see two problems. You should not have a default root pointing to your host system. Second, DNS is not working.

Delete the default route pointing at yourself.

There are two ways to configure DNS. You can go into the router and set them up there, this is probably the best way, since DNS will work for any other machine you install. Second, as root edit /etc/resolv.conf and put your DNS addresses in there.
The second method should work, for your host only.

Most routers have access through a web browser. Enter the routers IP address in your browser, that should connect you. It probably has a password and user ID. If it is still default, the manual should tell you what it is. If you have changed it, then you are good to go.

If you do not know the DNS addresses, try these.

Quote:

cat /etc/resolv.conf
nameserver 208.67.222.222
nameserver 208.67.220.220

They should work for anyone.

darjeelingtee · 06-18-2011, 12:10 PM

Hi Camorri,

Thank you for the prompt reply. I have made the changes you suggested however I still don't seem to be able to reach the internet through any of my browsers despite being able to ping www.google.com. Firstly I made sure that the default gateway wasn't pointing at the host.
New output from route:

Code:

root:# route
Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags Metric Ref    Use Iface
192.168.0.0     *               255.255.255.0   U     0      0        0 eth0
loopback        *               255.0.0.0       U     0      0        0 lo
default         192.168.0.1     0.0.0.0         UG    0      0        0 eth0

I then accessed my router and changed the DNS settings from its default setting (obtaining the address from ISP) to those you suggested. I also confirmed that these were correct for my router in the manual. My /etc/resolv.conf and /etc/resolv.conf-eth0.sv now look like this:

Code:

# Generated by dhcpcd for interface eth0
nameserver 208.67.222.222
nameserver 208.67.220.220

As a reminder my output from ifconfig:

Code:

root:# ifconfig
eth0      Link encap:Ethernet  HWaddr 00:a0:cc:c7:47:a3  
          inet addr:192.168.0.5  Bcast:192.168.0.255  Mask:255.255.255.0
          UP BROADCAST NOTRAILERS RUNNING MULTICAST  MTU:1500  Metric:1
          RX packets:234 errors:193 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:383
          TX packets:350 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000 
          RX bytes:26145 (25.5 KiB)  TX bytes:67678 (66.0 KiB)
          Interrupt:10 Base address:0xd000 

lo        Link encap:Local Loopback  
          inet addr:127.0.0.1  Mask:255.0.0.0
          UP LOOPBACK RUNNING  MTU:16436  Metric:1
          RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
          TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
          collisions:0 txqueuelen:0 
          RX bytes:0 (0.0 B)  TX bytes:0 (0.0 B)

and my latest successful ping attempts:

Code:

root:# ping -c 5 192.168.0.1
PING 192.168.0.1 (192.168.0.1) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=2 ttl=64 time=0.737 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=3 ttl=64 time=0.734 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=4 ttl=64 time=0.708 ms
64 bytes from 192.168.0.1: icmp_seq=5 ttl=64 time=0.728 ms

--- 192.168.0.1 ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 4 received, 20% packet loss, time 3999ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 0.708/0.726/0.737/0.034 ms

root:# ping -c 5 www.google.co.uk
PING www.l.google.com (209.85.229.99) 56(84) bytes of data.
64 bytes from ww-in-f99.1e100.net (209.85.229.99): icmp_seq=1 ttl=51 time=46.4 ms
64 bytes from ww-in-f99.1e100.net (209.85.229.99): icmp_seq=2 ttl=50 time=45.3 ms
64 bytes from ww-in-f99.1e100.net (209.85.229.99): icmp_seq=3 ttl=51 time=46.4 ms
64 bytes from ww-in-f99.1e100.net (209.85.229.99): icmp_seq=4 ttl=51 time=46.2 ms
64 bytes from ww-in-f99.1e100.net (209.85.229.99): icmp_seq=5 ttl=51 time=46.3 ms

--- www.l.google.com ping statistics ---
5 packets transmitted, 5 received, 0% packet loss, time 4003ms
rtt min/avg/max/mdev = 45.378/46.181/46.498/0.431 ms

This still looks like a DNS issue to my very untrained eye but I have no idea where to go next.

Cheers, Matt

camorri · 06-18-2011, 01:02 PM

The DNS addresses in the router and /etc/resolv.conf need to be the same. If you can ping Google, then you are close.

Pick either the set ISP provided, or the set I posted. Do not mix them, unpredictable results will occur.

darjeelingtee · 06-18-2011, 01:19 PM

Hi Camorri,

I have double checked and the DNS addresses on the router are the same as those in resolv.conf so this cannot be the issue so far as I can see. Is there anything else I can check to clarify the situation?

Thanks, Matt

camorri · 06-18-2011, 01:59 PM

Did you restart the system, after you made the changes? If not, try that.

The only other thing I can think of is, do you have a firewall on your system? If yes, deactivate it, and give it a try.

Things should work with a router if you have the default route set, DNS address, and valid addresses on your host system.

Beyond that, the driver for your card may have some issues, but that is a long shot.

Do you have any other systems connected to the router? Only thought here is if there is some kind of a router config problem. Another running system would eliminate that. If you don't have any other system working through the router, you may have to look into what settings you have there, and verify you are connected to your ISP.

darjeelingtee · 06-18-2011, 02:57 PM

I have reset the system and have already disabled the firewall (I think it was disabled by default but I have made sure now). Still no success unfortunately.

I am currently replying to you through the router (via a desktop running Ubuntu 11.04) so I cant see the router setup being the problem.

Is there a way to determine whether it is the card driver that is the issue?

Matt

camorri · 06-18-2011, 03:24 PM

From your first post, this is your ethernet card.

Quote:

00:01.1 Ethernet controller: Silicon Integrated Systems [SiS] SiS900 PCI Fast Ethernet (rev 82)

The driver could be compiled in the kernel, or a loaded module. Could you open a konsole, and run the command
'lsmod' and post the results. Since that machine is not communicating, you may have to copy the output to a diskette, or USB stick and move it to a machine online.

In the mean time, I'm going to do some googling, try to find out the name of the correct driver, then see if there any known issues with it. It may take some time.

Looks like the driver is called sis900.ko.

Could you on a konsole verify this is the module that is loaded?

The command 'lsmod | grep sis900' should list the module, and any other modules that are dependent on it.

If nothing shows up, I would bet its compiled in the kernel.

darjeelingtee · 06-18-2011, 05:14 PM

Hi Cliff,

As suggested the output from lsmod is below:

Code:

root:# lsmod
Module                  Size  Used by
sis                     6400  1 
drm                    70824  2 sis
snd_seq_dummy           3716  0 
snd_seq_oss            31872  0 
snd_seq_midi_event      6912  1 snd_seq_oss
snd_seq                48368  5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi_event
snd_pcm_oss            37408  0 
snd_mixer_oss          15104  1 snd_pcm_oss
speedstep_lib           4740  0 
freq_table              4352  0 
snd_trident            35620  2 
gameport               11020  2 snd_trident
snd_ac97_codec         99492  1 snd_trident
ac97_bus                2432  1 snd_ac97_codec
rtc_cmos               10144  0 
rtc_core               15132  1 rtc_cmos
rtc_lib                 3328  1 rtc_core
snd_pcm                67972  3 snd_pcm_oss,snd_trident,snd_ac97_codec
snd_timer              19976  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd_page_alloc          8840  2 snd_trident,snd_pcm
snd_util_mem            4352  1 snd_trident
snd_mpu401_uart         7680  1 snd_trident
snd_rawmidi            19872  1 snd_mpu401_uart
snd_seq_device          7436  4 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_rawmidi
serio_raw               6020  0 
shpchp                 29716  0 
snd                    51492  16 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_trident,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm,snd_timer,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device
soundcore               7008  1 snd
pci_hotplug            27040  1 shpchp
i2c_sis630              6924  0 
sis900                 20224  0 
mii                     5376  1 sis900
i2c_core               21268  1 i2c_sis630
sis_agp                 7936  1 
parport_pc             35908  0 
parport                31724  1 parport_pc
irda                  108984  0 
crc_ccitt               2688  1 irda
joydev                 10048  0 
evdev                  10144  1

along with lsmod | grep sis900:

Code:

root:# lsmod | grep sis900
sis900                 20224  0 
mii                     5376  1 sis900

Cheers, Matt

jschiwal · 06-19-2011, 12:57 AM

Please try "getent hosts www.google.com". This will test domain resolution. Also post contents of /etc/nsswitch.conf.

darjeelingtee · 06-19-2011, 04:45 AM

Hi jschiwal,

The result of getent hosts www.google.com is as follows:

Code:

root:# getent hosts www.google.com
209.85.229.99   www.l.google.com www.google.com
209.85.229.147  www.l.google.com www.google.com
209.85.229.104  www.l.google.com www.google.com

The contents of nsswitch.conf is a follows:

Code:

#
# /etc/nsswitch.conf
#
# An example Name Service Switch config file. This file should be
# sorted with the most-used services at the beginning.
#
# The entry '[NOTFOUND=return]' means that the search for an
# entry should stop if the search in the previous entry turned
# up nothing. Note that if the search failed due to some other reason
# (like no NIS server responding) then the search continues with the
# next entry.
#
# Legal entries are:
#
#      nisplus or nis+         Use NIS+ (NIS version 3)
#      nis or yp               Use NIS (NIS version 2), also called YP
#      dns                     Use DNS (Domain Name Service)
#      files                   Use the local files
#      [NOTFOUND=return]       Stop searching if not found so far
#

# passwd: 	files nis
# shadow: 	files nis
# group:  	files nis

passwd: 	compat
group:  	compat

hosts:  	files dns
networks:       files

services:       files
protocols:      files
rpc:    	files
ethers: 	files
netmasks:       files
netgroup:       files
bootparams:     files

automount:      files
aliases:        files

So far as I can tell this configuration file tells the system where it should look to resolve various pieces of info such as my system first looks for info on hosts in the host file and if it is not found there to perform a DNS query. Is this correct? Should I change the order?

Given that the system is looking at the host file I post its content here; you will note that I have not set the hostname correctly. This was due to me not understanding what they were for during the OS install- my router connects to my ISP using PPPoA so why would I need a hostname per se. I clearly dont understand what this hostname is for so could somebody explain?

Code:

#
# hosts		This file describes a number of hostname-to-address
#		mappings for the TCP/IP subsystem.  It is mostly
#		used at boot time, when no name servers are running.
#		On small systems, this file can be used instead of a
#		"named" name server.  Just add the names, addresses
#		and any aliases to this file...
#
# By the way, Arnt Gulbrandsen <agulbra@nvg.unit.no> says that 127.0.0.1
# should NEVER be named with the name of the machine.  It causes problems
# for some (stupid) programs, irc and reputedly talk. :^)
#

# For loopbacking.
127.0.0.1		localhost
127.0.0.1		vector.linux.net.example.org vector.linux.net

# End of hosts.

Cheers, Matt

camorri · 06-19-2011, 06:42 AM

Quote:

So far as I can tell this configuration file tells the system where it should look to resolve various pieces of info such as my system first looks for info on hosts in the host file and if it is not found there to perform a DNS query. Is this correct? Should I change the order?

I had a look at my nsswitch.conf file. You file is the same as mine. I have never edited it, I guess there are reasons to, if you have a private nis server, for example, possibly others, I don't know any good reason to change it beyond that.

The /etc/hosts file. I run a static IP address. Here is what I have.

Quote:

127.0.0.1 localhost
192.168.1.26 Duelie.cliffshome.org Duelie
192.168.1.22 Presto presto

Edit your second entry to show your external IP address. After that I have entries for each system on my local lan. This allows my system to resolve names to IP's for the local lan. Samba for example doesn't work well without these entries. It also allows me to use names instead of IP's locally.

I do believe two different entries for the lo interface will cause problems.

Note on my external interface there are two names, the first is fully qualified, the second is an alias name. So the IP gets resolved by either. You do not have to use the alias name, it just makes it easier for us humans.

Hope this helps.

darjeelingtee · 06-19-2011, 09:54 AM

Hi Cliff,

Thanks for the continued support with my problem. So in terms of my host file I presume the IP address I should use is that of my ISP? Does it matter that my IP is obtained dynamically from my ISP?- what do I use in this case? Looking at my router settings my ADSL port has an IP address of 92.21.220.76. Should I use this? In terms of an equivalent to your

Code:

Duelie.cliffshome.org Duelie

is this something similar to naming a workgroup in windows? I.e. can I just make something up that all systems on the LAN have in common. For instance:

Code:

192.168.1.04 Ubuntu.mattsnetwork.org Ubuntu
192.168.1.07 Vector.mattsnetwork.org Vector

That way the host file will be the same on all systems and as you say I can talk to each system without having to recall IP addresses.

Cheers, Matt

darjeelingtee · 06-19-2011, 10:17 AM

Also perhaps just for interests sake here is what the host file looks like on my ubuntu desktop (from which I am writing this reply) which accesses the router via wireless:

Code:

127.0.0.1	localhost.localdomain	localhost
::1	ubuntu	localhost6.localdomain6	localhost6
127.0.1.1	ubuntu.ubuntu-domain	ubuntu

# The following lines are desirable for IPv6 capable hosts
::1     localhost ip6-localhost ip6-loopback
fe00::0 ip6-localnet
ff00::0 ip6-mcastprefix
ff02::1 ip6-allnodes
ff02::2 ip6-allrouters
ff02::3 ip6-allhosts

camorri · 06-19-2011, 02:26 PM

The IP address you use is the one set for your card, not the ISP's address.

The purpose of this file is for your system to determine addresses by names that are not registered with a DNS server. So, 192.168.0.4 I think is the address of your lan adapter, enter that address.