eth0 doesn't show traffic, but Atheros ethernet card works

metaschima · 01-04-2014, 11:39 AM

This is a strange issue that I can't understand. I can use the internet, upload and download just fine, but nothing shows up on any ethernet monitor.

Code:

bash-4.2$ /sbin/lspci -v
04:00.0 Ethernet controller: Qualcomm Atheros QCA8171 Gigabit Ethernet (rev 10)
	Subsystem: ASRock Incorporation Device 10a1
	Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 45
	Memory at f0400000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256K]
	I/O ports at e000 [size=128]
	Capabilities: <access denied>
	Kernel driver in use: alx
	Kernel modules: alx

bash-4.2$ /sbin/ifconfig
eth0: flags=4163<UP,BROADCAST,RUNNING,MULTICAST>  mtu 1500
        inet 192.168.1.73  netmask 255.255.255.0  broadcast 192.168.1.255
        inet6 fe80::be5f:f4ff:fed2:f958  prefixlen 64  scopeid 0x20<link>
        ether bc:5f:f4:d2:f9:58  txqueuelen 1000  (Ethernet)
        RX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 0  bytes 0 (0.0 B)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0
        device interrupt 19  

lo: flags=73<UP,LOOPBACK,RUNNING>  mtu 65536
        inet 127.0.0.1  netmask 255.0.0.0
        inet6 ::1  prefixlen 128  scopeid 0x10<host>
        loop  txqueuelen 0  (Local Loopback)
        RX packets 202  bytes 18100 (17.6 KiB)
        RX errors 0  dropped 0  overruns 0  frame 0
        TX packets 202  bytes 18100 (17.6 KiB)
        TX errors 0  dropped 0 overruns 0  carrier 0  collisions 0

bash-4.2$ cat /proc/interrupts
 45:       8451          0          0          0   PCI-MSI-edge      eth0

the RX and TX for eth0 are always 0.

I suspect a driver issue. I am using kernel 3.10.25. I don't remember if it worked with earlier kernels.

Any ideas ?

ReaperX7 · 01-04-2014, 03:09 PM

What networking management tool are you using? Wicd, dhcpcd, or networkmanager?

metaschima · 01-04-2014, 03:47 PM

I'm using network manager ATM. If you think it makes a difference I can turn it off and connect manually using dhcpcd. I'll try it a bit later.

mancha · 01-04-2014, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metaschima

I suspect a driver issue. I am using kernel 3.10.25. I don't remember if it worked with earlier kernels.

You're right. The alx driver was very recently mainlined (6/2013) by J. Berg based on a very basic driver proposed by Qualcomm/Atheros. Traffic counters have not been added yet.

--mancha

metaschima · 01-04-2014, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mancha

You're right. The alx driver was very recently mainlined (6/2013) by J. Berg based on a very basic driver proposed by Qualcomm/Atheros. Traffic counters have not been added yet.

--mancha

That might be it. I just built this desktop a few months ago, and it is new, so I guess the driver just isn't complete. I might try a newer kernel, but I would like a long-term kernel, so I'll wait a bit.

ReaperX7 · 01-04-2014, 05:16 PM

If you are running NetworkManager check the NM-Applet utility's built-in logs to see what usage has happened.

metaschima · 01-04-2014, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReaperX7

If you are running NetworkManager check the NM-Applet utility's built-in logs to see what usage has happened.

I've checked the menus but I don't see any logs.

I will e-mail the developers of the driver to see if this is a bug or not.

mancha · 01-04-2014, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by metaschima

I will e-mail the developers of the driver to see if this is a bug or not.

Not a bug. As that fellow mancha mentioned in post #4, traffic counters are not yet in the driver which is still very basic.

--mancha

metaschima · 01-04-2014, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mancha

Not a bug. As that fellow mancha mentioned in post #4, traffic counters are not yet in the driver which is still very basic.

--mancha

Yes, I saw that, but maybe e-mailing them will get them to look into it. Their git repo hasn't been updated since April 2013, so I don't see why I shouldn't send them an e-mail and see if they respond.

mlacunza · 06-21-2014, 10:14 PM

Hi, did you optain any response for this bug? I have the same for a Qualcomm Atheros QCA8172 Fast Ethernet

metaschima · 06-22-2014, 10:59 AM

Nope, so I guess the monitor won't be working for a while. I could try to fix it myself, but I've never worked on drivers.

mlacunza · 06-22-2014, 12:20 PM

I just discovered and at least in Ubuntu 14.04 64 bits is a problem with the actual kernel.