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Hello, all ...
I've been using Debian for a few years now (before that, it was RH / Fedora), and it's been really good to me. However, i've always had problems on specific hardware -- namely, the ethernet controller present on the single-ethernet-port VIA 1ghz Nehemiah boards. What i've seen (and still see with the latest stuff on the 2.4-series kernel) is that sometimes the ethernet driver will work e.g. i'll get an address from my DHCP server, and i'll be able to ssh in, run remote X apps, etc., but sometimes it won't, and the box will be unreachable.
I have 3 of these 1ghz Nehemiah boxes that I use as servers (one running W2K3, one running Gentoo with a 2.6 series kernel, and one running Debian on a 2.4-series kernel). Has anyone else seen this, and if so, how did you fix it?
Regards,
John
Falling You - exploring the beauty of voice and sound
www.fallingyou.com
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SF Bay Area
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Re: latest Debian and VIA ethernet controller
Mon, January 29, 2007 - 2:33 PMIf this is the EPIA board,
The Ethernet adapter uses the via_rhine driver and the mii driver is optional. via_rhine needs to load.
ACPI is a known issue. The Ethernet driver has been known to not play well w/ ACPI. you can try booting with pci=noacpi
Power can be an issue, one of the first things to go when the power supply can't get enough is Ethernet.
If not the EPIA board, forget about it :) -
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Re: latest Debian and VIA ethernet controller
Tue, January 30, 2007 - 1:16 PM
Robt.,
Yes, this is the EPIA M10000 board (I think), and this is the default Debian install (nothing special was done during the install procedure at all). It's weird -- it will work for awhile (sometimes weeks), but then it will just stop responding to pings, and powering it off and on doesn't help. The only way i've been able to get it to respond again is just to keep booting it (fiddling with the ethernet cable) until it works again. If it were a driver issue, wouldn't it be more reproducable e.g. every power on would result in it working, at least for awhile?
I'll look into disabling ACPI. I keep these servers on all the time (because they draw so little power, I don't feel guilty about them).
Regards,
John
Falling You - exploring the beauty of voice and sound
www.fallingyou.com
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Re: latest Debian and VIA ethernet controller
Wed, January 31, 2007 - 12:11 AMYou might look into picking up a null modem cable so you can serial in (or if possible hook a head and keyboard) when it's not responding via ssh. If you get console access during the periods of adapter failure you can look at what modules are loaded, and if the via driver isn't there modprobe it.
"If it were a driver issue, wouldn't it be more reproducable e.g. every power on would result in it working, at least for awhile?"
I have seen some weird things that have stemmed from driver issues. You are right in that it should reload the driver on boot, sometimes though, Bad Magic is known to happen. Also points at the known ACPI issues associated with that board.
Is there any reason you stay w/ the 2.4 kernels w/ Debian (esp. if you are having issues)?
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