[ltp] WG511 PCMCIA with 2 Mac addresses (Mandriva)
Richard Neill
linux-thinkpad@linux-thinkpad.org
Thu, 06 Apr 2006 02:22:23 +0100
Dear Mauro,
Thank you very much - that's really helpful.
Conclusion 1):
There is (probably) a bug in the prism driver which causes the wrong MAC
address to be reported if the firmware isn't loaded. [This may be
deliberate, or it may be a hardware bug.]
Inference 2)
I *think* that Gentoo and Mandriva operate slightly differently. Gentoo
probes the module, then loads the firmware, then checks the MAC address,
and uses this to configures the interface.
Mandriva checks the MAC address, uses it to decide which module to
probe, then loads the firmware, and then configures the interface.
Therefore, Mandriva is unlucky, and Gentoo is fortunate, in this
particular circumstance.
Regarding conclusion 1) I'm not sure what to do.
Regarding inference (2), can you post the contents of your ifcfg-eth0
and /etc/iftab files? I'd like to know whether Gentoo uses the real or
the bogus mac addresses in these. [Mandriva uses the bogus one both times]
Lastly, do you have any ideas for a workaround?
Best wishes,
Richard
Mauro Maroni wrote:
> Richard:
>
> Here is what I found:
>
> gentoo mauro # /etc/init.d/net.eth0 stop
> * Unmounting network filesystems ...
> [ ok ]
> * Stopping eth0
> * Bringing down eth0
> * Shutting down eth0 ...
> [ ok ]
>
> After this, it is still showing the real MAC:
>
> gentoo mauro # cat /sys/class/net/eth0/address
> 00:09:5b:e6:c5:aa
>
> gentoo mauro # rmmod prism54
>
> At this point, the card no longer exists in /sys/class/net.
> And ifconfig only shows the loopback interface
>
> gentoo mauro # cardctl eject
>
> If I reinsert the card at this point, it is detected, prism54 module is loaded
> and then eth0 comes up with the real MAC.
>
> So I did it all again but moving isl3890 firmware to another place.
> Reinserted the card, it is detected and prism54 loaded.
> eth0 does not come up (no firmware).And now yes, I get the bogus MAC:
>
> gentoo mauro # cat /sys/class/net/eth0/address
> 00:30:b4:00:00:00
>
> Then I put isl3890 back in place and tried to bring the card up.
> It comes up without issues:
>
> gentoo mauro # /etc/init.d/net.eth0 start
> * Starting eth0
> * Configuring wireless network for eth0
> * eth0 connected to "NETGEAR" at 00:09:5B:DD:FA:6E
> * Bringing up eth0
> * 10.0.0.100
> [ ok ]
> * Adding routes
> * default gw 10.0.0.2 ...
> [ ok ]
>
> gentoo mauro # cat /sys/class/net/eth0/address
> 00:09:5b:e6:c5:aa
>
> Hope this helps
>
> Mauro
>
> On Saturday 01 April 2006 20:46, Richard Neill wrote:
>
>>Mauro Maroni wrote:
>>
>>>I have a Netgear WG511 but never saw that behaviour...The only issue I
>>>have is that sometimes the card disconnects from the access point, but I
>>>only have to run '/etc/init.d/net.eth0 restart' (I am using Gentoo) in
>>>order to reconnect it. I will try to see if that issue is also related to
>>>a changing MAC address.
>>
>>Dear Mauro,
>>
>>Thanks very much for your help. That's interesting that it doesn't
>>happen on Gentoo. The question is, why?
>> a) Gentoo's ifup/ifcfg script is smarter than Mandriva's.
>> b) Your version of the prism driver always reports the true mac, even
>>without the firmware being uploaded.
>> c) We have different revisions of the hardware.
>>
>>Could you check for me what happens if you do the following:
>>[I'm assuming your interface is called eth0, although it could be eth1
>>or wlan]
>>
>>0)Stop ifplugd if you have it running.
>>
>>1)rmmod prism54; cardctl eject; physically eject the card.
>>
>>2)reinsert the card.
>>
>>[At this point, the eth0 interface will not be up]
>>
>>3)Check which MAC address you have with:
>> cat sys/class/net/wlan/address
>>and
>> ifconfig -a
>>
>>4)ifup wlan
>>
>>5)Repeat (3).
>>
>>6)Ifdown eth0;
>>
>>7)ifup eth0
>>
>>8)Repeat (3).
>>
>>
>>I would expect that the results are these:
>>
>>[3] 00:30:b4:00:00:00 #the "default" bogus mac.
>>
>>[5] your_real_mac_address
>>
>>[8] I don't know, because step 7) fails for me.
>>
>>
>>You might also try repeating steps 1-4 after temporarily moving
>>/usr/lib/hotplug/firmware/isl3890 somewhere where it cannot be found.
>>
>>Lastly, is the MAC you have in ifcfg-eth0 your real one, or the bogus
>>one?
>>
>>
>>Thanks very much,
>>
>>Richard
>>
>>
>>>Regards,
>>>Mauro
>>>
>>>On Friday 31 March 2006 21:28, Richard Neill wrote:
>>>
>>>>Dear All,
>>>>
>>>>I wonder whether I could consult the collective wisdom about this. My
>>>>Netgear WG511 card works perfectly with the prism54 driver, once the
>>>>binary firmware has been loaded.
>>>>
>>>>However, the MAC address (as reported by ifconfig, or udevinfo) changes
>>>>between 2 different values depending on status:
>>>>
>>>>1)Without the firmware installed, or before the network interface has
>>>>been brought up (for the first time since boot or plugging in the card):
>>>> 00:30:b4:00:00:00
>>>>
>>>>2)Once the firmware has been loaded, and the interface has been brought
>>>>up at least once:
>>>> 00:09:5b:c1:3a:b1
>>>>
>>>>The problem is that restarting the network no longer recognises the
>>>>card, since the MAC address has now changed:
>>>> "interface 'wlan' not foundDevice wlan has different MAC address
>>>> than expected, ignoring."
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>All the config tools (iftab, ifcfg-wlan) need to refer to the first
>>>>(un-initialised) MAC. But once initialised, they don't recognise the
>>>>card anymore.
>>>>
>>>>The simple solution is to cardctl eject, and physically unplug/replug
>>>>the card each time I restart the network. But that's ugly! I think I
>>>>need to bind one interface name to 2 different MAC addresses.
>>>>
>>>>Does anyone know the correct solution, or can point me to an appropriate
>>>>resource?
>>>>
>>>>Thanks very much,
>>>>
>>>>Richard
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>--
>>>>rn214@hermes.cam.ac.uk ** http://www.richardneill.org
>>>>Richard Neill, Trinity College, Cambridge, CB21TQ, U.K.
--
rn214@hermes.cam.ac.uk ** http://www.richardneill.org
Richard Neill, Trinity College, Cambridge, CB21TQ, U.K.