Arch Linux

knightperson

Member

Registered: 2015-01-22

Posts: 5

no IPv6 on iwlwifi

Several updates ago, my wifi stopped behaving itself, and it's been getting steadily worse. First, the Network Manager Applet under XFCE stopped working, then I couldn't get WICD to work either. WICD is running, and detects the networks just fine, but whenever I tell it to connect, it immediately disconnects with an error "Reason: 3=DEAUTH_LEAVING". Bringing up a wifi connection with netctl fails in the same way. Connecting with sudo wifi-menu is the only thing that works, despite being significantly less convenient. That would be tolerable, except that I don't get an IPv6 address on the wireless, even an FE80 one. And dhclient -6 fails with a complaint about the absence of the FE80 address. Wired IPv6 works fine, producing an FE80 address when it's not connected to an IPv6 network.

Hardware is a Toshiba A350/S6872, which is a Core2Duo Centrino running 64-bit Arch. The wifi chip is an Intel 5100 AGN, I believe. I have tried the various module flags like disabling Wireless N or switching to software encryption without any success. Also, occasionally it fails to start the wireless profile from wifi-menu, but "sudo ip link set down wlp3s0" and another attempt at "sudo wifi-menu" usually succeeds. Below is the netctl profile, minus the passphrase.

Description='Automatically generated profile by wifi-menu'
Interface=wlp3s0
Connection=wireless
Security=wpa
ESSID=Williams2
IP=dhcp
IP6=stateless

I have tried both the dhcp and the stateless setting for IP6, and neither one seems to make a difference. My router can advertise either one.

Anybody have a guess?

Last edited by knightperson (2015-01-25 01:08:28)

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: no IPv6 on iwlwifi

IPv6 is working fine for me on an Intel 7260ac, Intel 6235, and Intel 5100agn.  The Intel 5100agn in particular is running on my old Thinkpad t60, though I ripped it out of a machine that was quite similar to yours.

'Reason:3...." is not terribly specific, but I have seen quite a number of times when people were getting that message because they unknowingly had multiple services trying to manage the wireless all at the same time... thus causing failure.  Have you checked to make sure that is not the case?  It might be good to do a 'systemctl --type=service' just to make sure.

knightperson

Member

Registered: 2015-01-22

Posts: 5

Re: no IPv6 on iwlwifi

IPv6 worked at one point on this hardware, but now it doesn't. So far, no idea why.

I'm pretty sure I only have the wicd service running. systemctl type=service shows only a few running things related to networking: wicd.service and wpa_supplicant. Full text is below in case I missed something.

  UNIT                                            LOAD   ACTIVE SUB     DESCRIPTION
  accounts-daemon.service                         loaded active running Accounts Service
  avahi-daemon.service                            loaded active running Avahi mDNS/DNS-SD Stack
  colord.service                                  loaded active running Manage, Install and Generate Color Profiles
  dbus.service                                    loaded active running D-Bus System Message Bus
  dhcpcd.service                                  loaded active running dhcpcd on all interfaces
  dkms.service                                    loaded active exited  Dynamic Kernel Modules System
  gdm.service                                     loaded active running GNOME Display Manager
  haveged.service                                 loaded active running Entropy Harvesting Daemon
  kmod-static-nodes.service                       loaded active exited  Create list of required static device nodes for the current kernel
* netctl@wlp3s0\x2dATTgtYTUwa.service             loaded failed failed  Networking for netctl profile wlp3s0-ATTgtYTUwa
* netctl@wlp3s0\x2dBattle\x20Front.service        loaded failed failed  Networking for netctl profile wlp3s0-Battle Front
  ntpd.service                                    loaded active running Network Time Service
  org.cups.cupsd.service                          loaded active running CUPS Scheduler
  polkit.service                                  loaded active running Authorization Manager
  rtkit-daemon.service                            loaded active running RealtimeKit Scheduling Policy Service
  systemd-backlight@backlight:acpi_video0.service loaded active exited  Load/Save Screen Backlight Brightness of backlight:acpi_video0
  systemd-journal-flush.service                   loaded active exited  Flush Journal to Persistent Storage
  systemd-journald.service                        loaded active running Journal Service
  systemd-logind.service                          loaded active running Login Service
  systemd-random-seed.service                     loaded active exited  Load/Save Random Seed
  systemd-remount-fs.service                      loaded active exited  Remount Root and Kernel File Systems
  systemd-rfkill@rfkill0.service                  loaded active exited  Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status of rfkill0
  systemd-sysctl.service                          loaded active exited  Apply Kernel Variables
  systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev.service              loaded active exited  Create Static Device Nodes in /dev
  systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service                  loaded active exited  Create Volatile Files and Directories
  systemd-udev-trigger.service                    loaded active exited  udev Coldplug all Devices
  systemd-udevd.service                           loaded active running udev Kernel Device Manager
  systemd-update-utmp.service                     loaded active exited  Update UTMP about System Boot/Shutdown
  systemd-user-sessions.service                   loaded active exited  Permit User Sessions
  systemd-vconsole-setup.service                  loaded active exited  Setup Virtual Console
  udisks2.service                                 loaded active running Disk Manager
  upower.service                                  loaded active running Daemon for power management
  user@1000.service                               loaded active running User Manager for UID 1000
  wicd.service                                    loaded active running Wicd a wireless and wired network manager for Linux
  wpa_supplicant.service                          loaded active running WPA supplicant

LOAD   = Reflects whether the unit definition was properly loaded.
ACTIVE = The high-level unit activation state, i.e. generalization of SUB.
SUB    = The low-level unit activation state, values depend on unit type.

35 loaded units listed. Pass --all to see loaded but inactive units, too.
To show all installed unit files use 'systemctl list-unit-files'.

Last edited by knightperson (2015-01-24 23:57:48)

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: no IPv6 on iwlwifi

  dhcpcd.service                                  loaded active running dhcpcd on all interfaces
...
* netctl@wlp3s0\x2dATTgtYTUwa.service             loaded failed failed  Networking for netctl profile wlp3s0-ATTgtYTUwa
* netctl@wlp3s0\x2dBattle\x20Front.service        loaded failed failed  Networking for netctl profile wlp3s0-Battle Front
  ...
  wicd.service                                    loaded active running Wicd a wireless and wired network manager for Linux
  wpa_supplicant.service                          loaded active running WPA supplicant

First of all, please use code tags.  To see how to do this, click the BBCode link below.  Please fix your post.

But it appears that you have not one, not two, not three, but four things trying to control your wireless.  Plus you have wpa_supplicant.service that was likely started from either wicd or NetworkManager (if you had given that a whirl).  You need to choose one thing to manage your wireless network (and wired for that matter) and stick with it.  If you try out different things, you need to ensure that you disable and stop the other things you had running before.  Arch is awesome because it imposes very few limitations on what you can do, but that also means that it will happily let you screw up your system as much as you want.

knightperson

Member

Registered: 2015-01-22

Posts: 5

Re: no IPv6 on iwlwifi

I tried to use the pre tag, but couldn't find it. Somehow, I managed to miss code when reading the BBCode help.

I guess I'm more confused than I thought. Isn't dhcpcd.service required for dhcp on ethernet? And I thought wpa_supplicant was called by the network profile, wicd, or network-manager. And the netctl@wlp3s0... profiles were attempts to have it watch for a couple of other networks I occasionally connect to. I can't even kill them short of rebooting. They are disabled, but "netctl disable wlp3s0-ATT..." etc doesn't do anything.

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: no IPv6 on iwlwifi

A dhcpcd process will be called automatically by whatever network manager you choose to use (if you configure it to use DHCP).  wpa_supplicant.service is called by the various network management services, but sometimes they are not so great at stopping them if they are not in use.  Neither of those services need to be manually enabled or started though.

So disable all those things that might have anything to do with network connectivity.  That would include both netctl services, wicd, dhcpcd, and wpa_supplicant.  Then start over, choosing one solution to handle the situation.  For instance, if you really like to use wicd (though it seems to be a dead project), start/enable only wicd.service. 

You should check /etc/systemd/system/*.target.wants for symlinks to those networking services.  You say that 'netctl disable whatever' doesn't do anything.  But there should still be a symlink from /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/netctl@wlp3s0\x2dATTgtYTUwa.service that points to /usr/lib/systemd/system/netctl@.service.  So manually removing those works just as well.

Also, please hit the quote button on the bottom of my post here.  Then look to see how the code and quote blocks work and please fix your post. 

knightperson

Member

Registered: 2015-01-22

Posts: 5

Re: no IPv6 on iwlwifi

OK, posts are fixed. For a moment, I thought the system was too, but it's not.

I have deactivated everything network-related I can think of from autostart, as well as reinstalled networkmanager and wicd. "sudo wifi-menu" is still the only way to connect to a wireless network, although wicd can at least see them. My best guess at this point is that wpa_supplicant is still autostarting, but I have no idea why. It doesn't appear anywhere in /etc/systemd, and "systemctl disable wpa_supplicant" doesn't seem to make it go away. Another output of "systemctl --type=service" below.

UNIT                                            LOAD   ACTIVE SUB     DESCRIPTION
accounts-daemon.service                         loaded active running Accounts Service
colord.service                                  loaded active running Manage, Install and Generate Color Profiles
dbus.service                                    loaded active running D-Bus System Message Bus
dkms.service                                    loaded active exited  Dynamic Kernel Modules System
gdm.service                                     loaded active running GNOME Display Manager
haveged.service                                 loaded active running Entropy Harvesting Daemon
kmod-static-nodes.service                       loaded active exited  Create list of required static device nodes for the current kernel
netctl@wlp3s0\x2dWilliams2.service              loaded active exited  Networking for netctl profile wlp3s0-Williams2
ntpd.service                                    loaded active running Network Time Service
org.cups.cupsd.service                          loaded active running CUPS Scheduler
polkit.service                                  loaded active running Authorization Manager
rtkit-daemon.service                            loaded active running RealtimeKit Scheduling Policy Service
systemd-backlight@backlight:acpi_video0.service loaded active exited  Load/Save Screen Backlight Brightness of backlight:acpi_video0
systemd-journal-flush.service                   loaded active exited  Flush Journal to Persistent Storage
systemd-journald.service                        loaded active running Journal Service
systemd-logind.service                          loaded active running Login Service
systemd-random-seed.service                     loaded active exited  Load/Save Random Seed
systemd-remount-fs.service                      loaded active exited  Remount Root and Kernel File Systems
systemd-rfkill@rfkill0.service                  loaded active exited  Load/Save RF Kill Switch Status of rfkill0
systemd-sysctl.service                          loaded active exited  Apply Kernel Variables
systemd-tmpfiles-setup-dev.service              loaded active exited  Create Static Device Nodes in /dev
systemd-tmpfiles-setup.service                  loaded active exited  Create Volatile Files and Directories
systemd-udev-trigger.service                    loaded active exited  udev Coldplug all Devices
systemd-udevd.service                           loaded active running udev Kernel Device Manager
systemd-update-utmp.service                     loaded active exited  Update UTMP about System Boot/Shutdown
systemd-user-sessions.service                   loaded active exited  Permit User Sessions
systemd-vconsole-setup.service                  loaded active exited  Setup Virtual Console
udisks2.service                                 loaded active running Disk Manager
upower.service                                  loaded active running Daemon for power management
user@1000.service                               loaded active running User Manager for UID 1000
wpa_supplicant.service                          loaded active running WPA supplicant

LOAD   = Reflects whether the unit definition was properly loaded.
ACTIVE = The high-level unit activation state, i.e. generalization of SUB.
SUB    = The low-level unit activation state, values depend on unit type.

31 loaded units listed. Pass --all to see loaded but inactive units, too.
To show all installed unit files use 'systemctl list-unit-files'.

rfkill is started by wicd, I believe, and netctl@wlp3s0\x2dWilliams2.service is started by wifi-menu when I connect.

Also, here is an output of "ls -R /etc/systemd"

[mike@london systemd]$ ls -R
.:
bootchart.conf       journald.conf  system          user.conf
coredump.conf        logind.conf    system.conf
journal-remote.conf  network        timesyncd.conf
journal-upload.conf  resolved.conf  user

./network:

./system:
display-manager.service  multi-user.target.wants  sockets.target.wants
getty.target.wants       printer.target.wants     sysinit.target.wants

./system/getty.target.wants:
getty@tty1.service

./system/multi-user.target.wants:
cups.path     haveged.service  org.cups.cupsd.path
dkms.service  ntpd.service     remote-fs.target

./system/printer.target.wants:
cups.service  org.cups.cupsd.service

./system/sockets.target.wants:
cups.socket  org.cups.cupsd.socket

./system/sysinit.target.wants:
systemd-timesyncd.service

./user:

Any idea what would be starting wpa_supplicant?

WonderWoofy

Member

From: Los Gatos, CA

Registered: 2012-05-19

Posts: 8,414

Re: no IPv6 on iwlwifi

wpa_supplicant.service is often started by network management services.  They write their own wpa_supplicant.conf on the fly and then start the service pointing at that.  So it isn't necessarily wrong, but it just sucks to have that lingering when you are trying to debug things.

So after stopping all the services related to networking (maybe disable all the things and reboot just to be sure), don't do any wifi-menu crap.  Then simply start wicd.service and run wicd-curses.  Find your network and connect.  Does that work?

Edit: BTW, thanks for fixing the posts.  It makes it much easier to read.

Last edited by WonderWoofy (2015-01-25 05:12:25)

knightperson

Member

Registered: 2015-01-22

Posts: 5

Re: no IPv6 on iwlwifi

I am now very confused! On reboot, with no services active, wpa_supplicant still comes up. If I kill it before starting wicd, I get a list of available networks, but the connection immediately drops as before. But now NetworkManager, which used to segfault rather than even start, is working perfectly. I still think there's something loopy with the combination of the recent kernel and the driver for this relatively old wireless adapter.