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oliver

Member

Registered: 2007-12-12

Posts: 448

[solved] why is brcmsmac blacklisted? (also applies to other drivers)

This is a fresh install onto a USB stick (that I want to use as an emergency repair/recovery image etc)

I restarted systemd-modules-load to get the PID:

# systemctl restart systemd-modules-load

# systemctl status systemd-modules-load
● systemd-modules-load.service - Load Kernel Modules
   Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/systemd-modules-load.service; static)
   Active: active (exited) since Mon 2014-04-14 20:17:17 EDT; 6s ago
     Docs: man:systemd-modules-load.service(8)
           man:modules-load.d(5)
  Process: 1235 ExecStart=/usr/lib/systemd/systemd-modules-load (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)
 Main PID: 1235 (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS)

Apr 14 20:17:17 snotty systemd[1]: Starting Load Kernel Modules...
Apr 14 20:17:17 snotty systemd[1]: Started Load Kernel Modules.

Then I looked at the journalctl output

# journalctl -b _PID=1235
-- Logs begin at Mon 2014-04-14 16:11:06 EDT, end at Mon 2014-04-14 20:17:17 ED
Apr 14 20:17:17 snotty systemd-modules-load[1235]: Module 'brcmsmac' is blackl

I have nothing in modprobe.d

# ls -l /etc/modprobe.d/
total 0

I have nothing blocking it from bootup

# cat /proc/cmdline 
BOOT_IMAGE=../vmlinuz-linux root=UUID=49d630dd-2792-47dc-88a8-6b472105ba6a rw quiet model=hp6465 initrd=../initramfs-linux.img

The module is in modules-load.d

# cat /etc/modules-load.d/hp6465b.conf 
brcmsmac

And it loads if I run it at the command line

# modprobe brcmsmac
# ip addr wlp3s0
3: wlp3s0: <BROADCAST,MULTICAST> mtu 1500 qdisc noop state DOWN group default qlen 1000
    link/ether ac:81:12:b6:33:be brd ff:ff:ff:ff:ff:ff

What am I missing here?

Last edited by oliver (2014-04-15 15:58:46)

falconindy

Developer

From: New York, USA

Registered: 2009-10-22

Posts: 4,111

Website

Re: [solved] why is brcmsmac blacklisted? (also applies to other drivers)

calling modprobe without the -b flag means blacklists are ignored, so not a useful datapoint.

Make sure to check /usr/lib/modprobe.d and /run/modprobe.d for other configuration.

---

blog | ±github

oliver

Member

Registered: 2007-12-12

Posts: 448

Re: [solved] why is brcmsmac blacklisted? (also applies to other drivers)

You've cracked the case, Sir. 

Anyway, I did have a file in /usr/lib/modprobe.d that was blacklisting the driver.  I could have sworn I was using /etc/modprobe.d but clearly not.

As an aside, is there a reason why anyone would choose one location over the other?

Thanks!

alphaniner

Member

From: Ancapistan

Registered: 2010-07-12

Posts: 2,810

Re: [solved] why is brcmsmac blacklisted? (also applies to other drivers)

Well, if you had put your file in /etc/modprobe.d you wouldn't have had this problem. In any case, you're not supposed to put or modify stuff in /usr subdirs if there's an alternative (eg. in /etc or ~).

---

But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain - that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist.
-Lysander Spooner

oliver

Member

Registered: 2007-12-12

Posts: 448

Re: [solved] why is brcmsmac blacklisted? (also applies to other drivers)

Well, if you had put your file in /etc/modprobe.d you wouldn't have had this problem. In any case, you're not supposed to put or modify stuff in /usr subdirs if there's an alternative (eg. in /etc or ~).

that was part of my problem... At a high level I was blacklisting tons of stuff in trying to get my USB image as streamlined and light as possible.  I must have been on auto-pilot and used /usr/lib instead of /etc.  When I cleared out /etc/modprobe.d I thought I was removing my earlier file but clearly not.  I had no idea both locations were supported.

alphaniner

Member

From: Ancapistan

Registered: 2010-07-12

Posts: 2,810

Re: [solved] why is brcmsmac blacklisted? (also applies to other drivers)

What exactly are you trying to streamline by blacklisting modules? I don't think blacklisting prevents modules from being added to the initrd, for example.

---

But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain - that it has either authorized such a government as we have had, or has been powerless to prevent it. In either case, it is unfit to exist.
-Lysander Spooner

oliver

Member

Registered: 2007-12-12

Posts: 448

Re: [solved] why is brcmsmac blacklisted? (also applies to other drivers)

Just trying to get the output of 'lsmod' down to the bare minimum.  I was assuming, perhaps wrongly, that each loaded module would use up a little RAM.  I have no need for sound for example so I thought why bother loading it?  I was initially trying to get things down to next-to-nothing and working up

wendell

Member

Registered: 2010-08-03

Posts: 11

Re: [solved] why is brcmsmac blacklisted? (also applies to other drivers)

Hi,

Just to add to this discussion: I had the same problem: brcmsmac was reported blacklisted, but nothing in /etc/modprobe.conf.
I had the same side issue: I had a file in /usr/lib/modprobe.d that was blacklisting it.

I figured out the reason:
I had previously installed the broadcom-wl package, which includes the file /usr/lib/modprobe.d/broadcom-wl.conf, which blacklists brcmsmac. So... that package needed to be uninstalled in order to load brcmsmac automatically.

-Wendell