Archlinux not cooperating with cable modem?

djseomun · 2010-09-07 02:14:56

I dual-boot Windows 7 Pro and Archlinux, both in 64-bit versions. For whatever reason, my Archlinux install does not cooperate very well with my cable internet connection.

I have a basic 3/4 M connection through Time Warner, and the Motorola Surfboard SB5101 modem is connected to my laptop via an ethernet cable only. The odd thing is, I have been able to successfully connect to the Internet while in Arch, but I have only done so twice. Every other time, "netcfg ethernet" says DONE, but when I try to go online, do sudo pacman -Syu, ping www.google.com, etc., it becomes clear that I am not actually online at all. If I try to do a "dhcpcd eth0," the output--which I do not have, sorry--seems to suggest that I have connected, but I notice that the time to renew is very low, only about 3125 seconds, for example.

I never had this problem while I was still at Georgia Tech and using their dorm internet. I could always connect via ethernet without a hitch, so it used to work. I have since graduated and have moved, thus requiring me to go with an ISP. I have no problems connecting while in Windows 7, and as mentioned, I have connected before while in Arch. It's just that I can't seem to connect on a regular basis, and I haven't had any success in the last few boot ups.

Suggestions? If I'm not providing enough info, please let me know, and I'll see what I can do.

djseomun · 2010-09-07 02:44:05

I managed to connect after something like twenty tries. I mixed it up with "netcfg ethernet" and "dhcpcd eth0," with the latter finally letting me connect. Here's my output:

dhcpcd[4438]: version 5.2.7 starting
dhcpcd[4438]: eth0: waiting for carrier
dhcpcd[4438]: eth0: carrier acquired
dhcpcd[4438]: eth0: rebinding lease of 98.122.163.250
dhcpcd[4438]: eth0: acknowledged 98.122.163.250 from 10.123.96.1
dhcpcd[4438]: eth0: checking for 98.122.163.250
dhcpcd[4438]: eth0: leased 98.122.163.250 for 2621 seconds
dhcpcd: eth0: MTU set to 576
dhcpcd[4438]: forked to background, child pid 4483

That's what I don't understand. If it just didn't work at all, I'd accept that, but it works, just very sporadically. Like I said, I had to try "netcfg ethernet" and "dhcpcd eth0" around twenty times before it finally got a "real" connection.

djseomun · 2010-09-07 02:52:27

If it helps, here's my rc.conf:

#
# /etc/rc.conf - Main Configuration for Arch Linux
#

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# LOCALIZATION
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# LOCALE: available languages can be listed with the 'locale -a' command
# HARDWARECLOCK: set to "UTC" or "localtime", any other value will result
#   in the hardware clock being left untouched (useful for virtualization)
# TIMEZONE: timezones are found in /usr/share/zoneinfo
# KEYMAP: keymaps are found in /usr/share/kbd/keymaps
# CONSOLEFONT: found in /usr/share/kbd/consolefonts (only needed for non-US)
# CONSOLEMAP: found in /usr/share/kbd/consoletrans
# USECOLOR: use ANSI color sequences in startup messages
#
LOCALE="en_US.UTF-8"
HARDWARECLOCK="localtime"
TIMEZONE="America/New_York"
KEYMAP="us"
CONSOLEFONT=
CONSOLEMAP=
USECOLOR="yes"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# HARDWARE
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# MOD_AUTOLOAD: Allow autoloading of modules at boot and when needed
# MOD_BLACKLIST: Prevent udev from loading these modules
# MODULES: Modules to load at boot-up. Prefix with a ! to blacklist.
#
# NOTE: Use of 'MOD_BLACKLIST' is deprecated. Please use ! in the MODULES array.
#
MOD_AUTOLOAD="yes"
#MOD_BLACKLIST=() #deprecated
MODULES=()

# Scan for LVM volume groups at startup, required if you use LVM
USELVM="no"

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# NETWORKING
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# HOSTNAME: Hostname of machine. Should also be put in /etc/hosts
#
HOSTNAME="zhonghua"

# Use 'ifconfig -a' or 'ls /sys/class/net/' to see all available interfaces.
#
# Interfaces to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each interface then list in INTERFACES
#   - prefix an entry in INTERFACES with a ! to disable it
#   - no hyphens in your interface names - Bash doesn't like it
# 
# DHCP:     Set your interface to "dhcp" (wlan0="dhcp")
# Wireless: See network profiles below
#

#Static IP example
#eth0="eth0 192.168.0.2 netmask 255.255.255.0 broadcast 192.168.0.255"
eth0="dhcp"
wlan0="dhcp"
INTERFACES=(eth0 wlan0)

# Routes to start at boot-up (in this order)
# Declare each route then list in ROUTES
#   - prefix an entry in ROUTES with a ! to disable it
#
gateway="default gw 192.168.0.1"
ROUTES=(!gateway)
 
# Setting this to "yes" will skip network shutdown.
# This is required if your root device is on NFS.
NETWORK_PERSIST="no"

# Enable these network profiles at boot-up.  These are only useful
# if you happen to need multiple network configurations (ie, laptop users)
#   - set to 'menu' to present a menu during boot-up (dialog package required)
#   - prefix an entry with a ! to disable it
#
# Network profiles are found in /etc/network.d
#
# This now requires the netcfg package
#
#NETWORKS=(main)

# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
# DAEMONS
# -----------------------------------------------------------------------
#
# Daemons to start at boot-up (in this order)
#   - prefix a daemon with a ! to disable it
#   - prefix a daemon with a @ to start it up in the background
#
DAEMONS=(syslog-ng hal @network netfs crond)

and my /etc/hosts:

#
# /etc/hosts: static lookup table for host names
#

#<ip-address>    <hostname.domain.org>    <hostname>
127.0.0.1        localhost.localdomain    localhost zhonghua

# End of file

anonymous_user · 2010-09-07 04:26:38

FYI if you are using netcfg to manage your connection, you should remove or comment out "network" in your daemons list.

tomk · 2010-09-07 05:57:12

You might get a clue from your dmesg output during/after a failed connection attempt.

stefanwilkens · 2010-09-07 09:15:16

your current setup should automatically do the equivalent of "dhcpd eht0" and should not require netcfg at all, what happens if you remove the @ in front of network in your DEAMONS line and reboot?

Arch Linux

#1 2010-09-07 02:14:56

Archlinux not cooperating with cable modem?

#2 2010-09-07 02:44:05

Re: Archlinux not cooperating with cable modem?

#3 2010-09-07 02:52:27

Re: Archlinux not cooperating with cable modem?

#4 2010-09-07 04:26:38

Re: Archlinux not cooperating with cable modem?

#5 2010-09-07 05:57:12

Re: Archlinux not cooperating with cable modem?

#6 2010-09-07 09:15:16

Re: Archlinux not cooperating with cable modem?

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