SuSE Linux & Netgear Drivers

[mikeh80]

Can anyone please help me install the drivers for my NIC in SuSE Linux 7.1 Professional?

Comp info:
My NIC is a Netgear FA312 and the
driver files are here. (http://www.expressresponse.com/download/netgear1/311lin71.zip) In the zip file are files called makefile, natsemi.c, and natsemi.o. The only help I found from netgear is quoted below.
When I installed SuSE Linux I installed both of the kernels it comes with, Kernel 2.4 and 2.2.18.


I am a total linux newbie, I know some basic commands but that is it. I don’t know where these files are supposed to go, or what I’m supposed to do with them. I have tried several things but none of them have worked.

Please let me know if you need any more info. Thank you for your help and sorry if missed something in all of my searching!

"Redhat 7.1 uses kernel 2.4 which includes National Semiconductor chip set support. FA311 and FA312 both use the National Semiconductor chip set. We have tested the included driver and found that to work well. The files can be located at these locations:Module: /lib/modules/2.4.2-2/kernel/drivers/net/natsemi.oSource: /usr/src/linux-2.4/drivers/net/natsemi.cThe attachment to this article includes a makefile which can be used as a reference for the compilation.*** Please note that we do not provide support to the linux systems. Such support can be obtained through the public linux community or via paid services offered by various companies providing them, such as Redhat. Wo do want to ensure the driver works, so bug reports are encouraged via the email address unsupported@netgear.com."

[mdwatts]

First of all, disable PnP in the BIOS and see what happens when you boot. This sometimes actually fixes the problem and allows the nic module to be loaded.

Does lsmod show any modules loaded for your ethernet card?

ifconfig show anything?

No documentation on how to compile the Netgear module?

Without compiling the drivers you downloaded, just try

modprobe natsemi

and see what happens.

Also check in /lib/modules/<kernel version> to see if the natsemi module already exists and was supplied by whatever kernel you are using.

uname -r (at the commandline) will tell you the kernel version you are running.

[mikeh80]

Originally posted by WattsMD:
<STRONG>First of all, disable PnP in the BIOS and see what happens when you boot. This sometimes actually fixes the problem and allows the nic module to be loaded.</STRONG>
I think this worked, I don’t get any failed error messages when I boot up into Linux now.

The error message
Error while excuting:
/sbin/route del default gw 111.222.333.444 dev eth0
SIOCDELRT: No such process failed

The only problem is that Linux shares my computer with Win 98 and Win2k. No PnP in Windows will be a pain in the back side.
<STRONG>Does lsmod show any modules loaded for your ethernet card?

ifconfig show anything?</STRONG>
What am I looking for again? Me =’s total Linux n00b.

The output with PnP enabled
lsmod output

Module Size Used by
ipv6 117744 -1 (autoclean)
mousedev 3968 0 (unused)
hid 11744 0 (unused)
input 3104 0 [mousedev hid]
usb-ohci 16336 0 (unused)
natsemi 9808 0 (autoclean)
usbcore 46480 1 [hid usb-ohci]

ifconfig output

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16080 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0

The output with PnP disabled
lsmod output

Module Size Used by
ipv6 117744 -1 (autoclean)
mousedev 3968 0 (unused)
hid 11744 0 (unused)
input 3104 0 [mousedev hid]
usb-ohci 16336 0 (unused)
natsemi 9808 1 (autoclean)
usbcore 46480 1 [hid usb-ohci]

ifconfig output

eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:A0:CC:A0:FB:C9
inet addr:111.222.333.444 Bcast:111.222.333.444 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: aa12::2a0:aabb:fea0:fbc9/10 Scope:Link
inet6 addr: aa12::a0:aabb:fbc9/10 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:11 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:100
Interrupt:5 Base address:0x3000

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16080 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0

I’ve changed the IP addy’s for obvious reasons. :)
<STRONG>No documentation on how to compile the Netgear module?</STRONG>
Not really, at least there wasn’t any with the module. I did try to compile it with cc –O fileName but it wouldn’t go.
<STRONG>Without compiling the drivers you downloaded, just try

modprobe natsemi

and see what happens.</STRONG>
I tried this and nothing happened, but no news is good news right?
<STRONG>Also check in /lib/modules/&lt;kernel version&gt; to see if the natsemi module already exists and was supplied by whatever kernel you are using.

uname -r (at the commandline) will tell you the kernel version you are running.</STRONG>
I checked but I didn’t see anything there. :(


Does it look like the driver is running correctly? Maybe I just havn’t configured the settings correctly. :confused:

[mdwatts]

It would seem you do not need to compile the natsemi module as lsmod shows it being loaded already. The PnP trick fixed that.

ifconfig also shows eth0 with a ip address, so all you should need to do now is add your isp dns servers to /etc/resolv.conf

I'm not sure about

The error message
Error while excuting:
/sbin/route del default gw 111.222.333.444 dev eth0
SIOCDELRT: No such process failed

and where that is being executed from.

Just add your isp dns servers and see if you can browse the web via netscape etc.

[DMR]

WattMD is right about the module. Since natsemi shows up in the list of modules that results from doing "lsmod", it is loaded. You don't need to do anything with the drivers that you downloaded.

Since eth0 (your NIC) only shows up as active (as indicated by "ifconfig") when you have BIOS PNP turned off, you will have to set the BIOS this way if you want the card to work. This is a common issue in Linux, and as far as I know, there's not a lot you can do about it. Try running Windows with PNP turned off and see what happens; it should be able to figure things out anyway. I have a dual-boot Linux/Win98 box with BIOS PNP turned off, and windows is fine with that.

[mikeh80]

Thank you both! I just about wet myself when google came up on netscape!

There is only one problem now, for some reason browsing is really slow. 8K pictures hardly load and I get timeout’s all of the time. I tried pinging my ISP’s gateway and DNS IP's, I get 0% packet loss and a low ping. I am on DSL and when browsing under windows I have no problems.

Is there some setting that I missed or messed up? I don’t know where to start looking, so I can’t think of any info to post. :(

I really wish I knew what I’m doing. I can fix lots of problems with windows but I’m screwed when it comes to Linux. Are there any Linux books or websites that you guys recommend?


Weird, when I ping www.google.com (http://www.google.com) I get a packet loss of 30%. When I ping google’s IP address I get a 0% packet loss. I think I have something screwed up with my DNS or something.

Please let me know if I have this right:
To give my static IP address to my NIC I type,
ifconfig eth0 netmask 255.255.255.0 Static.IP.Goes.Here

My Primary and Secondary DNS IP’s go into the resolv.conf file like this,
search aracnet.com
nameserver Primary.DNS.IP.Addy
nameserver Secondary.DNS.IP.Addy

I don’t understand the search line in the resolv.conf file and I think that it might be my problem. Right now I have it set to aracnet.com, my ISP’s domain name, which is most likely wrong.

Where does the Gateway IP that my ISP assigned me go?

Sorry if it sound’s like I’m not RTFM, I’ve been trying to research as much as possible. It is a pain to try stuff in Linux and then have to reboot back to windows to search online.


[ 24 March 2002: Message edited by: mikeh80 ]

[uriah.k]

Funny. I have a netgear FA310TX.
I had to get the netgear driver pack
which came with a linux driver. tulip.c Heres the instructions that came with it: NETGEAR FA310TX Fast Ethernet PCI AdapterThis driver is for the Digital "Tulip" ethernet adapter interface.
It should work with most DEC 21x4x-based chips/ethercards, as well as
PNIC and MXIC chips.

Installation Procedure for Monolithic Kernel
--------------------------------------------

1. cp tulip.c /usr/src/linux/drivers/net/tulip.c

2. /user/src/linux# make config

set the following

a. EISA, VLB, PCI and on board controllers (CONFIG_NET_EISA) [N/y/?] Y

b. DECchip Tulip (dc21x4x) PCI support (CONFIG_DEC_ELCP) [N/y/m/?] Y

3. Rebuild and install new kernel and reboot.

a. make dep
b. make clean
c. make bzImage or make zlilo

I followed that and now the nic is initialized just fine. I haven't got to try it out yet though. Haven't ordered the fast connection yet.

[DMR]

Originally posted by uriah.k:
<STRONG>Funny. I have a netgear FA310TX.
I had to get the netgear driver pack
which came with a linux driver. tulip.c </STRONG>The 310TX used the tulip driver, but the 311 and 312's use a different chipset (from National Semiconductor), and therefore use a different driver (natsemi.o)

[ 24 March 2002: Message edited by: DMR ]

[DMR]

mikeh80,

It does sound like a DNS issue. I'm using Redhat and Mandrake, but my /etc/resolv.conf looks like this:

domain attbi.com
nameserver xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
nameserver yyy.yyy.yyy.yyy
nameserver zzz.zzz.zzz.zzz

where the "nameserver" lines are my primary, secondary, and tertiary DNS servers. I've never seen a "search" line in the file; try modifying it to resemble mine.

As far as learning material goes, if no one has turned you on to The Linux Documentation Project (http://www.linuxdoc.org) yet, go there. It's the home of all of the HOWTOs and more.
If you want printed resources, I'd suggest the following:

Running Linux by Matt Welsh, published by O'Reilly Press

Mastering Linux by Armand Danesh, published by Sybex

UNIX Power Tools again, published by O'Reilley

As for where the GW IP is stored, look in /etc/sysconfig/network and /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0.