Can't ping with an Airlink AGIGAUSB

[daleykd]

I apologize in advance if I post incorrectly or forget to include proper information. This is my first post, and I'm a little timid in asking the pros.

My friend helped me Zipper my two DTiVos at home a couple weeks ago, mainly so we can use MRV. The first is a Hughes SD-DVR40, and the second is a Phillips DSR7000. Both received the 6.2 update from DirecTV, and then we used the Zipper CD. At the time of Zipper, we used D-Link DUB-E100 network cards, but they are currently borrowed from my friend. Therefore, he recommended I go out and get the Airlink 101 AGIGAUSBs.

I modified the /etc/hotplug/usb.map to include:
product 0b95 7720 Airlink ASOHOUSB
product 0b95 1780 Airlink AGIGAUSBunder ax8817x section.

I then powered off the TiVo, changed out the NICs to the Airlink, powered it back on, and the link LED turns on, but the Tx/Rx does nothing. I am unable to ping the TiVo. As soon as I hotswap the Airlink back to the D-Link, everything works peachy.

Thread 48693, Post 9 on the other forum recommends adding:
ifconfig eth0 down
sleep 2
ifconfig eth0 upto the end of the rc.sysinit.author file, but this didn't help.

Thread 44114, Post 288 on the other forum outlined what I should do, but it was already done. I know for a fact that I'm running the 12/26/2005 version of the backport modules (thanks Jamie!)

The kernel log shows:
# dmesg |grep usb
usb.c: registered new driver usbdevfs
usb.c: registered new driver hub
usb.c: starting integrated EHCI driver
usb.c: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 1
usb.c: EHCI initialization succeeded
usb-ohci.c: USB OHCI at membase 0xb4000000, IRQ 5
usb-ohci.c: usb-00:0d.0, PCI device 1033:0035
usb.c: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 2
usb.c: USB device 2 (vend/prod 0xb95/0x1780) is not claimed by any active driver.
usb-ohci.c: USB OHCI at membase 0xb4001000, IRQ 3
usb-ohci.c: usb-00:0d.1, PCI device 1033:0035
usb.c: new USB bus registered, assigned bus number 3
usb.c: registered new driver usbnet
eth0: register usbnet usb-00:0d.2-2, ASIX AX88178 USB 2.0 GIGE Ethernet
And it even shows when I swap out to the D-Link.

It is the exact same on both TiVos, using same model NICs, but actually different NICs.

Does anyone have ANY ideas why I can't ping the TiVo when the AGIGAUSB is plugged in?

TIA,
Kyle

[JamieP]

Are you sure you are getting an IP address? Are you using DHCP, or a fixed ipaddr?

The easiest way to debug network problems is from bash on the serial console. If you don't have a serial console cable, you might want to pick one up. "ifconfig eth0" should give you some useful information.

[daleykd]

I'm lead to believe that YES, it is getting an IP because as soon as I hotswap the NIC, my (Windows) "ping 192.168.1.98 -t" shows responses.

No DHCP, I'm using static IP.

I'll get a serial cable ASAP so I can use ifconfig eth0 while the Airlink is in.

Any other possible ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[JamieP]

I'm lead to believe that YES, it is getting an IP because as soon as I hotswap the NIC, my (Windows) "ping 192.168.1.98 -t" shows responses.
I don't understand. It might well be that your dlink is getting an ipaddr, but your airlink isn't. How did you setup your ip address? It might be tied to the specific adapter you were using when you set it up (the dlink, I presume).

[daleykd]

That's a good idea/theory and I'll check on it as soon as I get home. I'll keep ya posted. Thanks!

I don't 100% remember how we assigned the ipaddr. The main reason I say this is because we tried the Zipper to assign the IP, and it didn't work, so we modified the rc.sysinit.author file, and it kinda/sorta worked in coordination with the Zipper. It only worked by a sheer act of God.

I'll let ya know in a few hours.

Thanks,
Kyle

[JamieP]

That's a good idea/theory and I'll check on it as soon as I get home. I'll keep ya posted. Thanks!

I don't 100% remember how we assigned the ipaddr. The main reason I say this is because we tried the Zipper to assign the IP, and it didn't work, so we modified the rc.sysinit.author file, and it kinda/sorta worked in coordination with the Zipper. It only worked by a sheer act of God.

I'll let ya know in a few hours.

Thanks,
KyleAnother idea for debugging without a serial cable: since you have one working adapter, plug it in first, so you can telnet in, then plug the second dongle in. Then run ifconfig on both interfaces to see their parameters (ipaddr, etc).

In general, setting the ipaddr in rc.sysinit.author isn't a good idea and can cause MRV problems. Most people use netconfig.tcl.

[daleykd]

You'll think I'm absolutely weird, but the following in an excerpt from the email I just wrote my TiVo-Hacking friend. It explains the "solution."

Holy cow, man. I'm actually quite upset.

So, I was TRYING to make my own serial cable, and even though I'm pretty darn sure I got the right pins, it still didn't work. So, I remembered you talking about DHCP. I then brought my WET54G bridge in and connected it to the D-Link NIC. I telnet'd in to look at the rc.sysinit.author file and then hotswapped the D-Link TO the Airlink (connected to the bridge, mind you). Surprisingly... the Tx/Rx LED flickered a little... and even more surprisingly, I didn't lose the telnet session.... IT HAD WORKED!!!

So, I moved the TiVo back to it's true location, kept it connected to the bridge, and it still worked. Tried the exact same thing on the living room TiVo (hotswapped the D-Link to the Airlink) and kept the bridge connected... IT ALSO WORKED!

Then I tried the ultimate... connected the bridge BACK to the Linksys EG005W gige switch and the TiVos into the gige switch... and NOTHING. Absolutely nothing. So I went back to what it was in the previous paragraph, and it worked again.

I finally was frustrated, and then took out the gige switch, and put back the older D-Link 10/100 switch... and... i-t w-o-r-k-e-d.

What the heck would prevent everything from working on my gige switch?

Ideas?

Oh, and my ping times BLOW, and are very sporadic. Even pinging from TiVo to TiVo is 3 - 10 ms.