I'm trying to setup Ethernet connection on Omnima A20 - it's a cheaper stripped down version of Cubietruck (less RAM, less IO connectors, RTL8201CP 100Mbit network chip instead of 1Gbit).

 

I'm using Debian Buster server image for Cubietruck. Everything works fine except Ethernet. ethtool says the link is up, full duplex 100Mbit. Neither networkmanager nor dhclient are able to obtain IP address from router. Static IP assignment (via /etc/network/interfaces or with "ip addr add/ip route add") succeeds, but router is unreachable for ping ("Destination Host Unreachable").

 

I've ruled out hardware failure:

• Inserting the same cable into laptop produces working connection, both via DHCP and with static IP.
• Rebooting the board into stock firmware (POS system based on Debian Wheezy) produces working connection for static IP at least. I didn't test the DHCP because original firmware goes out of its way to block any non-whitelisted usage scenario.
• Router firmware and hardware are working correctly based on the tests above.

 

It seems that kernel detects NIC correctly (based on dmesg). Pinging the router ("Destination Host Unreachable") steadily increases TX bytes in ifconfig, RX stays at 0 all the time.

 

This is where my knowledge/google-fu ends. Do you have any ideas on how to troubleshoot/fix this issue? Thanks!

Edited May 24, 20206 yr by potyarkin
Spelling

Hmmm - is your router also your gateway?

 

Try the following files (adapt to your network):

 

/etc/network/interfaces:

source /etc/network/interfaces.d/*

auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

auto eth0
# allow-hotplug eth0
# no-auto-down eth0
iface eth0 inet static
address 192.168.6.114
netmask 255.255.255.0
gateway 192.168.6.1
dns-nameservers 8.8.8.8 8.8.4.4

/etc/resolv.conf:

domain GUIDO
search GUIDO
nameserver 8.8.8.8
nameserver 8.8.4.4

mostly the dns out of /etc/network/interfaces doesnt work for me, so dns-servers in /etc/resolv.conf are needed.

But if your router is the gateway it should be reachable when pining with IP-Number and you have the right netmask.

 

Dont forget to reboot afeter setting up the files.

 

If that didnt work may your PCB has another version of ethernet-chip or GPIO-Connection as the Cubietruck?

3 hours ago, guidol said:

Try the following files (adapt to your network):

The problem is most likely not on this level.

 

6 hours ago, potyarkin said:

I'm using Debian Buster server image for Cubietruck.

What about Cubieboard2 image https://dl.armbian.com/cubieboard2/ ?

17 hours ago, Igor said:

What about Cubieboard2 image?

Thank you very much!

The image for Cubieboard2 worked. It seems that even though physical layout and manufacturer "lineage" of my board are based on Cubietruck, spec-wise it's closer to Cubieboard2 (same network chip).

What are the implications of "No official support (CSC)"? Are there any differences in build process and repo contents for these images? Or is it just an indicator of how well tested they are and which bug reports get prioritized?

2 hours ago, potyarkin said:

an indicator of how well tested they are and which bug reports get prioritized?

Yes. CSC are not tested at all and maintained by someone (1) / no-one, we don't have hardware, time or interest to verify if things works / cover the costs of testings. Perhaps this naming confuses people ...

 

We have 40-50 boards in the autotest rig and we check certain parameters automagically ... https://dl.armbian.com/_test-reports/2020-05-21_22.45.09.html (not a full test). Those are usually WIP or just supported ... if there are more active people with this hw.