NetworkManager won't become "active"

[Alex]

Hi,

I just rebooted my FC14 x86_64 desktop, and there's no networking. I
have a bridge set up with eth0, and despite my best efforts, can't get
eth0 to be "active" in "Network Device Control". The
activate/deactive
buttons are greyed out.

At one point I was able to click Activate, but even then it wouldn't
actually activate it. For now, I've just run "ifup br0" and it
successfully acquired a DHCP address.

I've tried variations of "Controlled by NetworkManager" and other
ideas I've read in similar threads (mostly from a few years ago), with
no success.

Here are the contents of /etc/sysconfig/networking/devices

ifcfg-eth0:
DEVICE=eth0
HWADDR=48:5b:XX:61:b5:5c
ONBOOT=yes
BRIDGE=br0
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
TYPE=Ethernet
NM_CONTROLLED=yes
USERCTL=yes
PEERDNS=yes
IPV6INIT=no

ifcfg-br0:
DEVICE=br0
TYPE=Bridge
BOOTPROTO=dhcp
ONBOOT=yes
DELAY=0
IPV6INIT=no
USERCTL=yes

There are a few syslog entries in messages that might help:

Jan  8 17:55:06 alex NetworkManager[17711]: <error>
[1294527306.847724] [nm-dbus-manager.c:338]
nm_dbus_manager_start_service(): Could not acquire
 the NetworkManager service as it is already taken.
Jan  8 17:55:06 alex NetworkManager[17711]: <error>
[1294527306.847745] [main.c:709] main(): failed to start the dbus
service.
Jan  8 17:55:06 alex NetworkManager[17711]: <info> exiting (error)
Jan  8 17:55:20 alex NetworkManager[17051]: <info> caught signal 15,
shutting down normally.
Jan  8 17:55:20 alex NetworkManager[17051]: <info> exiting (success)
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: Acquired
D-Bus service com.redhat.ifcfgrh1
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: parsing
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-lo ...
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: parsing
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0 ...
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh:     error:
Bridge connections are not yet supported
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: parsing
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 ...
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh:     read
connection 'System eth0'
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: Ignoring
connection 'System eth0' and its device due to
NM_CONTROLLED/BRIDGE/VLAN.
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]: <info> (eth0): carrier is OFF
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]: <info> (eth0): new
Ethernet device (driver: 'sky2' ifindex: 2)
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]: <warn>
/sys/devices/virtual/net/br0: couldn't determine device driver;
ignoring...
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]: <warn>
/sys/devices/virtual/net/virbr0: couldn't determine device driver;
ignoring...
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]: <warn>
/sys/devices/virtual/net/vnet0: couldn't determine device driver;
ignoring...
...
Jan  8 18:00:16 alex system-config-network[21112]: Error: Bridge not
in DeviceFactory!

I hope that's legible. What does that mean? Trying to restart the dbus service:

[root@alex network-scripts]# ps ax|grep dbus
 1296 ?        Ssl    0:14 dbus-daemon --system
 2225 ?        S      0:00 dbus-launch --sh-syntax --exit-with-session
 2226 ?        Ssl    0:00 /bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 5
--print-address 7 --session
 2555 ?        S      0:00 dbus-launch
--autolaunch=a399d32027353da4091b58ae0000000c --binary-syntax
--close-stderr
 2556 ?        Ssl    0:00 /bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 5
--print-address 7 --session
24684 pts/2    S+     0:00 grep --color=auto dbus
[root@alex network-scripts]# service dbus restart
Redirecting to /bin/systemctl  restart dbus.service
Failed to get D-Bus connection: Failed to connect to socket
/org/freedesktop/systemd1/private: Connection refused

There is also a computer with a red X in the top panel.

Where can I find a good overview of how this all works and interacts
with udev? I would like to learn everything about it eventually, but
for now where can I learn the basics about how it makes decisions on
how the networking works?

Thanks,
Alex

[Dave Stevens]

Quoting Alex <mysqlstudent(a)gmail.com&gt;:

>  Hi,
>
>  I just rebooted my FC14 x86_64 desktop, and there's no networking. I
>  have a bridge set up with eth0, and despite my best efforts, can't get
>  eth0 to be "active" in "Network Device Control". The
> activate/deactive
>  buttons are greyed out.
>
>  At one point I was able to click Activate, but even then it wouldn't
>  actually activate it. For now, I've just run "ifup br0" and it
>  successfully acquired a DHCP address. 

etc...

Alex,

I had this problem recently after updates to F14 and lost sleep over  
it until I discovered that for some reason network manager wasn't  
starting automatically. I still don't know why but as root try  
"service NetworkManager restart" and see if this enables you to  
activate the eth0 (note the capitalization in the service name)

Dave
>  I've tried variations of "Controlled by NetworkManager" and other
>  ideas I've read in similar threads (mostly from a few years ago), with
>  no success.
>

[Doron Bar Zeev]

>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: parsing
/etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0 ...
Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh:     error:
Bridge connections are not yet supported


Has it worked before with network-manager?
I think you should try to work with network service instead

[Alex]

Hi,

>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: parsing
>  /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0 ...
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh:     error:
>  Bridge connections are not yet supported
>
>  Has it worked before with network-manager?
>  I think you should try to work with network service instead 
Yes, it has worked before. The problem is that firefox (at least,
likely other apps too) starts in "offline" mode unless it detects
NetworkManager in some way as being active.

Dave Stevens wrote:

>  I had this problem recently after updates to F14 and lost sleep over
> it until I discovered that
>  for some reason network manager wasn't starting automatically. I still don't know
> why but as
>  root try "service NetworkManager restart" and see if this enables you to
> activate the eth0 (note
>  the capitalization in the service name) 
Yes, tried this several times, and multiple variations of disabling
the "network" service then enabling it, starting and restarting it,
combined with enabling and disabling NetworkManager service and
stopping and restarting it.

It's some combination of those services working together that causes
this to work, and apparently only that specific combination, afaik.

Does anyone know how udev works with all this, and persistent connections?

Thanks,
Alex

[Dave Stevens]

Quoting Alex <mysqlstudent(a)gmail.com&gt;:

>  Hi,
>
> > Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: parsing
> > /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0 ...
> > Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh:     error:
> > Bridge connections are not yet supported
> >
> > Has it worked before with network-manager?
> > I think you should try to work with network service instead
>
>  Yes, it has worked before. The problem is that firefox (at least,
>  likely other apps too) starts in "offline" mode unless it detects
>  NetworkManager in some way as being active.
>
>  Dave Stevens wrote:
>
> > I had this problem recently after updates to F14 and lost sleep  
> > over it until I discovered that
> > for some reason network manager wasn't starting automatically. I  
> > still don't know why but as
> > root try "service NetworkManager restart" and see if this enables  
> > you to activate the eth0 (note
> > the capitalization in the service name)
>
>  Yes, tried this several times, and multiple variations of disabling
>  the "network" service then enabling it, starting and restarting it,
>  combined with enabling and disabling NetworkManager service and
>  stopping and restarting it.
>
>  It's some combination of those services working together that causes
>  this to work, and apparently only that specific combination, afaik.
>
>  Does anyone know how udev works with all this, and persistent connections?
>  
I should have said in my previous post that I booted a F14 live CD and  
the networking was fine. Does this work for you?

D
>  Thanks,
>  Alex
>  --
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>  


-- 
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society."
   Krishnamurti

[Joe Zeff]

On 01/08/2011 04:48 PM, Alex wrote:
>  Yes, it has worked before. The problem is that firefox (at least,
>  likely other apps too) starts in "offline" mode unless it detects
>  NetworkManager in some way as being active. 
I find that a tad hard to believe.  I have NetworkManager disabled on 
this box (Running F13) because I find the network service more reliable 
and Firefox never has any problem starting in online mode.

[Patrick O'Callaghan]

On Sat, 2011-01-08 at 17:04 -0800, Joe Zeff wrote: 
>  On 01/08/2011 04:48 PM, Alex wrote:
>  > Yes, it has worked before. The problem is that firefox (at least,
>  > likely other apps too) starts in "offline" mode unless it detects
>  > NetworkManager in some way as being active.
>  
>  I find that a tad hard to believe.  I have NetworkManager disabled on 
>  this box (Running F13) because I find the network service more reliable 
>  and Firefox never has any problem starting in online mode. 
Believe it. Having it disabled is not the same as having it
misconfigured. If it's enabled but misconfigured (or simply not
configured at all for a specific interface) then it is definitely true
that some apps (Evolution being probably the best-known example but
AFAIK also Firefox) which will assume the system is offline. This is
well-attested by multiple observers :-)

poc

[Corinna Vinschen]

On Jan  8 19:48, Alex wrote:
>  Hi,
>  
>  > Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: parsing
>  > /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0 ...
>  > Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh:     error:
>  > Bridge connections are not yet supported
>  >
>  > Has it worked before with network-manager?
>  > I think you should try to work with network service instead
>  
>  Yes, it has worked before. The problem is that firefox (at least,
>  likely other apps too) starts in "offline" mode unless it detects
>  NetworkManager in some way as being active. 
You can change that in Firefox itself.  Open the "about:config" URL
and set "toolkit.networkmanager.disable" to "true".


Corinna

[Mark LaPierre]

On 01/08/2011 06:13 PM, Alex wrote:
>  Hi,
>
>  I just rebooted my FC14 x86_64 desktop, and there's no networking. I
>  have a bridge set up with eth0, and despite my best efforts, can't get
>  eth0 to be "active" in "Network Device Control". The
> activate/deactive
>  buttons are greyed out.
>
>  At one point I was able to click Activate, but even then it wouldn't
>  actually activate it. For now, I've just run "ifup br0" and it
>  successfully acquired a DHCP address.
>
>  I've tried variations of "Controlled by NetworkManager" and other
>  ideas I've read in similar threads (mostly from a few years ago), with
>  no success.
>
>  Here are the contents of /etc/sysconfig/networking/devices
>
>  ifcfg-eth0:
>  DEVICE=eth0
>  HWADDR=48:5b:XX:61:b5:5c
>  ONBOOT=yes
>  BRIDGE=br0
>  BOOTPROTO=dhcp
>  TYPE=Ethernet
>  NM_CONTROLLED=yes
>  USERCTL=yes
>  PEERDNS=yes
>  IPV6INIT=no
>
>  ifcfg-br0:
>  DEVICE=br0
>  TYPE=Bridge
>  BOOTPROTO=dhcp
>  ONBOOT=yes
>  DELAY=0
>  IPV6INIT=no
>  USERCTL=yes
>
>  There are a few syslog entries in messages that might help:
>
>  Jan  8 17:55:06 alex NetworkManager[17711]:<error>
>  [1294527306.847724] [nm-dbus-manager.c:338]
>  nm_dbus_manager_start_service(): Could not acquire
>    the NetworkManager service as it is already taken.
>  Jan  8 17:55:06 alex NetworkManager[17711]:<error>
>  [1294527306.847745] [main.c:709] main(): failed to start the dbus
>  service.
>  Jan  8 17:55:06 alex NetworkManager[17711]:<info>  exiting (error)
>  Jan  8 17:55:20 alex NetworkManager[17051]:<info>  caught signal 15,
>  shutting down normally.
>  Jan  8 17:55:20 alex NetworkManager[17051]:<info>  exiting (success)
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: Acquired
>  D-Bus service com.redhat.ifcfgrh1
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: parsing
>  /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-lo ...
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: parsing
>  /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-br0 ...
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh:     error:
>  Bridge connections are not yet supported
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: parsing
>  /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0 ...
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh:     read
>  connection 'System eth0'
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:    ifcfg-rh: Ignoring
>  connection 'System eth0' and its device due to
>  NM_CONTROLLED/BRIDGE/VLAN.
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:<info>  (eth0): carrier is OFF
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:<info>  (eth0): new
>  Ethernet device (driver: 'sky2' ifindex: 2)
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:<warn>
>  /sys/devices/virtual/net/br0: couldn't determine device driver;
>  ignoring...
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:<warn>
>  /sys/devices/virtual/net/virbr0: couldn't determine device driver;
>  ignoring...
>  Jan  8 17:56:08 alex NetworkManager[18096]:<warn>
>  /sys/devices/virtual/net/vnet0: couldn't determine device driver;
>  ignoring...
>  ...
>  Jan  8 18:00:16 alex system-config-network[21112]: Error: Bridge not
>  in DeviceFactory!
>
>  I hope that's legible. What does that mean? Trying to restart the dbus service:
>
>  [root@alex network-scripts]# ps ax|grep dbus
>    1296 ?        Ssl    0:14 dbus-daemon --system
>    2225 ?        S      0:00 dbus-launch --sh-syntax --exit-with-session
>    2226 ?        Ssl    0:00 /bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 5
>  --print-address 7 --session
>    2555 ?        S      0:00 dbus-launch
>  --autolaunch=a399d32027353da4091b58ae0000000c --binary-syntax
>  --close-stderr
>    2556 ?        Ssl    0:00 /bin/dbus-daemon --fork --print-pid 5
>  --print-address 7 --session
>  24684 pts/2    S+     0:00 grep --color=auto dbus
>  [root@alex network-scripts]# service dbus restart
>  Redirecting to /bin/systemctl  restart dbus.service
>  Failed to get D-Bus connection: Failed to connect to socket
>  /org/freedesktop/systemd1/private: Connection refused
>
>  There is also a computer with a red X in the top panel.
>
>  Where can I find a good overview of how this all works and interacts
>  with udev? I would like to learn everything about it eventually, but
>  for now where can I learn the basics about how it makes decisions on
>  how the networking works?
>
>  Thanks,
>  Alex 
Hey Alex,

There's an excellent article on bridging and related topics in an article:

VLAN Support in Linux by Henry Van Styn Linux Journal January 2011 Page 54.

Hope this helps.

Mark LaPierre