Fedora 21 Workstation - Agere ET-131x network card not working

[Meikel]

Hi folks,

I installed fedora 21 workstation but the Agere ET-131x network card 
doesn't work. Is it possible to get the network card working on Fedora 21?

I installed Debian 7.8 which supports that hardware. Then I ran lsmod, 
which showed the following:

lsmod | grep et131
...
et131x     32003  0
libphy       18521  1  et131x

Perhaps this information is helpful to give me some instructions about 
how to get the network card working on Fedora 21. Thanks a lot.

Regards,

Meikel

[Ralf Corsepius]

On 02/17/2015 05:09 PM, Meikel wrote:
> Hi folks,
>
> I installed fedora 21 workstation but the Agere ET-131x network card
> doesn't work. Is it possible to get the network card working on Fedora 21?
>
> I installed Debian 7.8 which supports that hardware. Then I ran lsmod,
> which showed the following:
>
> lsmod | grep et131
> ...
> et131x     32003  0
> libphy       18521  1  et131x
>
> Perhaps this information is helpful to give me some instructions about
> how to get the network card working on Fedora 21. Thanks a lot.

From what I see from Fedora's kernel sources, the et131x module is not 
configured to be build into the Fedora kernel:

...
# CONFIG_DVB_AS102 is not set
# CONFIG_ET131X is not set
# CONFIG_SLICOSS is not set
...

So, you'd need to build a custom kernel or try to persuade the kernel 
maintainers to add it.

Ralf

[Bruno Wolff III]

On Tue, Feb 17, 2015 at 17:26:57 +0100,
  Ralf Corsepius  wrote:
> ...
> # CONFIG_DVB_AS102 is not set
> # CONFIG_ET131X is not set
> # CONFIG_SLICOSS is not set
> ...
>
> So, you'd need to build a custom kernel or try to persuade the kernel 
> maintainers to add it.

They probably will add it if you ask. Best is an RFE bug against the kernel 
so there is tracking, but you could also try informally asking on the 
fedora kernel list or Josh Boyer in IRC.

[poma]

On 17.02.2015 17:26, Ralf Corsepius wrote:
> On 02/17/2015 05:09 PM, Meikel wrote:
> > Hi folks,
> >
> > I installed fedora 21 workstation but the Agere ET-131x network card
> > doesn't work. Is it possible to get the network card working on Fedora 21?
> >
> > I installed Debian 7.8 which supports that hardware. Then I ran lsmod,
> > which showed the following:
> >
> > lsmod | grep et131
> > ...
> > et131x     32003  0
> > libphy       18521  1  et131x
> >
> > Perhaps this information is helpful to give me some instructions about
> > how to get the network card working on Fedora 21. Thanks a lot.
>
> From what I see from Fedora's kernel sources, the et131x module is not 
> configured to be build into the Fedora kernel:
>
> ...
> # CONFIG_DVB_AS102 is not set
> # CONFIG_ET131X is not set
> # CONFIG_SLICOSS is not set
> ...
>
> So, you'd need to build a custom kernel or try to persuade the kernel 
> maintainers to add it.
>
> Ralf

$ cat /usr/src/kernels/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/drivers/net/ethernet/agere/Kconfig 
#
# Agere device configuration
#

config NET_VENDOR_AGERE
    bool "Agere devices"
    default y
    depends on PCI
    ---help---
      If you have a network (Ethernet) card belonging to this class, say Y
      and read the Ethernet-HOWTO, available from
      http://www.tldp.org/docs.html#howto.

Note that the answer to this question doesn't directly affect the
      kernel: saying N will just cause the configurator to skip all
      the questions about Agere devices. If you say Y, you will be asked
      for your specific card in the following questions.

if NET_VENDOR_AGERE

config ET131X
    tristate "Agere ET-1310 Gigabit Ethernet support"
    depends on PCI
    select PHYLIB
    ---help---
      This driver supports Agere ET-1310 ethernet adapters.

To compile this driver as a module, choose M here. The module
      will be called et131x.

endif # NET_VENDOR_AGERE

$ grep NET_VENDOR_AGERE /boot/config-3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64 
# CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_AGERE is not set

Ask Josh to:

CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_AGERE=y
CONFIG_ET131X=m

[poma]

$ su -c 'yum install kernel-devel'

~~~~~~~~

$ wget \ 
https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/d... \
https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/d...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

$ cat Makefile
obj-m += et131x.o

KDIR  := /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build
PWD   := $(shell pwd)

default:
    $(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) M=$(PWD) modules

~~~~~~

$ make
$ su

# cp et131x.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates
# depmod

# modinfo et131x
filename:       /lib/modules/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/updates/et131x.ko
description:    10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet Driver for the ET1310 by Agere Systems
license:        Dual BSD/GPL
author:         Mark Einon 
author:         Victor Soriano 
alias:          pci:v000011C1d0000ED01sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
alias:          pci:v000011C1d0000ED00sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
depends:        
vermagic:       3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64 SMP mod_unload

# modprobe -v et131x
insmod /lib/modules/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/updates/et131x.ko

# dmesg -t
et131x: module verification failed: signature and/or  required key missing - tainting kernel

Works?

[Meikel]

Am 17.02.2015 um 19:45 schrieb poma:
> $ su -c 'yum install kernel-devel'
> $ wget \
> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/drivers/net/ethernet/agere/et131x.h \
> https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/drivers/net/ethernet/agere/et131x.c
>
> $ cat Makefile
> obj-m += et131x.o
>
> KDIR  := /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build
> PWD   := $(shell pwd)
>
> default:
>    $(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) M=$(PWD) modules
> $ make
> $ su
>
> # cp et131x.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates
> # depmod
>
> # modinfo et131x
> filename:       /lib/modules/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/updates/et131x.ko
> description:    10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet Driver for the ET1310 by Agere Systems
> license:        Dual BSD/GPL
> author:         Mark Einon <[e-mail]>
> author:         Victor Soriano <[e-mail]>
> alias:          pci:v000011C1d0000ED01sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
> alias:          pci:v000011C1d0000ED00sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
> depends:
> vermagic:       3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64 SMP mod_unload
>
> # modprobe -v et131x
> insmod /lib/modules/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/updates/et131x.ko
>
> # dmesg -t
> et131x: module verification failed: signature and/or  required key missing - tainting kernel
>
>
> Works?

First I have to say that the machine running Fedora 21 is not connected 
to network (since Agere Et-131x is the only network card). From my 
understanding commands like "yum install ..." or "wget ..." will not run 
on that machine without network connectivity. Therefore I installed a 
Fedora 21 into a virtualbox on my Win 7 and followed the steps you 
described there:

It went fine until the "cp et131x.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates" 
command. When reaching that step I did transfer the et131x.ko via USB 
stick to the target machine. There I did continue with the procedure you 
described.

When running "modprobe -v et131x" on the target machine it failed with 
the following message:

sudo modprobe -v et131x
   insmod /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko
   modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'et131x': Exec format error

To get some more information I then ran "file" and "uname" commands:

file /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko
   /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko: ELF 32-bit LSB 
relocatable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV), 
BuildID[sha1]=fa9fe5876be08f1c23a9873e78460196bc67effb, not stripped

uname -a
   Linux thetarget.localdomain 3.17.4-301.fc21.i686 #1 SMP Thu Nov 27 
19:32:52 UTC 2014 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

On the machine where I built the et131x.ko file I also ran "uname" command:

uname -a
   Linux thebuilder.localdomain 3.18.7-200.fc21.i686 #1 SMP Wed Feb 11 
22:26:31 UTC 2015 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux

I installed it from the same installation media but unfortunately ran 
"yum update" before building the et131x.ko file. So the kernel versions 
on the two machines differ. Before following your recipe I started 
building a custom kernel, so I have some ~/rpmbuild directory, perhaps 
this does in some way conflict with your description.

Whenever you used "su" command in your description I used "sudo" 
command, I hope that this will not lead to problems.

I'm not sure if it is valid to build the et131x.ko file on another 
machine, so I'll try to find an USB-Ethernet-Card to bring the target 
machine to the network and then again run thoses steps you described 
directly on the target machine.

Thanks,

Meikel

[poma]

On 18.02.2015 12:45, Meikel wrote:
> Am 17.02.2015 um 19:45 schrieb poma:
> > $ su -c 'yum install kernel-devel'
> > $ wget \
> > https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/drivers/net/ethernet/agere/et131x.h \
> > https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/drivers/net/ethernet/agere/et131x.c
> >
> > $ cat Makefile
> > obj-m += et131x.o
> >
> > KDIR  := /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build
> > PWD   := $(shell pwd)
> >
> > default:
> >    $(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) M=$(PWD) modules
> > $ make
> > $ su
> >
> > # cp et131x.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates
> > # depmod
> >
> > # modinfo et131x
> > filename:       /lib/modules/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/updates/et131x.ko
> > description:    10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet Driver for the ET1310 by Agere Systems
> > license:        Dual BSD/GPL
> > author:         Mark Einon <[e-mail]>
> > author:         Victor Soriano <[e-mail]>
> > alias:          pci:v000011C1d0000ED01sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
> > alias:          pci:v000011C1d0000ED00sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
> > depends:
> > vermagic:       3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64 SMP mod_unload
> >
> > # modprobe -v et131x
> > insmod /lib/modules/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/updates/et131x.ko
> >
> > # dmesg -t
> > et131x: module verification failed: signature and/or  required key missing - tainting kernel
> >
> >
> > Works?
>
> First I have to say that the machine running Fedora 21 is not connected 
> to network (since Agere Et-131x is the only network card). From my 
> understanding commands like "yum install ..." or "wget ..." will not run 
> on that machine without network connectivity. Therefore I installed a 
> Fedora 21 into a virtualbox on my Win 7 and followed the steps you 
> described there:
>
> It went fine until the "cp et131x.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates" 
> command. When reaching that step I did transfer the et131x.ko via USB 
> stick to the target machine. There I did continue with the procedure you 
> described.
>
> When running "modprobe -v et131x" on the target machine it failed with 
> the following message:
>
> sudo modprobe -v et131x
>    insmod /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko
>    modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'et131x': Exec format error
>
> To get some more information I then ran "file" and "uname" commands:
>
> file /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko
>    /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko: ELF 32-bit LSB 
> relocatable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV), 
> BuildID[sha1]=fa9fe5876be08f1c23a9873e78460196bc67effb, not stripped
>
> uname -a
>    Linux thetarget.localdomain 3.17.4-301.fc21.i686 #1 SMP Thu Nov 27 
> 19:32:52 UTC 2014 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
>
> On the machine where I built the et131x.ko file I also ran "uname" command:
>
> uname -a
>    Linux thebuilder.localdomain 3.18.7-200.fc21.i686 #1 SMP Wed Feb 11 
> 22:26:31 UTC 2015 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
>
> I installed it from the same installation media but unfortunately ran 
> "yum update" before building the et131x.ko file. So the kernel versions 
> on the two machines differ. Before following your recipe I started 
> building a custom kernel, so I have some ~/rpmbuild directory, perhaps 
> this does in some way conflict with your description.
>
> Whenever you used "su" command in your description I used "sudo" 
> command, I hope that this will not lead to problems.
>
> I'm not sure if it is valid to build the et131x.ko file on another 
> machine, so I'll try to find an USB-Ethernet-Card to bring the target 
> machine to the network and then again run thoses steps you described 
> directly on the target machine.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Meikel

You mixed versions of the kernel.
Sync them and it should go. ;)

[Meikel]

Am 18.02.2015 um 17:35 schrieb poma:
> On 18.02.2015 12:45, Meikel wrote:
> > Am 17.02.2015 um 19:45 schrieb poma:
> > > $ su -c 'yum install kernel-devel'
> > > $ wget \
> > > https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/drivers/net/ethernet/agere/et131x.h \
> > > https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/drivers/net/ethernet/agere/et131x.c
> > >
> > > $ cat Makefile
> > > obj-m += et131x.o
> > >
> > > KDIR  := /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build
> > > PWD   := $(shell pwd)
> > >
> > > default:
> > >    $(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) M=$(PWD) modules
> > > $ make
> > > $ su
> > >
> > > # cp et131x.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates
> > > # depmod
> > >
> > > # modinfo et131x
> > > filename:       /lib/modules/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/updates/et131x.ko
> > > description:    10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet Driver for the ET1310 by Agere Systems
> > > license:        Dual BSD/GPL
> > > author:         Mark Einon <[e-mail]>
> > > author:         Victor Soriano <[e-mail]>
> > > alias:          pci:v000011C1d0000ED01sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
> > > alias:          pci:v000011C1d0000ED00sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
> > > depends:
> > > vermagic:       3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64 SMP mod_unload
> > >
> > > # modprobe -v et131x
> > > insmod /lib/modules/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/updates/et131x.ko
> > >
> > > # dmesg -t
> > > et131x: module verification failed: signature and/or  required key missing - tainting kernel
> > >
> > >
> > > Works?
> >
> > First I have to say that the machine running Fedora 21 is not connected
> > to network (since Agere Et-131x is the only network card). From my
> > understanding commands like "yum install ..." or "wget ..." will not run
> > on that machine without network connectivity. Therefore I installed a
> > Fedora 21 into a virtualbox on my Win 7 and followed the steps you
> > described there:
> >
> > It went fine until the "cp et131x.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates"
> > command. When reaching that step I did transfer the et131x.ko via USB
> > stick to the target machine. There I did continue with the procedure you
> > described.
> >
> > When running "modprobe -v et131x" on the target machine it failed with
> > the following message:
> >
> > sudo modprobe -v et131x
> >     insmod /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko
> >     modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'et131x': Exec format error
> >
> > To get some more information I then ran "file" and "uname" commands:
> >
> > file /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko
> >     /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko: ELF 32-bit LSB
> > relocatable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV),
> > BuildID[sha1]=fa9fe5876be08f1c23a9873e78460196bc67effb, not stripped
> >
> > uname -a
> >     Linux thetarget.localdomain 3.17.4-301.fc21.i686 #1 SMP Thu Nov 27
> > 19:32:52 UTC 2014 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
> >
> > On the machine where I built the et131x.ko file I also ran "uname" command:
> >
> > uname -a
> >     Linux thebuilder.localdomain 3.18.7-200.fc21.i686 #1 SMP Wed Feb 11
> > 22:26:31 UTC 2015 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
> >
> > I installed it from the same installation media but unfortunately ran
> > "yum update" before building the et131x.ko file. So the kernel versions
> > on the two machines differ. Before following your recipe I started
> > building a custom kernel, so I have some ~/rpmbuild directory, perhaps
> > this does in some way conflict with your description.
> >
> > Whenever you used "su" command in your description I used "sudo"
> > command, I hope that this will not lead to problems.
> >
> > I'm not sure if it is valid to build the et131x.ko file on another
> > machine, so I'll try to find an USB-Ethernet-Card to bring the target
> > machine to the network and then again run thoses steps you described
> > directly on the target machine.
> >
> > Thanks,
> >
> > Meikel
>
> You mixed versions of the kernel.
> Sync them and it should go. ;)

Thanks a lot, now it works, but there are two questions remaining, 
because it's not clear to me what it means that I "mixed versions of the 
kernel". Now I'm wondering if future system updates (i.e. yum update) 
can lead to the driver no longer working and the need to build it again? 
I'd like to try out a different F21 spin, i.e. the LXDE. If I do a fresh 
installation from such a spin, can I then copy my existing et131x.ko 
file to the new installation, or do I have to build it again from scratch?

[poma]

On 20.02.2015 07:15, Meikel wrote:
> Am 18.02.2015 um 17:35 schrieb poma:
> > On 18.02.2015 12:45, Meikel wrote:
> > > Am 17.02.2015 um 19:45 schrieb poma:
> > > > $ su -c 'yum install kernel-devel'
> > > > $ wget \
> > > > https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/drivers/net/ethernet/agere/et131x.h \
> > > > https://git.kernel.org/cgit/linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-stable.git/plain/drivers/net/ethernet/agere/et131x.c
> > > >
> > > > $ cat Makefile
> > > > obj-m += et131x.o
> > > >
> > > > KDIR  := /lib/modules/$(shell uname -r)/build
> > > > PWD   := $(shell pwd)
> > > >
> > > > default:
> > > >    $(MAKE) -C $(KDIR) M=$(PWD) modules
> > > > $ make
> > > > $ su
> > > >
> > > > # cp et131x.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates
> > > > # depmod
> > > >
> > > > # modinfo et131x
> > > > filename:       /lib/modules/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/updates/et131x.ko
> > > > description:    10/100/1000 Base-T Ethernet Driver for the ET1310 by Agere Systems
> > > > license:        Dual BSD/GPL
> > > > author:         Mark Einon <[e-mail]>
> > > > author:         Victor Soriano <[e-mail]>
> > > > alias:          pci:v000011C1d0000ED01sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
> > > > alias:          pci:v000011C1d0000ED00sv*sd*bc*sc*i*
> > > > depends:
> > > > vermagic:       3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64 SMP mod_unload
> > > >
> > > > # modprobe -v et131x
> > > > insmod /lib/modules/3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64/updates/et131x.ko
> > > >
> > > > # dmesg -t
> > > > et131x: module verification failed: signature and/or  required key missing - tainting kernel
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Works?
> > >
> > > First I have to say that the machine running Fedora 21 is not connected
> > > to network (since Agere Et-131x is the only network card). From my
> > > understanding commands like "yum install ..." or "wget ..." will not run
> > > on that machine without network connectivity. Therefore I installed a
> > > Fedora 21 into a virtualbox on my Win 7 and followed the steps you
> > > described there:
> > >
> > > It went fine until the "cp et131x.ko /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/updates"
> > > command. When reaching that step I did transfer the et131x.ko via USB
> > > stick to the target machine. There I did continue with the procedure you
> > > described.
> > >
> > > When running "modprobe -v et131x" on the target machine it failed with
> > > the following message:
> > >
> > > sudo modprobe -v et131x
> > >     insmod /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko
> > >     modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'et131x': Exec format error
> > >
> > > To get some more information I then ran "file" and "uname" commands:
> > >
> > > file /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko
> > >     /lib/modules/3.17.4-301.fc21.i686/updates/et131x.ko: ELF 32-bit LSB
> > > relocatable, Intel 80386, version 1 (SYSV),
> > > BuildID[sha1]=fa9fe5876be08f1c23a9873e78460196bc67effb, not stripped
> > >
> > > uname -a
> > >     Linux thetarget.localdomain 3.17.4-301.fc21.i686 #1 SMP Thu Nov 27
> > > 19:32:52 UTC 2014 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
> > >
> > > On the machine where I built the et131x.ko file I also ran "uname" command:
> > >
> > > uname -a
> > >     Linux thebuilder.localdomain 3.18.7-200.fc21.i686 #1 SMP Wed Feb 11
> > > 22:26:31 UTC 2015 i686 i686 i386 GNU/Linux
> > >
> > > I installed it from the same installation media but unfortunately ran
> > > "yum update" before building the et131x.ko file. So the kernel versions
> > > on the two machines differ. Before following your recipe I started
> > > building a custom kernel, so I have some ~/rpmbuild directory, perhaps
> > > this does in some way conflict with your description.
> > >
> > > Whenever you used "su" command in your description I used "sudo"
> > > command, I hope that this will not lead to problems.
> > >
> > > I'm not sure if it is valid to build the et131x.ko file on another
> > > machine, so I'll try to find an USB-Ethernet-Card to bring the target
> > > machine to the network and then again run thoses steps you described
> > > directly on the target machine.
> > >
> > > Thanks,
> > >
> > > Meikel
> >
> > You mixed versions of the kernel.
> > Sync them and it should go. ;)
>
> Thanks a lot, now it works, but there are two questions remaining, 
> because it's not clear to me what it means that I "mixed versions of the 
> kernel". Now I'm wondering if future system updates (i.e. yum update) 
> can lead to the driver no longer working and the need to build it again? 
> I'd like to try out a different F21 spin, i.e. the LXDE. If I do a fresh 
> installation from such a spin, can I then copy my existing et131x.ko 
> file to the new installation, or do I have to build it again from scratch?

"Mixed" i.e. different kernel versions & architectures e.g.
3.17.4-301.fc21.i686 ≠ 3.18.7-200.fc21.i686
3.17.4-301.fc21.i686 ≠ 3.17.4-301.fc21.x86_64
3.18.7-200.fc21.i686 ≠ 3.18.7-200.fc21.x86_64
etc.

e.g.
'et131x' built against 3.18.7-200.fc21.i686
should work only within the very same kernel version/arch,
thus 3.18.7-200.fc21.i686, no matter where the kernel is.

If you do not want to repeat with every kernel upgrade, again and again,
ask Josh (Fedora kernel maintainer) to include that module:
CONFIG_NET_VENDOR_AGERE=y
CONFIG_ET131X=m