Solved NFS over TCP not available from x.x.x.x

[Pikmin]

Hi everyone,
I’ve got an issue with certain network cards not being able to mount nfs and load Ubuntu 18 presumably because of the driver?

connect: Network is unreachable
NFS over TCP not available from x.x.x.x

It drops to an initramfs prompt and when I type ip add all I get is the loopback interface

(initramfs)ip add

1: lo: >LOOPBACK>

I have no problems with PXE booting PartedMagic over the same USB 3.0 adapter, but it’s not using nfs
I suspect it’s the driver in the Ubuntu 18 iso, more specifically initramfs

I downloaded r8152.53-2.10.0.tar.bz2
compiled and inserted the r8152.ko into the initrd.lz in the /lib/modules/4.15.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/ethernet/realtek/ folder and uploaded the new initrd.lz back to the fog server but it didn’t work. Must be a step I’m missing. There is no insmod in the busybox so not sure what to try next

The reason I used the above r8152 is because when I boot from a live USB that’s what the network card is using and works fine.

Sorry I know this is not really a fog issue but rather ubuntu / driver I’d still like to know how to resolve if possible
Thanks

[Sebastian Roth]

@Pikmin I am wondering that this driver does not seem to be included from what you describe. Where did you download it? Did you extract the initrd.lz from the original Ubuntu ISO? Which version exactly?

Have you ever booted that ISO directly on that machine? Either burn a DVD or use unetbootin to dump the ISO on a bootable USB stick.

Which USB adapter exactly do you have?? Does it show up in the initramfs environment at all? Run lsusb to check.

[Pikmin]

Hi Sebastian,
Thanks for your reply.
Simplecom USB 3.0 to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter Model: NU301 and the ISO in question is ubuntu-18.04.1-desktop-amd64.iso

I’ve investigated some more on Mint 19 and the location is …/net/usb not ethernet

modinfo r8152
filename:       /lib/modules/4.15.0-34-generic/kernel/drivers/net/usb/r8152.ko
version:        v1.09.9
license:        GPL
description:    Realtek RTL8152/RTL8153 Based USB Ethernet Adapters
author:         Realtek linux nic maintainers <nic_swsd@realtek.com>
srcversion:     D89AD85EA9A5FD30618C7B5
alias:          usb:v2357p0601d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v2357p0601d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v0955p09FFd*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0955p09FFd*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v13B1p0041d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v13B1p0041d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp7214d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp7214d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp720Cd*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp720Cd*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp7205d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp7205d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp3069d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp3069d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp3062d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp3062d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp304Fd*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v17EFp304Fd*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v04E8pA101d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v04E8pA101d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v045Ep07C6d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v045Ep07C6d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v045Ep07ABd*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v045Ep07ABd*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v0BDAp8153d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0BDAp8153d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v0BDAp8152d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0BDAp8152d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
alias:          usb:v0BDAp8050d*dc*dsc*dp*ic02isc06ip00in*
alias:          usb:v0BDAp8050d*dc*dsc*dp*icFFisc*ip*in*
depends:        mii
retpoline:      Y
intree:         Y
name:           r8152
vermagic:       4.15.0-34-generic SMP mod_unload 
signat:         PKCS#7
signer:         
sig_key:        
sig_hashalgo:   md4

Even when I add it to the right location, it wasn’t working so I read through this post and found the solution (depmod)
https://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1843448
Thank you Jonathan L

Here are the steps I’ve taken from a Live Ubuntu USB

root@ubuntu:/home/ubuntu# mkdir /tmp/root
root@ubuntu:/home/ubuntu# cd /tmp/root/
root@ubuntu:/tmp/root# lzma -dc -S .lz /cdrom/casper/initrd.lz | cpio -id
315718 blocks
root@ubuntu:/tmp/root# mkdir lib/modules/4.15.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/usb
root@ubuntu:/tmp/root# cp /lib/modules/4.15.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/usb/r8152.ko /tmp/root/lib/modules/4.15.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/usb/
root@ubuntu:/tmp/root# ls /tmp/root/lib/modules/4.15.0-29-generic/kernel/drivers/net/usb/
r8152.ko
root@ubuntu:/tmp/root# depmod -b `pwd` 4.15.0-29-generic
root@ubuntu:/tmp/root# find . | cpio --quiet --dereference -o -H newc | lzma -7 > /tmp/initrd.lz.new

I scp-ed the initrd.lz.new to the Fog server and renamed it to initrd.lz

I get an ip address but now I get a different error further down the track.

Not sure if because I just copied my Mint 18 Menu for Fog and adjusted it for Ubuntu hoping it would work
(ubuntu18 folder contains extracted files from the ISO)

kernel http://${fog-ip}/fog/service/ipxe/ubuntu18/casper/vmlinuz
initrd http://${fog-ip}/fog/service/ipxe/ubuntu18/casper/initrd.lz
imgargs vmlinuz initrd=initrd.lz root=/dev/nfs boot=casper netboot=nfs nfsroot=${fog-ip}:/var/www/fog/service/ipxe/ubuntu18 locale=en_US.UTF-8 keyboard-configuration/layoutcode=la mirror/country=US
boot || goto failed
goto start

Looks like there’s an issue with booting Ubuntu 18.04, I see another thread here that I’ve been following.

I’ve done the same process for mint 18.2 and that works without a problem, hopefully someone finds this useful

[lucycle]

Hello,

I’m having a similar issue. However my setup differs slightly in that I chainload undionly.kpxe and pull a boot script.

When attempting to deploy Ubuntu 16.04.3LTS via Ethernet USB dongle(s).
lsusb output for both is :
BUS 003 DEVICE 003 ID 0bda:8153 Realtek Semiconductor Corp.
BUS 002 DEVICE 019 ID 0a46:1269 Davicom Semiconductor, Inc.

Both dongles boot Parted Magic just fine but when attempting to deploy w/ extracted ISO on NFS I get the following:

ipconfig: no devices to configure
…
NFS over TCP not available from <server IP>
connect network is unreachable

After which it drops down into BusyBox.

In my case the driver in question was dm9601.ko and I also compiled it into my initrd.img which did not fix the issue and behavior persists.

Anyone have any other ideas as to how to go about fixing this?

Just for completeness: machines with dedicated ethernet have no issue w/ the setup and boot just fine.

Thanks!

[Pikmin]

@lucycle
I used to have an issue with some Realtek cards behaving weird and throwing errors in IPXE and later in the boot process, but it’s been a while. With these two HP models and an integrated Realtek card I had to use a different boot firmware, long shot but maybe you can try that?

HP210 Legacy Test

pxe-service=tag:HP210,X86PC, “HP-210 Working”, realtek.kpxe

HP430 UEFI Test

pxe-service=tag:HP430,X86-64_EFI, “HP 430”, realtek.efi

@lucycle said in NFS over TCP not available from x.x.x.x:

In my case the driver in question was dm9601.ko and I also compiled it into my initrd.img which did not fix the issue and behavior persists.

I’ve added another USB dongle, this time a Lenovo 2.0 Ethernet Adapter based on the asix driver, however it didn’t work, then I checked with modinfo and noticed I was missing a dependency (usbnet.ko)

modinfo asix
....
depends:        mii,usbnet

modinfo usbnet
filename:       /lib/modules/4.15.0-34-generic/kernel/drivers/net/usb/usbnet.ko

Just to be sure, you said initrd.img, I added it to initrd.lz

That’s about all I’ve got to suggest at this point