Network crashes so I lose both interfaces

thegrind · n00b Joined: 22 Sep 2024 Posts: 26

I am running Gentoo on a Rpi5+. I followed the gentoo wiki to install gentoo on the microSD so I am using the pre-built kernel and I am using the firmware from the git shown on the wiki. I did the installation about three weeks ago (sept 20th). I have bluetooth, I am using the wifi, and I am using the ethernet cable. I set a higher priority for wlan0 since it is faster for me as my wall plug adapter isn't high speed. I am using NetworkManager that I emerged. My uname -a is 6.6.50-v8-16k+ #1795 SMP PREEMPT Tue Sep 10 19:41:02 BST 2024 aarch64 GNU/Linux. I am running headless. I am using openrc.

I had this issue on my previous distro (Arch) where i would completely lose my network connections so I lost my ssh connectiion which means a hard reboot. It was happening randomly. Sometimes after a half day sometimes after a week. I hooked the ethernet cable thinking it was wifi that was crashing. For arch I was using systemd-networkd with wpa_supplicant.

I am still seeing the same issue on gentoo but now I am using networkmanager. I am hoping to find a solution to this as this is the only issue I've been having since I bought the Rpi5. I don't know if it is firmware as I can just pull the latest ifrmware and move it over and this will fix my issue.

gentoo_ram · Posted: Mon Oct 14, 2024 9:35 pm Post subject:

My setup is totally different so I can't give direct advice (OpenRC, 6.11 kernel, use iwd for Wifi, etc). I haven't seen the symptom where all my networking goes away at once. I run ethernet and Wifi simultaneously without issue.

But I will say I had difficulties running a kernel with the 16k page size. At least in kernel 6.9.x and 6.10.x I know that the 16k page size was not compatible with the ZRAM feature. When I used ZRAM devices on a 16k-page kernel my RPi5 would eventually lock up and die. When I turned off ZRAM all my problems went away. I went back to the 4k page kernel because I really wanted to use the ZRAM feature. I don't have issues with the 4k page kernel. (6.11.1-v8+ #20 SMP PREEMPT)

Given that experience I would try using a kernel with a more common 4k page size (the kernel will be labeled v8+ instead of v8-16k+). Try that a while and see if you still have problems. Changing the kernel should be transparent to the rest of the system; although you'd have to reinitialize any swap space you might have.

thegrind · n00b Joined: 22 Sep 2024 Posts: 26

Thanks for the help. I am not using Zram as my system is for kodi and I figure 8GB is enough. I am not seeing a total lockup as the I can control kodi with my remote (CEC). How did you get a 6.11 kernel. The Rpi github link takes me o kernel 6.6.

Banana · Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2024 5:44 am Post subject:

No solution here, rather some ideas:

Is the ethernet cable all the time connected so it could be a decision problem what interface to use? So try it only with one interface active at once.

Do you have configured the same IP address to both interfaces? Try using different IPs
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gentoo_ram · Posted: Wed Oct 16, 2024 4:51 pm Post subject:

I get a 6.11 kernel by building it on my own. Do a 'git clone https://github.com/raspberrypi/linux.git'. That will get you the Raspberry Pi Linux kernel source repository. Then check out whatever branch you want. I'm currently using the rpi-6.11.y branch. Start with 'make bcm2712_defconfig' then go from there configuring in whatever kernel parameters you want.

I don't have issues with multiple IP interfaces. I'm using iwd to mange my Wifi link; found it easier to configure and deal with than wpa_supplicant. I even had an issue once where my ethernet switch went into some weird failure state but my Wifi link stayed up.