DHCP unable to acquire IP address (occurs on multiple hw/sw configs)

English Network/Internet
1

Hi, I have two laptops both exhibiting the same strange behavior. Most of the time, neither one can get an IP address from a DHCP server. I can connect to any network by manually specifying an IP.

Laptop #1 is a 32-bit openSUSE 11.1 install with KDE 3.5.
Laptop #2 is a 32-bit openSUSE 11.3 RC2 install with LXDE.

When I try to connect to most networks with DHCP, the NetworkManager icon indicates that it has associated, but then stalls for about a minute trying to get an IP address. It then fails silently.

Watching the connection either through “dmesg | tail” or through “iwconfig” shows that the network card is repeatedly associating and disassociating during the connection attempt.

Even weirder, it works fine with some connections (for example, ATT wifi at Kinkos works fine), but doesn’t work for most others (for example, wifi at Motel6). In both cases, these are unencrypted networks.

I have also tried setting up the network connection manually in YaST, but that doesn’t help. Finally, the only configuration setting that I’ve changed on both computers is that I have disabled IPv6 (because one particular network that I connect regularly to does not support it). But I did try re-enabling IPv6 and that did not help.

My “dmesg | tail” output:

wlan0: authenticated
wlan0: associate with AP 00:0a:06:ff:XX:XX
wlan0: RX AssocResp from 00:0a:06:ff:XX:XX (capab=0x421 status=0 aid=4)
wlan0: associated
wlan0: authenticate with AP 00:0a:06:ff:XX:XX
wlan0: authenticated
wlan0: associate with AP 00:0a:06:ff:XX:XX
wlan0: RX ReassocResp from 00:0a:06:ff:XX:XX (capab=0x421 status=0 aid=4)
wlan0: associated
wlan0: disassociating by local choice (reason=3)
2

I’m not sure but if the card is repeatedly associating and disassociating then is it a mismatch between the wifi devices, channels?, connection speed b/g/n ?
Maybe the solution is to create different configuration profiles for ech of the problem sites, ie, Motel6 profile, Kinko profile, etc.

aka Chill Out

3

I would agree, except that I can connect fine as long as I specify the IP information. If there was a connection issue, then a manual IP wouldn’t be able to fix it.

Also, I should have mentioned in my first email, but laptop #1 is using a ATH5K chip and laptop #2 is using a Broadcom chip.

My feeling is that this problem is either related to:

#1 - Some default Linux DHCP setting that is incompatible with some network devices.

or

#2 - Some configuration step that I did on both computers that would cause the DHCP to fail.

#1 seems unlikely to me, since more people would be having problems.
#2 seems unlikely to me, since the only setting I flipped was IPv6 and I even flipped it back to check.

Does anyone have an option #3 for me?

4

Okay, I think I have a clue as to what the problem is:

-All of the networks that I can use DHCP on have an SSID that ends with a letter.
-All of the networks that I can’t use DHCP on have an SSID that ends with a number.

So, here are a couple of questions for anyone reading this:

  1. Can you use DHCP on your network? Does the network name end in a number?
  2. What is your configuration? OpenSUSE version? 32-bit? Wifi chip?

Thanks in advance.

5

quantamm wrote:

> So, here are a couple of questions for anyone reading this:
>
> 1. Can you use DHCP on your network? Does the network name end in a
> number?

Yep. I’m not sure what you mean by network name?

> 2. What is your configuration? OpenSUSE version? 32-bit? Wifi chip?

openSUSE 8/9/10/11, 32bit and 64bit. Netgear WG602 router for wifi, but
that’s only for two-three laptops.

–
Per Jessen, Zürich (22.9°C)
http://en.opensuse.org/User:Pjessen

6

Did you enable DHCP in the allowed services configuration of the YaST2 Firewall module?

7

Ending SSID number or character shouldn’t matter. Unless that number represents the number of available DHCP addresses for that SSID, so, if using SSID6 means there’s a max. of 6 addr already assigned and you’re waiting.

Otherwise I’m stuck:(. You say you do get a DHCP address but your laps or the router assigns a new DHCP address, ie, can’t hold the lease time. Can you post the NetworkManager configuration profile for your wireless.

8

neildarlow wrote:

>
> Did you enable DHCP in the allowed services configuration of the YaST2
> Firewall module?

If you meant me, no, I don’t use the openSUSE firewall.

–
Per Jessen, Zürich (25.9°C)
http://en.opensuse.org/User:Pjessen

9

To try and answer the questions asked:

-By “network name”, I mean SSID. For example, I can connect, using DHCP, to “JoesNetwork”, but not to “JoesNetwork123”.
-Firewall: Since I can connect to some networks, I doubt that’s the problem. I checked anyway, and I haven’t enabled anything, but then again, the only DHCP entry is for the server, not the client.
-No, the number isn’t meaningful. For example, I can’t connect to “myqwest4117”.
-I doubt it’s a NetworkManager problem, since the “traditional way with ifup” still fails.
-There are a number of association/disassociation entries in my dmesg, the tail of which I posted in the original post.

Tararpharazon, what log/config file did you want me to post?

10

On 07/14/2010 07:16 PM, quantamm wrote:
>
> To try and answer the questions asked:
>
> -By “network name”, I mean SSID. For example, I can connect, using
> DHCP, to “JoesNetwork”, but not to “JoesNetwork123”.
> -Firewall: Since I can connect to some networks, I doubt that’s the
> problem. I checked anyway, and I haven’t enabled anything, but then
> again, the only DHCP entry is for the server, not the client.
> -No, the number isn’t meaningful. For example, I can’t connect to
> “myqwest4117”.
> -I doubt it’s a NetworkManager problem, since the “traditional way with
> ifup” still fails.
> -There are a number of association/disassociation entries in my dmesg,
> the tail of which I posted in the original post.
>
> Tararpharazon, what log/config file did you want me to post?

I think it is a bug. I get the following in /var/log/NetworkManager:

Jul 14 20:10:51 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 2 of 5
(Device Configure) complete.
Jul 14 20:10:51 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Config: set interface ap_scan to 2
Jul 14 20:10:51 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> (eth1): supplicant connection
state: disconnected → scanning
Jul 14 20:10:51 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> (eth1): supplicant connection
state: scanning → associating
Jul 14 20:10:53 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> (eth1): supplicant connection
state: associating → associated
Jul 14 20:10:53 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> (eth1): supplicant connection
state: associated → completed
Jul 14 20:10:53 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1/wireless)
Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) successful. Connected to wireless network
‘Larry_wep_12345678901234567’.
Jul 14 20:10:53 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 3 of 5
(IP Configure Start) scheduled.
Jul 14 20:10:53 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 3 of 5
(IP Configure Start) started…
Jul 14 20:10:53 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> (eth1): device state change: 5
→ 7 (reason 0)
Jul 14 20:10:53 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Beginning
DHCP transaction (timeout in 45 seconds)
Jul 14 20:10:54 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> dhclient started with pid 6295
Jul 14 20:10:54 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 4 of 5
(IP6 Configure Get) scheduled…
Jul 14 20:10:54 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 3 of 5
(IP Configure Start) complete.
Jul 14 20:10:54 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 4 of 5
(IP6 Configure Get) started…
Jul 14 20:10:54 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 4 of 5
(IP6 Configure Get) complete.
Jul 14 20:10:54 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> DHCP: device eth1 state changed
normal exit → preinit
Jul 14 20:11:39 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> (eth1): DHCP transaction took
too long, stopping it.
Jul 14 20:11:39 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> (eth1): canceled DHCP
transaction, dhcp client pid 6295
Jul 14 20:11:39 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 4 of 5
(IP4 Configure Timeout) scheduled…
Jul 14 20:11:39 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 4 of 5
(IP4 Configure Timeout) started…
Jul 14 20:11:39 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1/wireless):
could not get IP configuration for connection ‘long ESSID’.
Jul 14 20:11:39 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> (eth1): device state change: 7
→ 6 (reason 0)
Jul 14 20:11:39 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1/wireless):
asking for new secrets
Jul 14 20:11:39 larrylap NetworkManager: <info> Activation (eth1) Stage 4 of 5
(IP4 Configure Timeout) complete.

As can be seen, it authenticates and associates, but never gets an IP, just as
you describe. My iwconfig for this device is as follows:

eth1 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:“Larry_wep_12345678901234567” Nickname:“rtl_wifi”
Mode:Managed Frequency:2.412 GHz Access Point: 00:14:BF:85:49:FA
Bit Rate:48 Mb/s Sensitivity:0/0
Retry:off RTS thr:off Fragment thr:off
Power Management:off
Link Quality=100/100 Signal level=100/100 Noise level=0/100
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

This device is a D-Link DWA-130, for which I’m adapting a vendor driver for
inclusion in staging.

This should be entered in the Bugzilla entries. I’m using 11.3 and the same bug
still exists. Once you get a Bug number, post it here, and I’ll add my stuff to
it as well.

11

Thanks lwfinger. I feel more sane now that I know that someone else is experiencing this. The bug is:

https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=622438

(A little semi-humorous side note: I’ve been aware of this bug for a couple of years, but I didn’t put together the SSID name until just this week. Up until recently, the only network with an SSID ending with a number that I’ve ever tried to connect to has been my own. I’ve replaced two routers, thinking that they were both defective and unable to issue IP addresses via DHCP.)