Strange Sierra USB-modem problem with 11.1...

English Network/Internet
#1

Hi all,

I am experiencing a very annoying and strange KNetworkManager problem after
going from 11.0 -> 11.1.

My laptop (Lenovo ThinkPad X300) uses Sierra Wireless USB modem, as seen
below:

linux-ft0m:/home/aaada # /usr/bin/lsusb
Bus 007 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0001 Linux Foundation 1.1 root hub
Bus 006 Device 002: ID 1199:6813 Sierra Wireless, Inc.

The internet-connection through operator’s 3G network worked very fast and very
reliable out-of-the-box with openSuSE 11.0. Knetworkmanager found and run the
modem very fine.

Now there is, however, a ramdomly appearing problem: The network sometimes
works and sometimes not! Purely random pattern… About one case of five works
and others not. The system does not seem to get the DNS-service…

The log below is from an unsuccesfull case:

May 2 11:18:47 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> starting…
May 2 11:18:47 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Trying to start the modem-manager…
May 2 11:18:47 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <WARN> nm_generic_enable_loopback(): error -17 returned from rtnl_addr_add(): Sucess
May 2 11:18:47 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Found radio killswitch /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/pci_8086_4230_rfkill_4965AGN_wlan
May 2 11:18:47 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> eth0: driver is ‘e1000e’.
May 2 11:18:47 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Found new Ethernet device ‘eth0’.
May 2 11:18:47 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (eth0): exported as /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/net_00_21_86_5a_e4_4f
May 2 11:18:47 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> wlan0: driver is ‘iwlagn’.
May 2 11:18:47 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> wlan0: driver supports SSID scans (scan_capa 0x01).
May 2 11:18:48 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Found new 802.11 WiFi device ‘wlan0’.
May 2 11:18:48 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (wlan0): exported as /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/net_00_21_5c_6d_f4_63
May 2 11:18:48 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Trying to start the supplicant…
May 2 11:18:48 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> modem-manager is now available
May 2 11:18:48 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Trying to start the system settings daemon…
May 2 11:18:48 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (wlan0): supplicant manager state: down → idle
May 2 11:18:48 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> /dev/ttyUSB0: driver is ‘sierra’.
May 2 11:18:48 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Found new GSM modem device ‘/dev/ttyUSB0’.
May 2 11:18:48 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (/dev/ttyUSB0): exported as /org/freedesktop/Hal/devices/usb_device_1199_6813_noserial_if0_serial_usb_0
May 2 11:18:51 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (eth0): device state change: 1 → 2
May 2 11:18:51 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (eth0): bringing up device.
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (eth0): preparing device.
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (eth0): deactivating device (reason: 2).
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (wlan0): device state change: 1 → 2
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (wlan0): bringing up device.
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (wlan0): preparing device.
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (wlan0): deactivating device (reason: 2).
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (wlan0): device state change: 2 → 3
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (wlan0): supplicant interface state: starting → ready
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (/dev/ttyUSB0): device state change: 1 → 2
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (/dev/ttyUSB0): deactivating device (reason: 2).
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: nm_system_device_flush_ip4_routes_with_iface: assertion iface_idx >= 0' failed May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: nm_system_device_flush_ip4_addresses_with_iface: assertion iface_idx >= 0’ failed
May 2 11:18:52 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (/dev/ttyUSB0): device state change: 2 → 3
May 2 11:20:58 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) starting connection ‘Sonera 3G’
May 2 11:20:58 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (/dev/ttyUSB0): device state change: 3 → 4
May 2 11:20:58 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) scheduled…
May 2 11:20:58 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) started…
May 2 11:20:58 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 1 of 5 (Device Prepare) complete.
May 2 11:21:09 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) scheduled…
May 2 11:21:09 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) starting…
May 2 11:21:09 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (/dev/ttyUSB0): device state change: 4 → 5
May 2 11:21:09 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Starting pppd connection
May 2 11:21:09 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <debug> [1241252469.036439] nm_ppp_manager_start(): Command line: /usr/sbin/pppd nodetach lock nodefaultroute /dev/ttyUSB0 noipdefault usepeerdns lcp-echo-failure 0 lcp-echo-interval 0 ipparam /org/freedesktop/NetworkManager/PPP/0 plugin /usr/lib/pppd/2.4.4/nm-pppd-plugin.so
May 2 11:21:09 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <debug> [1241252469.044172] nm_ppp_manager_start(): ppp started with pid 3722
May 2 11:21:09 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 2 of 5 (Device Configure) complete.
May 2 11:21:09 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (/dev/ttyUSB0): device state change: 5 → 6
May 2 11:21:09 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (/dev/ttyUSB0): device state change: 6 → 7
May 2 11:21:17 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> PPP manager(IP Config Get) reply received.
May 2 11:21:17 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 4 of 5 (IP Configure Get) scheduled…
May 2 11:21:17 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 4 of 5 (IP Configure Get) started…
May 2 11:21:17 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 5 of 5 (IP Configure Commit) scheduled…
May 2 11:21:17 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 4 of 5 (IP Configure Get) complete.
May 2 11:21:17 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 5 of 5 (IP Configure Commit) started…
May 2 11:21:18 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <debug> [1241252478.320885] run_netconfig(): Spawning ‘/sbin/netconfig modify --service NetworkManager’
May 2 11:21:18 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <debug> [1241252478.322328] write_to_netconfig(): Writing to netconfig: INTERFACE=‘ppp0’
May 2 11:21:18 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Clearing nscd hosts cache.
May 2 11:21:18 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> (/dev/ttyUSB0): device state change: 7 → 8
May 2 11:21:18 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <debug> [1241252478.325845] run_netconfig(): Spawning ‘/sbin/netconfig modify --service NetworkManager’
May 2 11:21:18 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <debug> [1241252478.343231] write_to_netconfig(): Writing to netconfig: INTERFACE=‘ppp0’
May 2 11:21:18 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Clearing nscd hosts cache.
May 2 11:21:18 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Policy set ‘Sonera 3G’ (ppp0) as default for routing and DNS.
May 2 11:21:18 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) successful, device activated.
May 2 11:21:18 linux-ft0m NetworkManager: <info> Activation (/dev/ttyUSB0) Stage 5 of 5 (IP Configure Commit) complete.

I tried to get a log of a successfull case, but now it seems not to be able to
connect at all… The HW seems to be OK because Windows works fine, thank
you…

The command-lline nm-tool gives:

NetworkManager Tool

State: connected

  • Device: eth0 ----------------------------------------------------------------
    Type: Wired
    Driver: e1000e
    State: unavailable
    Default: no
    HW Address: 00:21:86:5A:E4:4F

    Capabilities:
    Supported: yes
    Carrier Detect: yes

    Wired Settings

  • Device: wlan0 ----------------------------------------------------------------
    Type: 802.11 WiFi
    Driver: iwlagn
    State: disconnected
    Default: no
    HW Address: 00:21:5C:6D:F4:63

    Capabilities:
    Supported: yes

    Wireless Settings
    WEP Encryption: yes
    WPA Encryption: yes
    WPA2 Encryption: yes

    Wireless Access Points
    default: Infra, 00:13:64:33:9D:27, Freq 2437 MHz, Rate 54 Mb/s, Strength 37
    default: Infra, 00:D0:41:86:03:3F, Freq 2437 MHz, Rate 54 Mb/s, Strength 37

  • Device: /dev/ttyUSB0 ----------------------------------------------------------------
    Type: Mobile Broadband (GSM)
    Driver: sierra
    State: connected
    Default: yes

    Capabilities:
    Supported: yes

    IPv4 Settings:
    Address: 88.194.223.133
    Prefix: 32 (255.255.255.255)
    Gateway: 10.64.64.64

Everything seems to be OK, but DNS does not work! As far as I can tell, it
seems to be the case that the software gives up too early before being able to
get the actual DNS and routing information.

I did, by the way, a complete new install on this machine, not an upgrade.

Are there any parameters etc that could be used in order to tweak the behavior
of the system?

I would greatly prefer using 11.1, but if I cannot get the modem working, then
I have to fall back to 11.0…

Thank you for any help you can provide!

Best regards

  JJA
#2

Hi,

Nobody seems to be able to give me a solution. :frowning:

I have, however, made some experiments with 11.0 (retail) and found out that if I let the system to update everything the modem stops working! The symptoms are very similar to the problems with 11.1. Hence I went back to 11.0 and use old versions of the packages related to NetworkManager.

It seems that the latest version of the NetworkManager is broken regarding the modem.

What should I do in order to report this type of problem to proper people?

Best regards,
JJA

#3

Submitting Bug Reports - openSUSE

#4

Hi all,

There is a workaround for my problem. I reported it as a bug and the team marked the bug as a replica of another bug. I copy the workaround here because I think that somebody else might find the information usefull. :slight_smile:

The workaround is to add the lines:

ipcp-max-configure 30
ipcp-max-failure 20

to the file /etc/ppp/options

Best regards,
JJA

#5

Hi,
thanx a lot for the hint. I ran into the same problem with a Sierra Wireless MC 8775 HSDPA installed in my Thinkpad X61s running under SuSE 11.0 (Kernel 2.6.25.20-0.4-default)

The fix solved my problem completely