11.1 ps3 network/dns issue

[Mick Charles Beaver]

Hello,

I have been having the strangest network issue as of late. I did not
have any problems with openSUSE 11.0, but am having it with 11.1. Any
troubleshooting tips would be greatly appreciated.

I seem to be getting intermittent problems resolving hosts. I will
have trouble trying to update with zypper or browse the web with
Firefox. It doesn't fail everytime, so I do not know where to begin to
debug. My wireless connection works correctly when using the PS3 under
the Game OS.

Here is an example of what I am seeing:

ps3-linux:~ # host powerpc.opensuse.org
powerpc.opensuse.org has address 195.135.221.142
ps3-linux:~ # zypper update
Download (curl) error for
'http://powerpc.opensuse.org/distribution/11.1/repo/oss/content':
Error code: Connection failed
Error message: Couldn't resolve host 'powerpc.opensuse.org'

Abort, retry, ignore? [A/r/i]: ^Cps3-linux:~ #
ps3-linux:~ # host powerpc.opensuse.org
powerpc.opensuse.org has address 195.135.221.142

I am using wlan0 configured via DHCP connecting to a common LinkSys
WRT54G wireless router without encryption. Like I mentioned earlier, I
used the same setup under 11.0 without a problem. Other computers on
my wireless network do not have any trouble.

One thing that seemed out of place to me was that the network activity
light on the PS3 seems to stay lit when I am not using the network,
and blinks when I am. Shouldn't it be off when I'm not using any
network functions? Is anybody else seeing that particular issue?

Here is more system information:

ps3-linux:~ # uname -a
Linux ps3-linux 2.6.27.7-9-ppc64 #1 SMP 2008-12-04 18:10:04 +0100
ppc64 ppc64 ppc64 GNU/Linux

ps3-linux:~ # ifconfig -a
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1D:0D:B1:9C:D3
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Interrupt:51

lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:18 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:18 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:1404 (1.3 Kb) TX bytes:1404 (1.3 Kb)

wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1D:0D:B1:9C:D3
inet addr:192.168.1.101 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::21d:dff:feb1:9cd3/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:29658 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:19969 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:39358232 (37.5 Mb) TX bytes:2213012 (2.1 Mb)

ps3-linux:~ # iwconfig wlan0
wlan0 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:"beaver" Nickname:"gelic_wl"
Mode:Managed Access Point: 00:1D:7E:41:5C:81
Encryption key:off
Link Signal level=90/100
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0

ps3-linux:~ # tail -5 /etc/resolv.conf
### Please remove (at least) this line when you modify the file!
search eau.wi.charter.com
nameserver 68.115.71.53
nameserver 24.196.64.53
nameserver 24.159.193.40

[Joachim Banzhaf]

Hi Mick,

Post by Mick Charles Beaver
Hello,
I have been having the strangest network issue as of late. I did not
have any problems with openSUSE 11.0, but am having it with 11.1. Any
troubleshooting tips would be greatly appreciated.
I seem to be getting intermittent problems resolving hosts. I will
have trouble trying to update with zypper or browse the web with
Firefox. It doesn't fail everytime, so I do not know where to begin to
debug. My wireless connection works correctly when using the PS3 under
the Game OS.

Which nameserver is used by the game os and your 11.0 installation?
Maybe the ones used in your resolv.conf are flakey?
I use the same router, but with openwrt firmware. It acts as caching
nameserver, so I enter the routers ip as dns server and let the router detect
the dns setting when connecting to the dsl provider. That has proven to be a
stable config.

HTH,

Joachim

[Stefan Assmann]

Post by Mick Charles Beaver
Hello,
I have been having the strangest network issue as of late. I did not
have any problems with openSUSE 11.0, but am having it with 11.1. Any
troubleshooting tips would be greatly appreciated.
I seem to be getting intermittent problems resolving hosts. I will
have trouble trying to update with zypper or browse the web with
Firefox. It doesn't fail everytime, so I do not know where to begin to
debug. My wireless connection works correctly when using the PS3 under
the Game OS.
ps3-linux:~ # host powerpc.opensuse.org
powerpc.opensuse.org has address 195.135.221.142
ps3-linux:~ # zypper update
Download (curl) error for
Error code: Connection failed
Error message: Couldn't resolve host 'powerpc.opensuse.org'
Abort, retry, ignore? [A/r/i]: ^Cps3-linux:~ #
ps3-linux:~ # host powerpc.opensuse.org
powerpc.opensuse.org has address 195.135.221.142

could you constantly run a ping to powerpc.opensuse.org and see if that
times out from time to time while doing 'zypper up'.

Post by Mick Charles Beaver
I am using wlan0 configured via DHCP connecting to a common LinkSys
WRT54G wireless router without encryption. Like I mentioned earlier, I
used the same setup under 11.0 without a problem. Other computers on
my wireless network do not have any trouble.
One thing that seemed out of place to me was that the network activity
light on the PS3 seems to stay lit when I am not using the network,
and blinks when I am. Shouldn't it be off when I'm not using any
network functions? Is anybody else seeing that particular issue?
ps3-linux:~ # uname -a
Linux ps3-linux 2.6.27.7-9-ppc64 #1 SMP 2008-12-04 18:10:04 +0100
ppc64 ppc64 ppc64 GNU/Linux
ps3-linux:~ # ifconfig -a
eth0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1D:0D:B1:9C:D3
UP BROADCAST MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:0 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:0 (0.0 b) TX bytes:0 (0.0 b)
Interrupt:51
lo Link encap:Local Loopback
inet addr:127.0.0.1 Mask:255.0.0.0
inet6 addr: ::1/128 Scope:Host
UP LOOPBACK RUNNING MTU:16436 Metric:1
RX packets:18 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:18 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:0
RX bytes:1404 (1.3 Kb) TX bytes:1404 (1.3 Kb)
wlan0 Link encap:Ethernet HWaddr 00:1D:0D:B1:9C:D3
inet addr:192.168.1.101 Bcast:192.168.1.255 Mask:255.255.255.0
inet6 addr: fe80::21d:dff:feb1:9cd3/64 Scope:Link
UP BROADCAST RUNNING MULTICAST MTU:1500 Metric:1
RX packets:29658 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 frame:0
TX packets:19969 errors:0 dropped:0 overruns:0 carrier:0
collisions:0 txqueuelen:1000
RX bytes:39358232 (37.5 Mb) TX bytes:2213012 (2.1 Mb)
ps3-linux:~ # iwconfig wlan0
wlan0 IEEE 802.11bg ESSID:"beaver" Nickname:"gelic_wl"
Mode:Managed Access Point: 00:1D:7E:41:5C:81
Encryption key:off
Link Signal level=90/100
Rx invalid nwid:0 Rx invalid crypt:0 Rx invalid frag:0
Tx excessive retries:0 Invalid misc:0 Missed beacon:0
ps3-linux:~ # tail -5 /etc/resolv.conf
### Please remove (at least) this line when you modify the file!
search eau.wi.charter.com
nameserver 68.115.71.53
nameserver 24.196.64.53
nameserver 24.159.193.40

Stefan

[Mick Charles Beaver]

I believe I have this issue resolved. Ultimately, it seems to be
related to the nameservers from my ISP or some sort of interaction
between my router and DNS. Perhaps someone could shed some more light
on this if they have solved a similar issue.

Here is what I tried:

1. I edited resolv.conf, trying each name server by itself. Of the
three name servers, #1 and #2 worked by themselves and I was able to
install some zypper packages, while #3 had failures where it couldn't
resolv a hostname. Enabling #1 and #2 together unexpectedly also
resulted in a failure. I wouldn't consider any of my tests objective,
as I don't know how to correctly flush DNS and reload the
configuration; I did "/etc/init.d/network restart" between tests.

2. From searching the net, I came across a post that claimed that the
Linksys WRT54G router actually runs a nameserver service and may be
used as such. Setting my nameserver to the router's IP seems to work
well for my configuration. My router is version 8.0 with firmware
8.00.5. This leads me to believe my problem may be some strange
Linux/router/DNS interaction. I'm really unsure... if this setup
works, I probably will not invest more debugging time in the immediate
future.

Here is the link to the thread that lead me to set my router as my nameserver:
http://creativekarma.com/ee.php/weblog/comments/slow_dns_response_on_linux_with_wrt54g_router/

Lastly, can someone else confirm that the green network activity light
stays solidly on when no network activity is occurring?

-Mick

[Joachim Banzhaf]

Hi Mick,

Post by Mick Charles Beaver
I believe I have this issue resolved. Ultimately, it seems to be
related to the nameservers from my ISP or some sort of interaction
between my router and DNS. Perhaps someone could shed some more light
on this if they have solved a similar issue.
1. I edited resolv.conf, trying each name server by itself. Of the
three name servers, #1 and #2 worked by themselves and I was able to
install some zypper packages, while #3 had failures where it couldn't
resolv a hostname. Enabling #1 and #2 together unexpectedly also
resulted in a failure. I wouldn't consider any of my tests objective,
as I don't know how to correctly flush DNS and reload the
configuration; I did "/etc/init.d/network restart" between tests.

"/etc/init.d/nscd restart" flushes the name cache. But I would expect,
that failures dont get in the cache. So that would still not explain
your failures when using #1 and #2.

Post by Mick Charles Beaver
2. From searching the net, I came across a post that claimed that the
Linksys WRT54G router actually runs a nameserver service and may be
used as such. Setting my nameserver to the router's IP seems to work
well for my configuration. My router is version 8.0 with firmware

As stated in my other post, I would recommend using this, because it
updates the name servers automatically if your isp changes them.

Post by Mick Charles Beaver
Lastly, can someone else confirm that the green network activity light
stays solidly on when no network activity is occurring?

This is the usual bahaviour of network activity leds. Permanent on means
link to switch/hub in this direction is ok, but no traffic. Blinking
means traffic in this direction. Along with the corresponding led at the
switch you get a complete status of the link and traffic.
I did not configure ethernet yet (and ifconfig did not list eth0 this
morning, only wlan0), so the ps3 might still be the big exception from this.

HTH,

Joachim

[Joachim Banzhaf]

Hi again,

Post by Joachim Banzhaf

Post by Mick Charles Beaver
Lastly, can someone else confirm that the green network activity light
stays solidly on when no network activity is occurring?

This is the usual bahaviour of network activity leds. Permanent on means
link to switch/hub in this direction is ok, but no traffic. Blinking
means traffic in this direction. Along with the corresponding led at the
switch you get a complete status of the link and traffic.
I did not configure ethernet yet (and ifconfig did not list eth0 this
morning, only wlan0), so the ps3 might still be the big exception from this.

I had configured WLAN yesterday for a short test and it is the same here: Off
when not associated with access point, and permanently on when no traffic.

HTH,

Joachim

P.S.: my ethernet works fine now. Bit strange, but it was just a matter of a
reboot.