compiled kernel and NetXtreme II BCM5708 Gigabit Ethernet

[Daniel Bareiro]

Hi all!

I am having a problem booting with a compiled kernel using the Debian
way. The idea is to install kernel newer than 2.6.24-19, that is the one
that Hardy Heron server has in its repositories, since by problems that
I had of excessive use of virtual memory with KVM, in the KVM mailing
list they recommended to me to use 2.6.27 or superior because it
realises a better management of memory.

Then I've downloaded to the source code of 2.6.30.3 and I compiled it
with:

# fakeroot make-kpkg clean
# fakeroot make-kpkg --initrd --append-to-version=-dgb kernel_image kernel_headers

Although the compilation finishes without problems, I am having a
problem booting the operating system. The interfaces fail to load. This
equipment is a Proliant DL380 G5 with two NetXtreme II BCM5708 Ethernet
Gigabit interfaces.

With kernel of the Ubuntu Hardy repositories I did not have any kind of
problem, but with kernel compiled by myself I obtain the following error
message during the boot that it suggests cannot access to firmware of
this network interface:

Aug  4 17:38:39 ss03 kernel: [    4.750023] bnx2 0000:03:00.0: firmware: requesting bnx2/bnx2-mips-06-4.6.16.fw
Aug  4 17:38:39 ss03 kernel: [    4.751070] bnx2: Can't load firmware file "bnx2/bnx2-mips-06-4.6.16.fw"
Aug  4 17:38:39 ss03 kernel: [    4.751141] bnx2 0000:03:00.0: PCI INT A disabled
Aug  4 17:38:39 ss03 kernel: [    4.751167] bnx2: probe of 0000:03:00.0 failed with error -2
Aug  4 17:38:39 ss03 kernel: [    4.751244] bnx2 0000:05:00.0: PCI INT A -> GSI 17 (level, low) -> IRQ 17

The peculiar thing is that if I do:

# rmmod bnx2
# modprobe bnx2

Yes it loads the interfaces. I read something of this in a bug report of
Debian GNU/Linux [1] and tried with the suggestion to do:

# update-initramfs -u

The files seem to be:

# find / | grep bnx
/boot/lib/modules/2.6.30.3-dgb/kernel/drivers/net/bnx2.ko
/sys/bus/pci/drivers/bnx2
/sys/bus/pci/drivers/bnx2/0000:03:00.0
/sys/bus/pci/drivers/bnx2/0000:05:00.0
/sys/bus/pci/drivers/bnx2/module
/sys/bus/pci/drivers/bnx2/uevent
/sys/bus/pci/drivers/bnx2/unbind
/sys/bus/pci/drivers/bnx2/bind
/sys/bus/pci/drivers/bnx2/new_id
/sys/bus/pci/drivers/bnx2/remove_id
/sys/module/bnx2
/sys/module/bnx2/holders
/sys/module/bnx2/version
/sys/module/bnx2/srcversion
/sys/module/bnx2/initstate
/sys/module/bnx2/refcnt
/sys/module/bnx2/sections
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.note.gnu.build-id
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.text
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.exit.text
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.devinit.text
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.init.text
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.devexit.text
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.rodata
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.rodata.str1.1
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.smp_locks
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/__bug_table
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.rodata.str1.8
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/__param
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.devinit.rodata
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.data
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.devinit.data
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.gnu.linkonce.this_module
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.bss
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.symtab
/sys/module/bnx2/sections/.strtab
/sys/module/bnx2/notes
/sys/module/bnx2/notes/.note.gnu.build-id
/sys/module/bnx2/drivers
/sys/module/bnx2/drivers/pci:bnx2
/lib/firmware/bnx2
/lib/firmware/bnx2/bnx2-rv2p-06-4.6.16.fw
/lib/firmware/bnx2/bnx2-mips-06-4.6.16.fw
/lib/firmware/bnx2/bnx2-rv2p-09-4.6.15.fw
/lib/firmware/bnx2/bnx2-mips-09-4.6.17.fw
/lib/modules/2.6.30.4-dgb/kernel/drivers/net/bnx2.ko
/lib/modules/2.6.24-19-server/kernel/drivers/net/bnx2.ko

But after boot I have again the same problem.

/etc/initramfs-tools/modules doesn't make reference to some module. I do
not see that in Ubuntu Hardy firmware-bnx2 is a package, although am not
sure either if it is necessary with kernel compiled from the sources.

With 2.6.30.4 it happens the same exactly. Somebody also had this problem
and could solve it somehow?

Thanks in advance for your reply.

Regards,
Daniel

[1] http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=494936
-- 
Fingerprint: BFB3 08D6 B4D1 31B2 72B9  29CE 6696 BF1B 14E6 1D37
Powered by Debian GNU/Linux Squeeze - Linux user #188.598
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 197 bytes
Desc: Digital signature
URL: <https://lists.ubuntu.com/archives/ubuntu-users/attachments/20090806/0f0c3b74/attachment.sig>