Re: [Linux-decnet-user] [Kernel 2.4.0] ioctl:invalid argument

[Steve W. <st...@gw...>]

Hi,

> 
> Thanks Steve and Ed,
> 
> Now I know more about the single steps, but I'm afraid of not
> understanding the whole thing :-) 
> 
> 
> On Tue, Aug 08, 2000 at 08:52:31PM +0100, Steve Whitehouse wrote:
> > 
> > with the 2.4.0 versions of DECnet you don't want to use the startnet
> > script. You can set the files in /proc/sys/net/decnet/ using
> > the echo command from the command line. The recommended way of
> > setting the DECnet address is at boot on the LILO command line
> > or at module load time (depending upon which method you use).
> 
> OK, I have also read about this in Documentation, but I was not shure
> about the right time in the boot init. Now I modified the script
> /etc/init.d/dnprogs (which comes with Debian package dnprogs). I
> deleted the line with "startnet" and added two lines with the
> echo command:
> echo -n "1.177" > /proc/sys/net/decnet/node_address

The alternative to the above command is to set the decnet address on
the boot command line using decnet=1,177 for example. You need to
get both the DECnet address of the node, and the MAC address of the
ethernet card set before the boot scripts which configure your ethernet
card for TCP/IP run. This is the reason that I suggest setting the DECnet
address on the command line, since its before any scripts will have had
a chance to run :-)

> echo -n "eth0" > /proc/sys/net/decnet/default_device
> 
> Now a "cat /proc/net/decnet_device show me the loopback and the
> eth0 device. In the other place (/proc/sys/net/...) I can see the 
> node address (1.177) but the node name is not there (only shown:???). 
> 
The nodename file is there for convenience only really. It is not actually
used by anything at the moment. You can ignore it for all practical purposes,
or use echo to set it to the node name of your machine.

> When I try "sethost vax" ("vax" is node 1.1) then appears:
> "no route to host".
> 
Ok. This is simply because eth0 is not available. If you check the
default_device file, you'll find that it does not set unless eth0 is
available (i.e. listed in /proc/net/decnet_dev) as it should be.

> > It is not recommended to load the module more than once (i.e. once
> > loaded, don't unload it) as it will very likely cause a memory leak
> > if you do.
> 
> I use DECnet support in 2.4.0 not as module.
> 
> In 2.2.14 I use Eduardos patch. I set the MAC address AA:00:04:00:B1:04
> in the network scripts, when pcmcia is coming up and ifconfig -a shows
> me also this hardware address.
> 
The same procedure is fine for setting the MAC address in 2.4.0. I
suspect that the problem is the late setting of the DECnet node address.

> Sorry for my stupid questions, but I'm a little bit confused of the
> changes to 2.4.0. Is /etc/decnet.conf still valid or is it now obsolete?
> Where to I set the other node (1.1) I want to contact to?
> 
> Thanks,
> Raimund
> 
decnet.conf is still used. It is the file that the library queries to
find hostname/number translations. It does not change its function
according to the kernel version, but only changes in the library (so far
as I know, none to date). It seems to me that the DECnet address of the
host you are trying to connect to is found, otherwise it would not get
far enough to issue the "No route to host" message. You are very close to
having a working system,

Steve.