MJ Ray wrote:
Neil Sedger alug@moley.org.uk wrote:
If you're using the Benoit/userspace drivers you could try the 'other' ones (ATM in the kernel, kernel module speedtch.o, and enhanced pppd that loads an ATM plugin). They're more hassle to install, but maybe your problem will go away...
Rearrange to get my experience of that darling: time panic every kernel.
oops. Yes it is particular about which order you do things in. You have to follow the HOWTO to the letter, you should be ok.
Plus you need a patch to kernel's USB if you're running SMP - although that patch is in later kernel versions (I didn't need it for 2.4.19, but did for 2.4.2).
I mostly get kernel panics when speedmgmt - the binary provided by Alcatel with no source - exits. However, if I take care and do things slowly - take down pppd first, wait a bit, modules in the right order, then waiting a bit between each one, its OK. /var/log/messages shows speedmgmt has noticed its module has been removed and it exits nicely with no problem, and I can start it up again OK.
I think I was getting them because I wasn't taking care of it on shutdown, so some part of the shutdown process was killing the wrong thing in the wrong order. I've added a little script into /etc/init.d and linked it into /etc/rc.d/rc3.d with a low 'K' number so hopefully next reboot will be panic-free.
I'll find out sometime soon...
Let me know if you want my scripts, but you're better off having a go yourself first with reference to the HOWTO. Previously I had to modprobe speedtch.o, now it seems to modprobe itself once usb is modprobed... dunno why...
The real pain was then you end up with a pppd that can't actually do normal PPP, so you can't even use the good old modem to get on the net. Hopefully they've fixed that one by now, at least.
Aha. You'd have thought so. Unfortunately the latest version of pppd to be found with a patch to load the atm module is pppd v2.4.0. The chap who wrote it has either disappeared off the internet or is not interested in it any more. For some reason that functionality hasn't made it into the main pppd - which was on 2.4.1 something last time I looked. I last looked a couple of months ago - when I upgraded from 2.4.2 to 2.4.19. Situation might have changed since then.
Still, 2.4.0 seems to work fine here, with upgraded kernel, smp, speedtouch module and speedmgmt binary...
Neil