Topic: Telstra cable connect problems.. bpalogin

[spelchek]

Posted this in genreal forum with no luck.. hope someone here can help me


hi all,
Hoping someone can help me... I am unable to connect to Telstra Cable through my SME server (5.5).

I have re-installed bpalogin but still no go. The modem is working fine (at least I can go onbline with it direct through my mac).

From veiwing my SME 'messages log', the problem seems to be bpalogin cannoct connect to the authentication server.

Can someone help here?? Suggest something i should be looking for?? Offer condolences at least??

Thanks in advance.

[bobk]

1. Upgrade your SME version.

2 Check that you are using the correct BigPond login server. There is a list here ozcableguy

[groutley]

Hi SpelChek,
  I also am using SME5.5 and since the weekend have started having logon to Bigpond problems.
Same message, can't reach the Authentication Server.

If I leave mine long enough it eventually starts working !

Are you in Melbourne also by chance?

Upgrading from 5.5 is not such an easy thing, as the later kernals don't support my ISA cards

I am assuming bigpond have made a change !

[Anonymous]

Bobk:
Updating the SME version? It has been working fine until now. Would rather deal with this issue than update whole server atm. I use it as firewall/router and dev space for website production.
I re-installed bpalogin using the how-to at synaptic. I assume it was the correct version. But I will check on that. Thanks.

groutley:
My problems actually started last week when telstra came to check a recurring problem and replaced my modem with the new SB5100.
Im in brisbane by the way.
How long did you mean by 'long enough'?? Mine wont connect at all.
I've contacted synaptic, even offered to pay for a consult, but no reply so far.
Please let me know if you find what the problem is

Thanks for replies guys

[groutley]

spelchek:
  by wait a while..  hmmm  not exactly sure,
Sunday afternoon I rebooted my SME, and did not get back online, I assumed it was todo with my installing clamd !!
I played all evening eventually giving up around 10PM, when I got up in the morning we were online again !!
Then last night, I rebooted the server, again would not login to the auth server as it could not find it.
 I once again I started to play trying to understand what the issue was,  then about 9AM this morning it magically logged in !!
So when I say wait a while... I mean around 8 to 10 hours !!
Not satisfactory I know, but a curious phenomina !!

Meantime I am attempting to build a new SME machine with the new v6.01 load, but not only do I have the issues of migrating my users email accounts, and the other services I run, but I know it will not login to the cable due to being a different ethernet MAC !!
Arrrgh !!!

Happy to help if I get to the bottom of this !

[spelchek]

Ive left mine on overnight with no luck at loging in.

As for migrating your users to new box, do a 'backup to desktop', then plug yr new server into netwrok and do a ''restor from desktop'.. that should set uop the new server with all the accounts etc from old server intact.

NB: not done this before myself.. but thats how its sposed to work.

[spelchek]

Goin thru my 'messages' log carefully last night.. Seems that it is at the ethernet interface intialisation that a failure is occuring.

Below is an excerpt from my messages log showing the diference between eth0 (successful) and eth1 (failed). Sems that the request for DHCP information does not get answered.

Does this shed anylight on my problem??

Apr 29 04:33:12 e-smith network: Setting network parameters:  succeeded
Apr 29 04:33:12 e-smith network: ^[[60G
Apr 29 04:33:12 e-smith network:
Apr 29 04:33:12 e-smith network: Bringing up interface lo:  
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith network: Bringing up interface lo:  succeeded
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith network: ^[[60G
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith network:
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith network: Bringing up interface eth0:  
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel: eepro100.c:v1.09j-t 9/29/99 Donald Becker http://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/linux/drivers/eepro100.html
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel: eepro100.c: $Revision: 1.20.2.10 $ 2000/05/31 Modified by Andrey V. Savochkin <saw@saw.sw.com.sg> and others
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel: eepro100.c: VA Linux custom, Dragan Stancevic <visitor@valinux.com> 2000/11/15
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel: eth0: OEM i82557/i82558 10/100 Ethernet, 00:02:55:21:21:50, I/O at 0xdc00, IRQ 5.
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel:   Board assembly 727095-004, Physical connectors present: RJ45
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel:   Primary interface chip i82555 PHY #1.
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel:   General self-test: passed.
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel:   Serial sub-system self-test: passed.
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel:   Internal registers self-test: passed.
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel:   ROM checksum self-test: passed (0x04f4518b).
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith network: Bringing up interface eth0:  succeeded
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith network: ^[[60G
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith network:
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith network: Bringing up interface eth1:  
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel: rtl8139.c:v1.07 5/6/99 Donald Becker http://cesdis.gsfc.nasa.gov/linux/drivers/rtl8139.html
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith kernel: eth1: SMC1211TX EZCard 10/100 (RealTek RTL8139) at 0xe000, IRQ 10, 00:e0:29:9d:b8:e8.
Apr 29 04:33:13 e-smith ifup: Determining IP information for eth1...
Apr 29 04:33:14 e-smith dhcpcd[737]: broadcasting DHCP_REQUEST for 112.245.255.163
Apr 29 04:33:14 e-smith ifup: ./ifup: line 173:   737 Segmentation fault      /sbin/dhcpcd ${DHCPCDARGS} ${DEVICE}
Apr 29 04:33:14 e-smith ifup:  failed.
Apr 29 04:33:14 e-smith network: Determining IP information for eth1..../ifup: line 173:   737 Segmentation fault      /sbin/dhcpcd ${DHCPCDARGS} ${DEVICE}
Apr 29 04:33:14 e-smith network:  failed.
Apr 29 04:33:14 e-smith network: Bringing up interface eth1:  failed
Apr 29 04:33:14 e-smith network:

[mbachmann]

Have you tried interchanging ethernet cables and   reconfiguring the server to use the other card as you internet connection?

[spelchek]

No I havnt, but i did change ethernet cards in the eth1 slot. (Same card as old one.. with same result)

[Kelvin]

groutley said :

Meantime I am attempting to build a new SME machine with the new v6.01 load, but not only do I have the issues of migrating my users email accounts, and the other services I run, but I know it will not login to the cable due to being a different ethernet MAC !!
Arrrgh !!!

If you leave the system powered off overnight, Telstra's routers will generally allow a different MAC address (ie. different NIC or router) to connect.

In any case, you can actually replace the NIC and get SME to spoof the MAC address of your original NIC for the cable connection (I've done this myself in the past). Search the forums for how to accomplish this.

I've since given up on using SME to login to Bigpond Cable as I've found that sometimes when Bigpond goes offline for extended periods, SME does not manage to log in again automatically when Bigpond comes back online without either rebooting the server or restarting interfaces / services - not ideal for running a mail and web server. A cheap hardware router with built-in bigpond support fixed that problem (I've since upgraded again to a more sophisticated - hence slightly more expensive, hardware router).

Regards,

Kelvin