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Date:      Wed, 14 Jun 2000 08:34:55 -0400 (EDT)
From:      Kenneth W Cochran <kwc@world.std.com>
To:        freebsd-questions@freebsd.org
Subject:   One-way cable-modem, Ethernet packet losses
Message-ID:  <200006141234.IAA06468@world.std.com>

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Previously,
>Date: Tue, 13 Jun 2000 16:18:19 -0400 (EDT)
>To: freebsd-stable@freebsd.org
>Subject: One-way cable-modem, Ethernet packet losses

Hi,

I'm having strange network packet losses on the Ethernet "side"
with FreeBSD connected to a one-way (analog voice-return) cable
modem (& this is difficult to explain...).

Per advice I may need to take this to -net.  (?)

Several times per day, traffic across the Ethernet interface just
"vanishes," only to "return" in, say, 5-20 minutes.  I'm not quite
sure, but I don't *think* this is happening with Linux (Slackware
7, kernel 2.2.16).  I can ping the default-route/gateway
(analog/serial/pppd side), but can't "get past" it because of the
(lack of) Ethernet "return."

Also, I've never been able to ping "myself" at my cable-modem
ip-address with FreeBSD.  My ip-address is ping-able just fine
from elsewhere, just not this machine.  Under Linux, I *can*
ping my cable-modem ip-address.

OS is 4.0-STABLE, cvsup'ed 2000/06/10, but this was happening
with 3.x-stable too.

NIC is Intel Pro100+ using fxp driver (fxp0).  This is the
"downstream" side.  It is ifconfig'ed at address 10.0.0.1
netmask 255.255.255.0, as per cablemodem company's
instructions.  I've noticed that it also "works" at ip address
192.168.0.1, btw.

Cable modem is a Com21 CP-2000.

"Upstream" side is via kernel ppp (pppd 2.3.5, which, btw,
appears to be very old nowadays).

Upon connecting, the machine gets its "real" ip-address (+
gateway/defaultroute) from the remote-end, static in this case,
apparently based on the "user-id."  Both FreeBSD and Linux are
using the same pppd setup/config files (with the obvious
exception of the different modem-device :).

Here is output of netstat -r on FreeBSD:

Internet:
Destination        Gateway            Flags     Refs     Use     Netif Expire
default           (remote ip, pppd)   UGSc        9      206     ppp0
10/24              link#1             UC          0        0     fxp0 =>
myname             0:90:27:c7:bc:3d   UHLW        1      615      lo0
10.0.0.14          0:a0:73:15:8a:e9   UHLW        0        1     fxp0   1177
(remote ip, pppd) (local ip, pppd)    UH         10        0     ppp0
localhost          localhost          UH          0       13      lo0

"myname" can be either 10.0.0.1 or 192.168.0.1, depending on how
I'm "testing."  10.0.0.14 is the MAC address of the cable-modem,
but where did that ip-address come from?  It is not "configured"
anywhere I can find...  Also, sometimes it "disappears" & then
later "reappears."  IIRC, that .14 address is "around" if I have
fxp0 on the 192-block.

Netstat -r:  (from Slackware Linux 7, kernel 2.2.16)

Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags   MSS Window  irtt Iface
(remote ip, pppd) *             255.255.255.255 UH        0 0          0 ppp0
10.0.0.0        *               255.255.255.0   U         0 0          0 eth0
loopback        *               255.0.0.0       U         0 0          0 lo
default       (remote ip, pppd) 0.0.0.0         UG        0 0          0 ppp0

Netstat -rn  (also from Slackware)

Kernel IP routing table
Destination     Gateway         Genmask         Flags   MSS Window  irtt Iface
(remote ip)     0.0.0.0         255.255.255.255 UH        0 0          0 ppp0
10.0.0.0        0.0.0.0         255.255.255.0   U         0 0          0 eth0
127.0.0.0       0.0.0.0         255.0.0.0       U         0 0          0 lo
0.0.0.0         (remote ip)     0.0.0.0         UG        0 0          0 ppp0

Can somebody shed some light on this?
Am I looking at a bug or a Feature (or some config thing :)?

Naturally, book/doc/faq pointers are most welcome.
Speaking of which, where can I find Good Description(s) of these
routing table displays?  (tcpdump output too)  Perhaps one of
the W.Stevens books?

Btw, fwiw, even though my cablemodem company Officially Doesn't
Support anything outside Winxx (or perhaps Mac), the support
guys themselves seem to have a nice, umm, "collection," of *BSD
& Linux boxes...  :)  (& we're all stumped, so far...)

Many thanks,

-kc



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