Noob-alert! Trying to use ExpressCard gives 2 NICs with same MAC
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Hi,
I'm new to pfsense. I'm trying to set it up on an asus of some variety and I bought a SYBA SD-EXP24010. Now I have an re0 and re1. But they both were reporting the same MAC address (until I changed it) and the expresscard NIC doesn't seem to work at all.I saw someone else post pciconf info, so here's that:
re0@pci0:2:0:0: class=0x020000 card=0x01401025 chip=0x816810ec rev=0x06 hdr=0x00
class = network
subclass = ethernet
ath0@pci0:4:0:0: class=0x028000 card=0xe006105b chip=0x002a168c rev=0x01 hdr=0x00
class = network
re1@pci0:5:0:0: class=0x020000 card=0x01401025 chip=0x816810ec rev=0x02 hdr=0x00
class = network
subclass = ethernet[2.1-RELEASE][admin@pfsense]/root(2): ifconfig -a
re0: flags=8843 <up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast>metric 0 mtu 1500
options=209b <rxcsum,txcsum,vlan_mtu,vlan_hwtagging,vlan_hwcsum,wol_magic>ether 40:25:c2:37:e8:8e
inet6 fe80::21e:ecff:fecf:8b33%re0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x1
nd6 options=3 <performnud,accept_rtadv>media: Ethernet autoselect (none)
ath0: flags=8802 <broadcast,simplex,multicast>metric 0 mtu 2290
ether 00:23:4d:36:15:83
media: IEEE 802.11 Wireless Ethernet autoselect (autoselect)
status: no carrier
re1: flags=8843 <up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast>metric 0 mtu 1500
options=209b <rxcsum,txcsum,vlan_mtu,vlan_hwtagging,vlan_hwcsum,wol_magic>ether 00:1e:ec:cf:8b:33
inet6 fe80::1:1%re1 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x3
inet 192.168.0.254 netmask 0xffffff00 broadcast 192.168.0.255
nd6 options=1 <performnud>media: Ethernet autoselect (100baseTX <full-duplex>)
status: active
enc0: flags=0<> metric 0 mtu 1536
pflog0: flags=100 <promisc>metric 0 mtu 33192
lo0: flags=8049 <up,loopback,running,multicast>metric 0 mtu 16384
options=3 <rxcsum,txcsum>inet 127.0.0.1 netmask 0xff000000
inet6 ::1 prefixlen 128
inet6 fe80::1%lo0 prefixlen 64 scopeid 0x6
nd6 options=3 <performnud,accept_rtadv>pfsync0: flags=0<> metric 0 mtu 1460
syncpeer: 224.0.0.240 maxupd: 128 syncok: 1I'm a Unix/Linux admin by trade, but I'm not very familiar with freebsd/pfsense, so where should I look?
(and you can avoid the 'look at the HCL' handslapping. I've already slapped my own hand:))</performnud,accept_rtadv></rxcsum,txcsum></up,loopback,running,multicast></promisc></full-duplex></performnud></rxcsum,txcsum,vlan_mtu,vlan_hwtagging,vlan_hwcsum,wol_magic></up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast></broadcast,simplex,multicast></performnud,accept_rtadv></rxcsum,txcsum,vlan_mtu,vlan_hwtagging,vlan_hwcsum,wol_magic></up,broadcast,running,simplex,multicast> -
So one of those re interfaces is on board the laptop? Which MAC did you change? How did you decide what to change it to?
Some driver/hardware combinations can have trouble reading the MAC from the PHY. Usually there would be some indication in the logs.Steve
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Yes, what's interesting is that the second interface is the onboard interface (re1)
Both are Realtek 8168 class controllers.
The MAC I changed was on the express card. I just took my laptop's MAC and incremented it by one.I've since taken a debian cd, installed it and poked around at the devices. If I pull the express card, and reboot, the onboard controller comes up with the :33 address.
If I insert the express card then, I get a legitimate MAC on the expresscard - ending in :2e
on the debian boot, I saw an error saying that it failed to rename the onboard interface to eth0 (primary)So it looks like something with the hardware configuration loads the expresscard first, then the onboard controller and but then uses the onboard controller's MAC for both cards.
What I saw in pfsense/freebsd would support that - having the same mac for both and the onboard interface being re1 instead of re0.
Any thoughts?
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Hmm, seems like a hardware incompatibility. BIOS update?
Steve
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I know it's an old thread, but just wondering if you got the Syba ExpressCard working?
On a related note… I'm trying to find a gigabit ExpressCard to use under pfSense 2.1. The only one that I've found posts confirming it works is the Startech EC1000s... but I was hoping for a cheaper alternative.
Does anyone have a less expensive ($10-$20 range) gigabit ExpressCard working on 2.1?