Configuring ASUS P5KPL-CM NIC Atheros Attansic l1e atl1e AR8121/AR8113 in Debian, Ubuntu, Centos or Fedora Linux
This document covers how to configure the on-board NIC on the ASUS P5KPL-CM motherboard to work with Linux. This document is provided without any warranty, guarantee or other assurances.
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This process requires that you have a natively supported NIC (like a Realtek) to use temporarily. If you don't have a supported NIC to use temporarily, you will need to download all necessary files and transfer them to the target computer via DVD or USB stick or some other method. It is vastly easier to use a temporary NIC, however.
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Commands to be executed at the bash prompt are in bold blue.
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Steps that require physically managing hardware are in bold green.
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Please review all steps before beginning.
Steps:
- Temporarily plug the Realtek NIC into the new server and connect a network cable.
- Install Linux. Always use the 64 bit version unless the client requests i386. Be sure to tick the appropriate boxes to install development tools and libraries.
- During the install, give the Realtek NIC an IP (use the servers primary IP) and get it working on the net.
- On Fedora 9, on the first bootup, the system will load the setup program. Use it to disable the NetworkManager service and enable network on boot. You can do this after the first bootup by typing setup at the bash prompt and editing the services.
- Unplug the DVD drive.
If you get an ATAPI error on bootup after unplugging the dvd drive, edit CMOS and change the IDE Master to AUTO instead of CD.
- The following steps can be done via SSH or KVM/IP. Log in and sudo su if needed to get root privileges.
- uname -r (write down the kernel numbers, referred to here as <KERNEL VERSION>)
- Now, we need to prepare for the installation. This is different depending on your distro.
On Ubuntu and Debian:
apt-get install make
apt-get install build-essential
apt-get install linux-headers-<KERNEL VERSION>
On Fedora/Centos:
yum install kernel-devel
- On Fedora and Centos, we can delete the existing eth0.
rm -rf /etc/sysconfig/networking/devices/ifcfg-eth0
rm -rf /etc/sysconfig/network-scripts/ifcfg-eth0
- Now, we need to make the driver. Do not use the tar from Asus! I had to rework the make file half a dozen times to make it work. You can fight the same battles or just use the one I created.
cd /tmp
wget www.esecuredata.com/support/downloads/l1e.tar
tar xvf l1e.tar
cd l1e-l2e-linux-v1.0.0.4/src
make install
If you get a source not found error:
yum update kernel
reboot
Yes, you really do need to update the kernel as the source needs to match the installed kernel. Don't skip the reboot either or the kernel you're working on won't match the source. Repeat the make install step above after the reboot.
- Now, we install the driver we've just compiled.
cd /lib/modules/<KERNEL VERSION>/kernel/drivers/net/atl1e
insmod atl1e.ko
- Now, we need to enable the correct interfaces. Again, this differs based on your distro.
On Debian/Ubuntu:
cd /etc/network
nano interfaces
...and replace all instances of eth0 with eth1.
On Fedora/Centos:
setup
...and add a new eth0 interface and give it your primary IP.
- shutdown -h now
Wait for the server to shut down.
- Plug the network cable into the onboard NIC.
Unplug the Realtek card.
Turn on the server.
- Test. Remember that Ubuntu is like Windows and the network is loaded in the background, so it may take a minute or two for it to come up, even though it has finished the visible boot sequence. Fedora should work as soon as it's booted.