Ubuntu
linux-source-2.6.22 package

Ubuntu 7.10 /etc/network/interfaces order not honored during boot

Bug #180791 reported by Casper
6
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
linux (Ubuntu)
Invalid
Undecided
Unassigned
linux-source-2.6.22 (Ubuntu)
Won't Fix
Undecided
Unassigned

Bug Description

Two problems, related. Very confusing bug.

1: When booting the order of the network interfaces in the file /etc/network/interfaces is not honored. The manual states that ifup and /etc/init.d/networking bring up the interfaces in the order they are configured in the interfaces file. This is not the case during boot.

2: Something else is bringing up the interfaces during boot besides /etc/init.d/networking. I remove the file /etc/rcS.d/S40networking, and my interfaces still come up (!) (in the wrong order).

I have a simple bridging setup where it is crucial that the interfaces are brought up in the correct order:

# cat /etc/network/interfaces
auto lo br0 eth0 eth1
iface lo inet loopback

iface br0 inet manual
  bridge_ports eth0 eth1
  bridge_fd 0

iface eth0 inet dhcp

iface eth1 inet static
  address 10.10.10.20
  netmask 255.255.255.0

But when I boot the interfaces are brought up in the approximate order (very hard to debug): lo, eth0, eth1, br0.

But what is certain (after extensive debugging) is that br0 is brought up last, and eth0 and eth1 is NOT brought up by /etc/init.d/networking, but by some other process that is run BEFORE /etc/init.d/networking. This completely messes up the initialization of the network interfaces.

The only way to kludge out of this mess is to put into rc.local:

ifdown -a; ifup -a

And then the network stack is brough up correctly.

The bug is that some other (unknown) process is running up the interfaces before /etc/init.d/networking gets a chance to run. This also has the effect that no "pre-up", "up", nor "post-up" lines in the interfaces file for eth* get executed during boot.

Revision history for this message
jtholmes (jtholmes) wrote :

Casper
Thank you for your report. It will help to make ubuntu a better product.

Could you please provide us with two pieces of information.

What release of [K]Ubuntu you are running with this problem

What manual and page in the manual are you referring to

If it is an electronic manual please describe the steps you used to acccess it.

Revision history for this message
Casper (casper-cg) wrote :

Hi. It's Ubuntu Gutsy 7.10. Desktop Edition. Downloaded from here:
http://www.ubuntu.com/getubuntu/download

# uname -a
Linux xxx 2.6.22-14-generic #1 SMP Tue Dec 18 08:02:57 UTC 2007 i686 GNU/Linux

The manual page I'm referring to is interfaces (5). Search for the string "order" in that document and you will find the explanation of the order. The manual page is correct though, as ifup and ifdown work as stated on that page. But the boot process does something else..

Also while trying to troubleshoot this I was reading the manual page for boot (7). It talks about /etc/inittab, which doesn't exist by default any more in Ubuntu 7.10. Seems like that functionality has been moved to /etc/event.d...which is controlled by <unknown> (I don't know..but looks like inittab functionality is in event.d now..).

Thanks.

Revision history for this message
Casper (casper-cg) wrote :

Also ifup(8) and ifdown(8) talk about the order as in interfaces(5).

Revision history for this message
Leann Ogasawara (leannogasawara) wrote :

The Hardy Heron Alpha series is currently under development and contains an updated version of the kernel. It would be helpful if you could test the latest Hardy Alpha release: http://www.ubuntu.com/testing . You should be able to then test the new kernel via the LiveCD. If you can, please verify if this bug still exists or not and report back your results. Thanks.

Changed in linux-source-2.6.22:
status: New → Incomplete
Revision history for this message
Casper (casper-cg) wrote :

Hi..I'd like to test this but I have no idea how.

How do I test this through the LiveCD? I need modified files in /etc to be able to see if it works or not. Can I somehow load the kernel from the CD and still boot from my regular HD partition? Or do you mean I install the kernel image from the LiveCD somehow to my current 7.10 HD partition?

Thx..

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote : This bug is now reported against the 'linux' package

Beginning with the Hardy Heron 8.04 development cycle, all open Ubuntu kernel bugs need to be reported against the "linux" kernel package. We are automatically migrating this bug to the new "linux" package. However, development has already began for the upcoming Intrepid Ibex 8.10 release. It would be helpful if you could test the upcoming release and verify if this is still an issue - http://www.ubuntu.com/testing . If the issue still exists, please update this report by changing the Status of the "linux" task from "Incomplete" to "New". We appreciate your patience and understanding as we make this transition. Thanks!

Revision history for this message
Leann Ogasawara (leannogasawara) wrote :

The Ubuntu Kernel Team is planning to move to the 2.6.27 kernel for the upcoming Intrepid Ibex 8.10 release. As a result, the kernel team would appreciate it if you could please test this newer 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. There are one of two ways you should be able to test:

1) If you are comfortable installing packages on your own, the linux-image-2.6.27-* package is currently available for you to install and test.

--or--

2) The upcoming Alpha5 for Intrepid Ibex 8.10 will contain this newer 2.6.27 Ubuntu kernel. Alpha5 is set to be released Thursday Sept 4. Please watch http://www.ubuntu.com/testing for Alpha5 to be announced. You should then be able to test via a LiveCD.

Please let us know immediately if this newer 2.6.27 kernel resolves the bug reported here or if the issue remains. More importantly, please open a new bug report for each new bug/regression introduced by the 2.6.27 kernel and tag the bug report with 'linux-2.6.27'. Also, please specifically note if the issue does or does not appear in the 2.6.26 kernel. Thanks again, we really appreicate your help and feedback.

Revision history for this message
Michele Mangili (mangilimic) wrote :

We are closing this bug report because it lacks the information we need to investigate the problem, as described in the previous comments. Please reopen it if you can give us the missing information, and don't hesitate to submit bug reports in the future. To reopen the bug report you can click on the current status, under the Status column, and change the Status back to "New". Thanks again!

Changed in linux:
status: Incomplete → Invalid
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