Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Iburst USB modem installation tutorial on Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10


Iburst USB modem installation tutorial on Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10
This post was created as a guide to aid others out there compile, install and configure an Iburst USB "Array Com" / "Kyocera" modem in Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron and 8.10 Intrepid Ibex both desktop editions.


First a special thanks goes to Nick Carroll for his original guide. Which this tutorial was inspired by and is a good read for anyone looking to install the PCMCIA Iburst modem in Ubuntu 7.10 Nick I give you almost all credit for what I am about to write and take nothing away from you. Thanks again for all the help! Just wish I had found your post sooner. But here it is for people living in the Republic of South Africa like myself to find a little easier.

Okay to begin I want to ask that you do not plug in your modem at this point!
Everything in green is whats happening in the terminal and bolded is what you should be doing.

Step 1.

Download Ibdriver from http://sourceforge.net/projects/ibdriver
the latest driver at time of writing this is
linux-2.6.ibdriver-1.3 - ibdriver-1.3.4



Step 2.

Next download the Roaring Penguin PPPoE dialler from www.roaringpenguin.com/products/pppoe


Step 3.

Remember to be in the directory you downloaded the files to when attempting this. Now time to extract the driver:
tar -zxvf ibdriver-1.3.4-linux-2.6.24.tar.gz



Step 4.

Next we extract the RP-PPPoE dialler this script just happens to be magic for all those looking to setup PPPoE in Debian/Ubuntu period.
tar -zxvf rp-pppoe-3.10.tar.gz


Step 5.

cd ibdriver-1.3.4-linux-2.6.24

Feel free to use vim or pico instead of nano it's just my preferred editor but which ever makes you feel more comfortable.

nano ib-net.c

Look in ib-net.c for SET_MODULE_OWNER(netdev); and delete the line this is a deprecated call that is no longer in use on later kernels.

Quick hint it's on line 509 so scrolling right down to the bottom of the file and then up a little should make the process a little less painful.

Press CTRL X and say Yes to save.


Step 6.

Now type: make
if everything worked out you can now install
Type: sudo make install

Step 7.

Now might be a good time to tell you that libc6 would be required for this but if you have installed Ubuntu with out removing to many packages it should already be on system.

cd..
cd rp-pppoe-3.10
sudo ./go



Step 8.


>>> Enter your PPPoE user name: your.iburst.username@iburst.co.za
>>> Enter the Ethernet interface connected to the DSL modem: ib0
>>> Enter the demand value: no
>>> Enter the DNS information here: 208.67.220.220
>>> Enter the Secondary DNS information here: 208.67.222.222

We enter OpenDNS servers above here in stead of Iburst DNS. Why well Willie Venter has some good points as to why we use them here.


>>> Please enter your PPPoE password: your.password.here
>>> Please re-enter your PPPoE password: your.password.here.again
>>> Choose Firewall settings: 2

Choose 2 above if you have more then 1 machine using the gateway.
This will save you some time and effort in the future.

Step 9.

You must now restart the machine and plug the iBurst USB modem in.
It should start the connection automatically on boot.

If you having problems you can verify the installation using:
lsmod | grep ib_

The output should look something like this:

ib_usb 13956 0
ib_net 14344 1 ib_usb
usbcore 149360 5 ib_usb,isp1760,usbhid,uhci_hcd

To start, stop or view the status of the interface use these commands:

sudo pppoe-start
sudo pppoe-stop
sudo pppoe-status


Please note that Hosting Habitat is in No way affiliated with Iburst or endorses any of there products. Also we in no way guarantee that any of this will work for you and will not provide any technical support if the above product or installation fails. Just thought this may help you as I use Iburst on my laptop for when I'm on the road or at a meeting. Good Luck!!!

Before I go users of 8.10 experience a problem using firefox where it keeps reverting to offline mode look here for the work around.

30 comments:

Roger said...

i tried the above advice on a default installation of Ubuntu 9.04 (on a Panasonic CF-Y5 laptop), and everything seemed to go smoothly until i tried lsmod. the usbcore module seems to be missing (modprobe says it does not exist).

when i try to connect using sudo pppoe-start, it immediately tells me i'm connected, but i'm unable to access anything on the web; tcpdump on ppp0 seems dead; and i'm also unable to ping any IP address (even either end address of the point-to-point link given by sudo pppoe-status).

so it's not (only?) a DNS issue.

does anyone have a solution, other than downgrading my ubuntu version ;-)? any help would be appreciated. thanks

Sean Smith said...

Did you try running sudo pppoe-conf again?

RogerMateer said...

i have finally got around to doing the following:

i followed your instructions again (still on Ubuntu 9.04). after rebooting with the modem plugged in, i did

sudo pppoe-setup
sudo pppoe-stop
sudo pppoe-start

and it now works.
i'm sending this reply using the new connection. thanks!

Sean Smith said...

No problem Roger. Just got Ubuntu 10.4 in the mail I'll be installing it soon and will come up with another tutorial for you if I come right. You always welcome to mail me through the contact form on the Hosting Habitat website if you need any advice. Will only be doing tutorials for Long Term release candidates though.

Sean Smith said...

actually not gonna reinvent the wheel here. Here is the info you need for the 2.6.31 Kernel.

http://jkroon.blogs.uls.co.za/it/networking/ibdriver-and-the-2631-kernel-iburst-linux-drivers/comment-page-1#comment-533

Anubis said...

Noob here.. having difficulties here.. any idea how to proceed?



Jul 21 05:46:10 ubuntu pppd[6994]: Exit.
Jul 21 05:46:15 ubuntu pppd[7010]: pppd 2.4.5 started by root, uid 0
Jul 21 05:46:15 ubuntu pppd[7010]: Using interface ppp0
Jul 21 05:46:15 ubuntu pppd[7010]: Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/pts/4
Jul 21 05:46:16 ubuntu pppd[7010]: CHAP authentication failed: Rejected^J^M
Jul 21 05:46:16 ubuntu pppd[7010]: Connection terminated.
Jul 21 05:46:16 ubuntu pppd[7010]: Exit.
Jul 21 05:46:21 ubuntu pppd[7019]: pppd 2.4.5 started by root, uid 0
Jul 21 05:46:21 ubuntu pppd[7019]: Using interface ppp0
Jul 21 05:46:21 ubuntu pppd[7019]: Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/pts/4
Jul 21 05:46:22 ubuntu pppd[7019]: CHAP authentication failed: Rejected^J^M
Jul 21 05:46:22 ubuntu pppd[7019]: Connection terminated.
Jul 21 05:46:22 ubuntu pppd[7019]: Exit.
Jul 21 05:46:27 ubuntu pppd[7029]: pppd 2.4.5 started by root, uid 0
Jul 21 05:46:27 ubuntu pppd[7029]: Using interface ppp0
Jul 21 05:46:27 ubuntu pppd[7029]: Connect: ppp0 <--> /dev/pts/4
Jul 21 05:46:27 ubuntu pppd[7029]: CHAP authentication failed: Rejected^J^M
Jul 21 05:46:27 ubuntu pppd[7029]: Connection terminated.
Jul 21 05:46:27 ubuntu pppd[7029]: Exit.

Sean Smith said...

http://jkroon.blogs.uls.co.za/it/networking/ibdriver-and-the-2631-kernel-iburst-linux-drivers

Check the third comment by Jaco Kroon over here. Then run pppoeconf. Hope that helps

Anubis said...

Hi Sean,

I get the ibdriver from here and there is no error msg during installation.
http://retis.sssup.it/~fabio/git/?p=ibdriver.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/master

Should i redo the whole process?

Sean Smith said...

Just check if your password is correct by running pppoeconf again.

Jul 21 05:46:16 ubuntu pppd[7010]: CHAP authentication failed: Rejected^J^M

This line would lead me to believe you may have typed in either username or password incorrectly.

Anubis said...

No cant do.

Username checked.
Password checked.

yet still cant established.
But surprising the online updates can be done.

Anubis said...

http://www.izzi.com.my/izzidrivers_download_utu.php

I found the driver meant for linux from isp. But just cant get correctly setup.

Would appreciate if you could provide some coaching / guide.

Seriously noob here.

Sean Smith said...

Post the output of
cat < /etc/resolv.conf
for me please

Anubis said...

root@ubuntu:/# cat < /etc/resolv.conf
nameserver 208.67.222.222
nameserver 208.67.220.220
root@ubuntu:/#

Sean Smith said...

Okay I think it's time for another blog post. Anubis I'm a little busy right now but I'll try get you a new one as soon as I can just copy and paste when I do.

Have an installation disk of the latest version Ubuntu 10.4 LTS at the ready. Regards Sean

Sean Smith said...

Okay think I've figured out what's going on with you Anubis. The DNS servers in the tutorial are no longer valid.

You need to use the iburst DNS servers from now on since a change to the network has made the OpenDNS servers and Google DNS servers no longer work for us. I don't particularly like that fact. Since it's a very iSPY type thing for any provider to do but it seems they are filtering DNS requests these days for that specific purpose.

Here they are...
Add this to sudo nano /etc/resolv.conf
Instead

196.30.31.193
196.46.70.1

Kind Regards
Sean

Wium said...

After alot of trouble I got this to work on lucid.

I used the driver from http://retis.sssup.it/~fabio/git/?p=ibdriver.git;a=shortlog;h=refs/heads/master

I did not install Roaring Penguin PPPoE but used the PPPoe that ships with 10.04.

It is actually very easy. but I think RP-PPPoe was conflicting with the PPPoe software ubuntu ships with.

Sean Smith said...

True Wium I'm currently not using the RP-PPPOE drivers either and the newer versions build in to Ubuntu as of 9.10 work perfectly without it by just using pppoe-conf. This tutorial is very outdated now and I haven't had it in me to update it yet since changes with regards to libc6 are still a little sketchy to me. I am glad however that someone has managed to get the ibdriver working on 10.4 as that has been what I have been holding out on myself for. Before upgrading to 10.4 on my notebook.

Johan said...

Hi Sean & all
I'm a Linux noob an I am really desperate for some top, top, top assistance. Been battling a while now with my iBurst USB modem driver and hope there is someone out there that can help? I have been through umpteen forums and threads and tried literally everything I read, but to no avail.

I have installed the (Jkroon) open source ibriver-2.6.31 for my iBurst USB modem. Initially all went well with fast connection etc., connection everytime I boot, until... I started updates of 10.04 LTS, that is when I became aware, from the forums, that a re-install of the driver is required after every package update due to no "package management" in the iBdriver. what a pain in the proverbial to say the least!

Anyways.. now I am the stage where the driver is always installed, but...all of a sudden, I need to run pppoeconf and set up the driver after each boot to get connected!!!! If I can't find a solution it will force me back to Windoze7 which I dread to do! Can a script be written to pppoeconf (rp-pppoeconf.iso is loaded I think) automatically during boot perhaps or is there some simple answer?

(I should maybe mention that the other day I performed the "Grub2 Profile" exercise to try and speed up the boot time, this does not perhaps have something to do with the fact that I need to reconfigure in pppoeconf after every boot does it? I doubt it) Please help?!?!?
Johan

Sean Smith said...

What is the output of command "sudo ifup dsl-provider" when you enter it in the command line?

Sean Smith said...

I can agree with you on one thing however Johan. It is very painful having to recompile and make the drivers every time a new version is released. For a new user I could imagine it's would seem like diving in to the deep end of the Linux world once you realize you don't have an Internet connection then have to custom compile and make the drivers again.

Johan said...

Hi Sean
Yes..deep end.. :-)
anyway, for the record, the driver is permanently compiled now, ib0 always there when I boot, its the pppoeconf that has to be reconfigured everytime??

the output of "sudo ifup dsl-provider" is:
/etc/network/interfaces:6: unknown method
ifup: couldn't read interfaces file "/etc/network/interfaces"
root@johan-Linuxbox:/etc/ppp/peers# ifup dsl-provider
/etc/network/interfaces:6: unknown method
ifup: couldn't read interfaces file "/etc/network/interfaces"
root@johan-Linuxbox:/etc/ppp/peers# ^C
root@johan-Linuxbox:/etc/ppp/peers# ifup dsl-provider
/etc/network/interfaces:6: unknown method
ifup: couldn't read interfaces file "/etc/network/interfaces"

The file /etc/../interfaces does exist and the content is:
auto lo
iface lo inet loopback

pre-up /sbin/ifconfig ib0 up # line maintained by pppoeconf
auto dsl-provider
iface dsl-provider inet ppp0
provider dsl-provider

auto ib0
iface ib0 inet manual


Any ideas Sean? your help is appreciated..
Johan

Sean Smith said...

Okay interfaces file looks good.
Type this in...

ls -lah /etc/network/interfaces


Does it Look this? -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 430 2010-07-22 02:11 /etc/network/interfaces


if not

sudo chown root:root /etc/network/interfaces

Once that is done Johan please post the output of this command for me. lsmod | grep ib_

Johan said...

Sean
Will try all that tonight and give feedback

Johan said...

Sean
Found a solution on Ubuntu forums for the Pppoeconf problem (after fix, connection is there every time I re-boot now), but still looking for the solution on why I need to re-install iBdriver on kernel or package update? (no "package management in driver" - wish someone would re-write driver with required "management" :-() I am dreading the next "synaptic" update!! :-( Will keep posting if I find that solution...any ideas?

regards
J

Johan said...

Sean and as per your request:

johan@johan-Linuxbox:~/Desktop$ ls -lah /etc/network/interfaces
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 193 2010-11-11 19:18 /etc/network/interfaces

johan@johan-Linuxbox:~/Desktop$ lsmod | grep ib_
ib_usb 5140 0
ib_net 5920 1 ib_usb

eveything seems ok?
please advise?

J

Sean Smith said...

I just did a successful compilation & re-installation of the driver on 10.4 with the 2.6.32-25-generic #45-Ubuntu SMP Kernel. So it can be done. Can you get a connection now at least with the Ubuntu box? I had some uphill with the server kernel.

Unfortunately what actually happened with this ibdriver project Johan is that the drivers where originally written with the libc6 libraries in mind and has since not been updated.
Which was the reason you had to recompile and install it over and over again after a kernel update. But as I have found from the time of original install in Ubuntu 8.04 not all kernel updates will require you to reinstall. The netdev() function was deprecated in one release meaning we had to recompile and reinstall.

My best suggestion to you moving forward for future reference is to insure build-essentials is installed if you have a internet connection now. just apt-get install build-essentials then get all of the references IE this blog post, Jaco Kroons patch and what ever else helped you get it working eventually including obviously the latest drivers themselves and keep them in a folder for reference later in case your connection drops again. Obviously you won't have a net connection to make reference.

Sean Smith said...

But I agree it's not the simple just works out of the box type solution most windows users are used to by now I'm sure but in Linux defense I only ever have issues these days with Proprietary Drivers not available in the Repo's IE Nvidia Graphics Cards and this modem. I think my next tutorial will actually be for installing the Cell HSPA 21 Mbps modem in Ubuntu once they have a natiod wide rollout of that.

maljabri said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
maljabri said...

hello,
i find some problem when i writte (make) in terminal:

~/ibdriver-1.3.5-linux-2.6.36$ make
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.35-22-generic/build SUBDIRS=/home/mmm/ibdriver-1.3.5-linux-2.6.36 modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.35-22-generic'
CC [M] /home/mmm/ibdriver-1.3.5-linux-2.6.36/ib-pcmcia.o
In file included from /home/mmm/ibdriver-1.3.5-linux-2.6.36/ib-pcmcia.c:23:
include/pcmcia/cs.h:54: error: expected specifier-qualifier-list before ‘socket_t’
include/pcmcia/cs.h:149: error: expected specifier-qualifier-list before ‘page_t’
In file included from /home/mmm/ibdriver-1.3.5-linux-2.6.36/ib-pcmcia.c:25:
include/pcmcia/cistpl.h:557: error: expected specifier-qualifier-list before ‘cisdata_t’
/home/mmm/ibdriver-1.3.5-linux-2.6.36/ib-pcmcia.c: In function ‘ib_pcmcia_config’:
/home/mmm/ibdriver-1.3.5-linux-2.6.36/ib-pcmcia.c:690: warning: assignment makes integer from pointer without a cast
make[2]: *** [/home/mmm/ibdriver-1.3.5-linux-2.6.36/ib-pcmcia.o] Error 1
make[1]: *** [_module_/home/mmm/ibdriver-1.3.5-linux-2.6.36] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.35-22-generic'
make: *** [default] Error 2


plz help me

Sean Smith said...

Hi Maljabri check the directory and look for the Makefile. Inside you should see the following...

obj-m = ib-net.o
obj-m = ib-pcmcia.o
obj-m += ib-usb.o

Now remove just this line:
obj-m = ib-pcmcia.o